The Legend of the Golden Snail

Inspired by his favorite bedtime story, in which the Grand Enchanter captures the Golden Snail, and turns it into a sailing (or "snailing") ship extraordinaire, Wilbur, together with his cat companion, embarks on a fantastic voyage to the Ends of the Earth to claim it as his own. Aiding a variety of unlikely creatures along the way - a butterfly-tree in need of watering, an island-sized crab trapped in a massive net, a school of lantern-fish being pursued by earwig pirates - he discovers that his kindness is rewarded, when he himself is in need of assistance. That very kindness, however, creates a problem for him when he finally does claim the Golden Snail, as discovers that riding an enslaved (and enchained) creature isn't quite what show more he'd expected...

Tales of this type, in which the hero's acts of kindness to those he meets upon his quest are rewarded in kind, can be found in the folk traditions of many peoples, from the Nanai of Siberia (see: Mergen and His Friends), to the Hungarian (see: The Good-Hearted Youngest Brother), or the Liberian (see: Koi and the Kola Nuts). Celebrated Australian picture-book author and artist Graeme Base gives this common folk motif a fantastic face-lift in The Legend of the Golden Snail, taking the basic story idea, and inserting his own fabulous creations. When combined with his beautiful artwork - the paintings here are simply gorgeous, capturing both the wild wonder of Wilbur's maritime voyage, and the more domestic charm of his adorable feline companion - the result is a real treat! Recommended for young readers who enjoy adventure stories, and for fans of the author/artist. show less

I have become a disciple of Graeme Base and his version of surrealist art and storytelling. Each page tells in vivid detail about a young boy, Willard, and his dream to found the lost golden snail on at the end of the world. Each page is filled with fantastic creatures, and brilliant story telling. Base's use of alliteration goes a long way for students who are learning those specific skills. Currently I work with younger grades on those very skills of alliteration, letter-sound correspondence and basic phonological processing abilities. In having a book enthrall a student like this visually the learning part comes a whole lot easier.

Enthused by a legend of the Golden Snail he goes to the end of the world to become its master and embark on 100 years of adventure across the world. He discovers an enslaved wonderous creature and releases he has little choice about his adventure ahead. Base again captures the meaning in not only words but detailed illustrations. Have just read it to a group of Year 3 and 4 guys in a small group and we all rolled with the waves as we chanted 'the snailing ship rise and shine hoist your sails and trim the line.'

I love the illustrations in all of Graeme Base's stories. They are beautiful and always contain the neatest "extras" if you look closely. The pictures alone would make this worth reading but it was also a lovely little adventure story that any child will appreciate. At the same time there is a very gentle message about doing good, kind things. The writing was smooth and rhythmic, making it nice to read out loud.

What a great book! It's an awesome adventure, contained in only the 48 pages of a picture book. The illustrations are gorgeous and include as a bonus a hidden image on every spread for an extra activity. A cute and clever adventure had us thinking of the equally fun [b:My Father's Dragon|34898|My Father's Dragon (My Father's Dragon, #1)|Ruth Stiles Gannett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386925082s/34898.jpg|3217669] in the way the little boy would pull out the exact thing he needed for each challenge. Many, many reasons to enjoy this one and it would probably work for fairly young children too.

All of Graeme Base's books are absolutely stunning from the story to the illustrations. The story is wonderful and only exceeded by the gorgeous illustrations. This book can be read cover to cover but then it is also fun to go back and solve on the hidden puzzles.

A tribute to the power of imagination.  I wasn't blown away, but then, I'm not a huge fan of Neverending Story or other artsy-fartsy books either.  And why does the kid wear the hat upside-down for half the book?