The Amazing Trail of Seymour Snail
Seymour Snail hopes to be a great artist someday, but he feels shy about showing his work. He is thrilled to get a job in an art gallery, but he is bullied by his new boss, Mr. Stink Bug. At last, though, Seymour’s slimy glitter art is recognized by Mr. Stink Bug’s client, Lady CocoLaRoche, and the snail becomes a star. Some of the humor in this early chapter book, illustrated with lively cartoon drawings, may be more for adults who know the pretension of the “creative” world and the meaning of escargot. But young grade-schoolers will enjoy all the talk about slime and goo, as well as the puns about a friendly spider, who is working on something big––the World Wide Web. Children will also cheer for small Seymour, who oozes along at a snail’s pace but triumphs in the end. Grades 1-3. --Hazel Rochman