The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson is a wonderfully written story. The lyrical style of the book, with rhyming couplets, ‘These are the waves that arched and crashed, that foamed and frolicked and sprayed and splashed’ is beautifully written and it was a pleasure to read.
The book tells the unlikely friendship and shared adventures between a tiny sea snail and a ‘great big grey –blue hump back whale’. With an itchy foot and an eagerness to sail around the world the tiny snail embarks on an exciting adventure with the whale across the seas. As the pair explore far off lands, from towering icebergs to golden sands, the overwhelmed tiny snail declares “I feel so small”. As the noise of speedboats causes the whale to lose his way and become beached on the sand, it is the snail’s clever initiative to write an SOS message on a classroom blackboard that saves the day and they are able to travel safely away.
This charming story is fantastic for KS1 children from Y1 to Y2. It promotes a clear message that no matter how small we are, it is our decisions and actions that can have a big impact on the lives of others. The book highlights to children the importance of pursuing your dreams and for forming strong friendships. It would be a fantastic addition in the classroom, as children explore countries outside of the EU for the new curriculum. Children could also investigate sea creatures and different environments whilst discussing the effect of humans on the world.
The Y2 class where I took my two-week placement were working from this book and they all loved it and were inspired to produce some fantastic work. The book corner was transformed into a sea setting with handmade sea creatures and crashing waves and was a fantastic atmosphere for the children to read in and find inspiration for their creative work on the book. As well as group activities and class room discussions, the children produced postcards and diary entries imagining themselves to be the snail and describing their emotions and the amazing things they saw on their adventures.
The book tells the unlikely friendship and shared adventures between a tiny sea snail and a ‘great big grey –blue hump back whale’. With an itchy foot and an eagerness to sail around the world the tiny snail embarks on an exciting adventure with the whale across the seas. As the pair explore far off lands, from towering icebergs to golden sands, the overwhelmed tiny snail declares “I feel so small”. As the noise of speedboats causes the whale to lose his way and become beached on the sand, it is the snail’s clever initiative to write an SOS message on a classroom blackboard that saves the day and they are able to travel safely away.
This charming story is fantastic for KS1 children from Y1 to Y2. It promotes a clear message that no matter how small we are, it is our decisions and actions that can have a big impact on the lives of others. The book highlights to children the importance of pursuing your dreams and for forming strong friendships. It would be a fantastic addition in the classroom, as children explore countries outside of the EU for the new curriculum. Children could also investigate sea creatures and different environments whilst discussing the effect of humans on the world.
The Y2 class where I took my two-week placement were working from this book and they all loved it and were inspired to produce some fantastic work. The book corner was transformed into a sea setting with handmade sea creatures and crashing waves and was a fantastic atmosphere for the children to read in and find inspiration for their creative work on the book. As well as group activities and class room discussions, the children produced postcards and diary entries imagining themselves to be the snail and describing their emotions and the amazing things they saw on their adventures.