Escargot by Dashka Slater and Sydney Hanson
Hello, Dashka Slater! Thank you for visiting Watch. Connect. Read. to
chat with me about Escargot, Sydney
Hanson, picture books, and reading.
Dashka Slater: I’m delighted to be here!
I am delighted you are here. Let's get started!
Escargot is a very beautiful French snail who wants to be your favorite
animal. He spent many years as a puppet who accompanied me on visits to
schools, libraries and bookstores, but finally insisted on having a book of his
own.
Sydney Hanson’s illustrations are straight-up adorable. Escargot feels
she did an excellent job of capturing his joie-de-vivre
and his je-ne-sais-quoi and also his
beautiful shell, neck and tentacles. No snail has ever been cuter!
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Illustration Credit: Sydney Hanson |
Carrots have the habit of unexpectedly turning up in otherwise-excellent
salads. Escargot has a few tricks up his sleeve for when they do. He makes a
very fierce face and waits for them to flee, for example. But occasionally this
doesn’t work. Then he needs help from the reader.
Picture books are a magical duet between artist and writer in which both
are telling the same story in different ways. No other form is as challenging
or as rewarding to me as a writer – and nothing is as enchanting to me as a
reader.
Reading is the only way I know to live the lives of other people, travel
to magical places, battle terrible monsters, and form a deep and lasting
friendship with an extraordinarily handsome French snail. All without getting
dirty or needing a passport.
Mr. Schu, you should have asked me if Escargot has a national holiday in
his honor. And the answer is: mais oui! National
Escargot Day is May 24 and Escargot suggests you celebrate by eating… a nice
salad with a few croutons and a light vinaigrette. (And if you want to have an
Escargot party, complete with tentacles for all the guests, download the
Escargot story hour kit.)
Borrow Escargot from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshop.
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