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The Snail and the Whale

by
,
Axel Scheffler

The Snail and the Whale Reviews | Toppsta

Book Rating: 5 based on 34
34 Reviews
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One tiny snail longs to see the world and hitches a lift on the tail of a whale. Together they go on an amazing journey, past icebergs and volcanoes, sharks and penguins, and the little snail feels so small in the vastness of the world. But when disaster strikes and the whale is beached in a bay, it's the tiny snail who saves the day. The Snail and the Whale is a delightful tale of adventure and friendship by the award-winning team behind The Gruffal o, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

The Snail and the Whale Reviews | Toppsta

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2nd October '16
I read it to Piglet aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
One of the best Julia Donaldson story books. A tals of an ambitious snail who desires to travel the world, an obliging whale and their adventures together. When the whale gets into trouble, the snail feels small and unable to help. Despite his size, can the snail save the whale? 
As always, fantastic rhymes, great pictures and a well constructed plot that is enjoyed by all in out family.
10th August '16
I read it to Li aged 5 aged 5
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
LOVED this book - Li loved reciting the rhyming text back to me, and was so proud he had learnt this book so quickly! beautifully illustrated, and lots to discuss, making this another fantastic book by julia Donaldson !
28th February '16
I read it to Elliemai aged 8 aged 8 , to Daria aged 7 aged 7 & to Daniel11 aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
another fantastic book by Julia Donaldson with brilliant illustrations from Axel Scheffler 
a firm favorite in our house, the children all love the rhyming in the story 
31st May '18
I read it myself (an adult) , to M1m1louise aged 8 aged 8 , to O11ie aged 7 aged 7 , to Georgepickle aged 0 months aged 0 & to Henn aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
We love this book. The rhyming makes it so appealing and the illustrations are hilarious. There are lots of things happening in the background and the rhyming means it's great for new readers to try their hand at. Great book. 
9th January '17
I read it to RCHogan aged 2 aged 2 & to AIHogan aged 1 aged 1
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
This is one of the loveliest books Julia Donaldson has written: it's the majestic story of the friendship between a snail and the whale he hitches a lift with. Together they travel the world and see amazing places; when the whale becomes beached the snail feels so helpless - until he thinks of a way to save the day.

The Snail and the Whale demonstrates how even the smallest person can make a tremendous difference and also encourages readers to dream big and follow those passions. Right now my toddlers are too young to understand these sentiments fully but they enjoy the story and the pictures regardless!

The rhyming prose is fantastic and makes reading it aloud a joy. It has a wonderful rhythm and that seems to keep my toddlers engaged in the story for longer than with some other books.

The illustrations are beautiful; there are tonnes of detail in them which makes them perfect for talking around with my children. They are both fascinated with the pictures and spend ages askinbwhat every tiny thing is.

