Small Readers: Snail-Snaily-Snails by Bonnie Bader

This is the latest in a series of nonfiction readers by Bonnie Bader. Previous titles have mostly focused on the fuzzier side of animals (hamsters, hedgehogs, and sloths) but I was pleased to see the series branching out into less well-known creatures.

Each book begins with a reiteration of the title. A close-up of a curious snail, then a side view, then a whole spread of different snails introduces the book. The book continues with a description of different snails, their bodies and shells. It looks at the different places they live, their slime, what they eat, and different types of seeing. The book ends with a cluster of hatching eggs, a comparison of the largest and smallest snails, and a list of the many predators who eat snails (not enough in my humble opinion).

The book is illustrated with sharp photographs on white backgrounds and a few underwater and garden scenes. It's a level 2, which for Penguin easy readers puts it at a level E-I and in our library would be marked as intermediate, two steps up from emergent and level 1. Penguin is more accurate in its leveling system than some other publishers and parents and staff appreciate that. The text is bold and simple, with sentences with only a few words and no complex vocabulary, which can be hard to do with nonfiction.

Verdict: This is an excellent nonfiction easy reader series and I look forward to seeing more additions to the various animals so far profiled.

ISBN: 9780451534408; Published 2017 by Penguin; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library