K-Gr 2—In an effort to make friends and fit in with his peers, a shell-less snail seeks a shell. Cheery, earth-tone
digital illustrations deftly communicate emotions, while back and front matter and bold block panels help new comics
readers find their footing. The greater message of found family is triumphant.

An unnamed snail comes across a couple of other snails and admires their shells; they respond by saying the snail can join them after getting a shell of its own and thus begins an adventure looking for the perfect shell.

This is a cute story for young readers, introducing them to the comic book style. Before the story begins, there's a quick tutorial on how to read comics with explanations of panels vs. gutters, different dialogue types, etc. I love how it tells readers to look at visual cues and extrapolate information from there. In this particular title, the visual cues were a lot about reading emotional states.

I also loved how this book *almost* has an ugly-duckling style moral but not quite. The message of being true to yourself and finding friends who accept you is always an important one to hear and have reinforced as children are struggling to find their identities and fit in.

The last page of the book has a few facts about slugs versus snail; it was nice to have a smidge of nonfiction information thrown in there as well as suggestions for further information. I could see this book being paired with Snails Are Just My Speed, a comic book style nonfiction text about snails, for a fun school lesson or simply for a child/family who wants to learn more.

While this book is labeled as level 3, which this publisher defines as "complex stories for independent readers," there is still a bit of repetition to the text, especially in the beginning parts, that will make it a somewhat smoother read for those children who are still working on becoming more proficient readers. ( )