Snails Are Just My Speed!

Snails Are Just My Speed!

Juvenile nonfiction
I bet you overlook snails--except for the shelless ones that are
called slugs if you're a gardener. You may realize that they, under
the name escargot, are on the menu in really posh French restaurants.
But otherwise you consider them pretty dull and prosaic--if you think
about them at all.
Kevin McCloskey's Snails Are Just My Speed! should cure you of
that delusion. Did you know that:
*Snails can be found at every habitat on earth from mountain top to
under seas;
*some snails are hairy, some as see through as glass;
and *they can be over a foot long or small enough to fit through the
eye of a needle?
These lowly creatures may even have contributed to our image of
Cupid. You'll have to read the book to discover how.
Did you know that way long ago maidens (unmarried girls) would
get up early to look for snail tracks to see if they could see the
initials of their future husbands in them?
I have a favorite snail story. Mom and Dad took Harriet and me
to the kind of restaurant where you have to wear a church dress and
patent leather shoes and be on VERY BEST BEHAVIOR. I noticed a couple
eating something very strange looking and asked them what it was.
They explained how snails are called escargot and considered a
delicacy in France. The woman fed me one, showing me how she dipped
it in garlic butter. I said it was delicious and thanked them for
sharing. A little later a waitperson presented me with a big white
bakery box full of the most delectable pastries. It was a reward from
the couple for my delightful curiosity.
Sorry for that digression. Unless, of course, you enjoyed it.
Books like Snails Are Just My Speed! are a wonderful way to introduce
children to the fascinating, but underrated, creatures we share this
planet with.
On a personal note, it's clean sweep time here at UMaine. That's the
two weeks during which all the stuff students leave behind in the
dorms is gleaned and sorted in preparation for the yard sale all other
yard sales wish they were. The proceeds go to the Bodwell Center for
Volunteerism to fund programs like Black Bear Exchange. It's one of
my favorite times of the year. I've volunteered for ages, but this
year...
A great big shout out goes out to the people who have participated in
and patronized Clean Sweep over the years.
jules hathaway


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