There is a lot of longevity in this book; I'm confident my children will still be enjoying this inspiring story when they are much older and reading on their own. I highly recommend it.
20th September '16
I read it to Aaronthecooldude aged 7 aged 7 , to Little Boo aged 1 aged 1 & to Baby E aged 7 months aged 0
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
A lovely rhyming story that we really enjoyed and the verse was easy to read. The illustrations were fantastic and we would definitely recommend this book for any age. 
6th August '18
I read it to D's little reads aged 5 aged 5
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
This is such a lovely read for those children who love an adventure. As avid Julia Donaldson fans this book was perfect. Dylan loved how the snail got to go on such an amazing adventure thanks to the whale. 
12th June '16
I read it to Belle aged 7 aged 7 & to Harri aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
A brilliant story my children love this book.  The rhyming is fantastic as always, the kindness of the whale and the adventure for the snail are clever and funny. Children of all ages will love this book.
6th March '17
I read it to Rubiroo aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
Another fantastic book from Julia Donaldson a snail that wants to travel the world met a whale that said come sail with me. Lovely story where it shows no one is too small to help others. My daughter loved the illustrations but found the darker illustrations she didn't like as much. 
1st June '16
I read it to Megs aged 3 aged 3 & to Erin aged 5 aged 5
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
This has got to be one of my favourite Julia Donaldson books. Following a great sea adventure of a tiny sea snail longing to see the big wide world and hitching a lift on the tail of a whale. 
Fantastic rhyming as usual throughout the book. Showing that even the tiniest of creatures can help save his enormous friend through quick thinking. 
Julia brings the story to life with her fantastic discriptions of all their encounters from deep blue sea to the rumbling flashing zig zag lightening. Highly recommend this book 
25th May '16
I read it to Eric aged 5 aged 5
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
Great book typical donaldson book with great rhymes and super pictures,a must read 
28th June '16
I read it to Alan aged 3 aged 3 & to Lenny aged 2 aged 2
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
This is one of our favourite books. 
Lovely story about exploring the world and saving our beautiful creatures.
So clever how a tiny snail save a huge whale! 
We read this story over and over again and never get tired of it.
15th July '16
I read it to Rachy aged 7 aged 7 & to Joshyjosh aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
This is a great story of an unlikely duo who travel around. Another great book by Julia Donaldson. 
1st October '18
I read it to Eswren aged 5 aged 5 & to Hol aged 2 aged 2
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
One of the best! A story of friendship between two completely different animals. The friendship takes them on an adventure that leads to the whale being stuck. It's the snail that saves the day, highlighting you can achieve big things no matter how small! 
13th January '15
Read to a child aged 6
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
This book has been a family favourite ever since it was first published. My son absolutely loved it and we read it and read it and read it. It's a wonderful story with superb illustrations. The way Donaldson writes in rhyme is just magical. The characters are appealing and the story about the snails travels is brilliant.
7th July '16
I read it to Lily aged 3 aged 3 & to RoseMars aged 3 aged 3
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
I can't think of another children's author who can bring me to tears like Donaldson. The characters of the tiny snail wishing for adventure and the friendly whale who is happy to show him the world are charming. The illustrations by Scheffler are so beautiful, his depictions of the different landscapes are simply stunning and the underwater world is breathtaking. The plight of the beached whale and the snails genius idea to save him had my children and I on the edge of our seats. I won't spoil the outcome or the ending for those who haven't read it but I literally wept tears of joy (I'm such a softy). A superb book with a real heartfelt message.  
11th October '18
I read it to aiwilford aged 6 aged 6 & to mrwilford aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
This is a wonderful book that I have read to my little ones for so many years. When they were really little we would look through the pictures and talk about it. The story is about a snail who wants to to see the world and so hitches a lift on a whale. The snail then goes on to see the world and ultimately saves the whale! Brilliant story and the messages in it are strong. Love the way the book flows and rhymes and the illustrations are great! 
8th July '16
I read it to CCR06 aged 9 aged 9 , to LCR08 aged 8 aged 8 & to GCR13 aged 3 aged 3
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
We are big fans of Julia Donaldson and Axel Schleffer and revisit the books all of the time.
This one we love because of the sense of adventure, and believing that a tiny creature really can save ab enormous creature. We love going to the beach and in the sea so love looking for things that we recognise.
We love the illustrations and spotting hundreds of things in them. And, of course, we loved finding the image of the Gruffalo! And we think the idea of the snail writing messages in its slime trail is very clever!
14th November '16
I read it to Ragdollkhanbaby aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
This is a lovely Julia Donaldson book about a snail and it's desire to see the world and a wonderful friendship it makes with a giant whale who it eventually has to try and save from a dreadful fate, rhyming as always is great as you come to expect from a Julia Donaldson book along with great illustrations, highly recommended.
21st March '17
Giggle read it themselves aged 9 aged 9
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
This was one of my favourite bedtime stories when I was little. My mum still reads it to us sometimes. The story is in rhyme and it's about a snail saving a whale and having adventures around the world. Some bits are quite funny. Recommended for babies and up.
8th September '16
I read it to FreddyBoggis aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
Anothet great book, with nice illustrstions as always. My little boy loved the rhyming story and the adventure the snail goes on. Also has the perfect ending. Would recommend.
9th September '17
I read it to Nathy aged 3 aged 3
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
A firm favourite in our house. This is just as good as all the other books by this author and illustrator. My son loves all the details in the beautiful pictures and loves the rhyming in this story. 
24th February '18
I read it to Ellielebugjnr aged 2 aged 2
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
We love the snail who saves the day, whale and snail together bring an enchanting adventurous learning story. We loved it.
3rd September '17
I read it to ElijahG aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
I adore this book, as does my son.  I love reading it (it takes a while to get the rhythm) and I think the sentiment is such an important one for children to learn - even if you're small you can make a big difference.
30th October '17
I read it to mrbear aged 6 aged 6 & to mrfox aged 2 aged 2
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
I hadn't heard about this Julia Donaldson book before we received it as a gift, but both my boys love this book, about the little snail who persists, and saves the day. 
1st March '18
I read it to mrbear aged 7 aged 7 & to mrfox aged 3 aged 3
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
A lovely story with great flowing rhymes. One of our Julia Donaldson favourites.
16th August '16
I read it to SophieKelly aged 3 aged 3
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
The snail longs to travel the world... and hitches a lift on the back of a whale. Together they have great adventures... until one day the whale swims too close to the shore and becomes marooned. Despite its small size, the snail travels alone to the nearby (yet far for the snail given his size) school house and alerts the pupils to the whale's distress. The Whale is saved, and the pair travel back to the original rock where they met and the snail tells his friends of his adventures.... and they all decide to join him on the whale's back !
Lovely Donaldon & Scheffler book - flowing rhymes and beautiful illustrations as you would expect. Perhaps suited to a slightly older audience than their other books.
22nd May '17
KeeratKT read it themselves aged 2 aged 2
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
This is a story about a snail who is bored of living on a rock and not seeing more of the world so a whale offers to show him the sights of the world. They see beaches, forests, mountains and ice bergs and realize there really is more to the world than the rock. This is a wonderful book to read with younger children to teach them about helping others and being adventurous. 
17th April '17
I read it to eric_ aged 3 aged 3
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
Lovely book! A story about a snail that has a dream and doesn't give up on it and wants to see the world, instead of just doing what everyone does. The whale takes the snail to see the world. But then as it happens in our real world, people interfere in the habitat of animals and then the whale gets stuck. The snail (even with her size) doesn't let this stop her from thinking of a way of helping the whale, and then kids and adults get together to help the whale to get back into sea. So much to learn and reflect from this book. 

