Snail, Where Are You?

By Tomi Ungerer

  • was a French artist and writer.

  • First published in German in 1973.

  • 2-5 y.o.

This book is most entirely pictures. There’s only one written question and one answer at the end of the book.

The book cover is asking the main question? Snail, where are you?

The illustrations are a blast from the past. I remember myself being a little girl and colouring with my new markers. Just look at the colours and how on some pages it feels like the marker was running out and the colour was fading away. I mostly enjoyed looking at the pigs. It’s like a child started off with ears and then the marker died out.

Snail, Where Are You? Are you at a military parade? Are you hiding inside a tuba?

Are you out at sea, carrying the fisherman’s boat on your choppy waves? He is struggling balancing and keeping the boat level.

Are you in the castle watching the performing jester? The cold pillars supporting the heavy roof.

Are you curling up on the king’s shoes?

Snail, Where Are You? Are you now on the tops of the musician’s hats?

Are you the little curls on the pigs’ party hats? Or their plump bottoms?

Snail, are those heavy horns on the heads of the mountain goats you? It must be nice to be able to watch the sunset from the top of the mountain.

Are you a twitching cat’s tail or a bird’s headdress? You could be hiding on a chair or the moustache under there. The smoke rings curl up above and remind me of your shell.

Are you the musician’s love a treasure? The violin under his chin?

Snail, where are you? Are you the blond curls on the fairy’s hair or the feather on top of her head?

Are you a party blower?

Or are you the birds’ eyes watching me?

I can see you on the elephant’s trunk.

And on the older lady’s sledge. Are you spinning on the ice?

Snail, Where Are You?