A Book For Escargot by Dashka Slater

Dashka Slater's delightfully sweet picture book, A Book For Escargot readers are treated to the second story about Escargot, that dashing, suave French snail. C'est un regale that breaks the cuteness meter and is sure to delight readers young and old.

In this adventure, dashing Escargot is on his way to the library to find a book, but not just any book. He's tired of eating salads. He dreams of something much more scrumptious and so he wants "a French cookbook, filled with delicious French recipes."

Along the way to the cooking section, Escargot is amazed at all the wonderful books in the library. But he does find it upsetting that there are no "books about a daring snail hero who saves the day."

But Escargot laments the lack of books "about a daring snail hero who saves the day" and suggests that the reader might want to write a story about a "very beautiful French snail hero" based on him. And so he imagines beginning to write such a book as he slimes towards the cookbook section.

Eventually, Escargot makes it to the cookbook section where he finds what seems like the perfect book, The Art of French Cooking. This book will help him find something to make besides a boring salad. But Escargot makes a startling discovery about French cooking and comes up with a satisfying solution to a book that views escargot in a way he never imagined!

Discussion

In this  picture book, Escargot is cheeky and he knows it. From the very beginning he has no doubts about himself, telling readers, " It can be very distracting to have a very beautiful French snail staring at you while you read."  He very innocently suggests some classic children's books, with a decidedly gastropod theme. He even suggests that the author of a book about a snail hero might be modeled after his "most beautiful parts, like my shiny brown shell or my translucent tentacle of my chic outfit." By his own definition, he is "handsome, suave, and smart." And when he shockingly discovers the real reason French cooking involves escargot, he retreats to his shell, where he is "not hiding but more like having a private moment."

Bringing this humorous tale to life are the colourful illustrations by Sydney Hanson. She usually works with pencil crayon and also watercolours. Hanson, a certified naturalist, is well known for her lovely animal illustrations and she perfectly captures the cheekiness of Escargot as he innocently seeks out a French cookbook. A Book For Escargot demands to be read with a French accent. Nothing less than that will do!

Book Details:

A Book For Escargot by Dashka Slater
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux      2020