I don't think my son understood really how the snail feels challenged and what people do to get the whale stuck, but this just means that this book is a teaching experience for so long! I think it's best enjoyed with kids from 3 years old onwards, since it has a longer plot.
13th September '18
I read it to Squirt aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
What a beautiful book. This is one of our favourite Julia Donaldson's. The pictures in it are great and have started so many conversations about different places around the world with my 4 year old. We loved the moral that even though you are anal you can do big things and I think this is a important message foe kids, that they too can do big things. 
16th April '18
I read it to Cece aged 4 aged 4
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
5 stars
A snail befriends a whale and the big ocean mammal invites the little shelled creature to hop on board his back and they set off travelling together.

When the whale gets into difficulty, and lies beached on the sand, the snail shows just how clever he is by alerting all the townsfolk. The little shelled creature saves the life of his big ocean mammal bestie!

Told with typical Donaldson flare and rhythm, the poetry and illustrations are as beautiful as in any of her books.  In fact, if we ever had to pick a favourite from her collection, this one would be a strong contender. 
5th April '18
I read it to JasperM555 aged 2 aged 2
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
4 stars
Lovely story that shows that things you want can be achieved and that different people (or animals in this case) can work well together to achieve these goals! 
My eldest enjoys this book, it isn't on the regular reading list but he does love the illustrations and we often just sit and try and find different things on each page instead of reading it. 

another great from Julia and Axel!
22nd February '18
I read it to Miss-ie-davis aged 5 aged 5
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
4 stars
This book is quite long for under three's, especially compared to some other Julia Donaldson books that really capture the audience, but is still a lovely read. My five year old loves it, especially after we saw it made into a show.
13th November '17
I read it to SPH aged 2 aged 2
The Snail and the Whale 9780333982242
4 stars
It's a lovely story and my son enjoys it but not as much as the others from Julia Donaldson and Axel scheffler. That said he is only 2 and I did feel that he might enjoy it more when a little older.
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About Julia Donaldson

Julia Donaldson Biography

Julia Donaldson is a highly talented author of some of the best-loved children’s books in the world.  Born in London in 1948 she grew up with her younger sister Mary who she loved to create imaginary characters with.  

She started her career as a singer-songwriter, writing mainly for children’s television. One of these...

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BOOKS BY Axel Scheffler

About Axel Scheffler

Axel Scheffler Biography

Axel Scheffler is an acclaimed illustrator, animator and more recently author of children's books. He was born in Hamburg in 1957 and moved to England in 1982 in order to study illustration at the Bath Academy of Art. He then worked for a variet...

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