Six-year-old Hazel tends her colony of shoebox snails while observing, with varying degrees of understanding, her father’s illness and final decline. Impending loss forms the heart of this story, but it’s charming and funny, too, with black-and-white illustrations by Giselle Clarkson.
Richly rewarding and cleverly layered, adults will be as drawn to it as children. Nan Blanchard’s assured eye is a rare quality in a new writer; seldom has the world of a young child been so delicately or acutely observed. Hazel and the Snails takes you straight to the heart of childhood’s mysteries and delights.
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‘Playful language, delightful descriptions (with a few words much is conveyed) and illustrations (note the snail on the foot of each page) provide the icing on the cake. A debut author to watch.’ — Stella Chrysostomou, Volume
‘Moving and sweet.’ — Crissi Blair, Family Times
‘A gentle story from a first-time author, told with heart and presented with quirky visual treats’ — The Sapling
‘A tender and unusual story about a family faced with a terminal illness . . . Unfolds slowly and gently. Don’t forget to flick the pages to watch the snail move.’ — Services to Schools, National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa
