SNIPPET THE EARLY RISER

A little snail takes drastic measures to get his mother, father and sister to wake up earlier in the morning.

Just an “ordinary snail” who likes to draw on the sidewalk, create leaf sculptures, play soccer and take piggyback rides, Snippet’s definitely an early riser. Unfortunately, his mother, father and sister love “to snooze all morning” and barely stir when Snippet tries knocking, hollering and turning on the shower to wake them and relieve his boredom. Grasshopper suggests jumping on the bed. Cricket suggests chirping. Ant suggests pushing everyone out of bed. Firefly suggests flashing his light. Stinkbug offers to roust them with his stench. Snippet desperately tries it all (almost—he wisely rejects Stinkbug’s idea). Nothing works until Snippet finds a creative solution to lure his family to the breakfast table. Amusing illustrations rely on precise ink outlines with watercolor and gouache washes to give Snippet, his family and his insect pals a comic charm. Readers view Snippet from a bug’s-eye perspective as he ingeniously works to wake up the sleepyheads. Lighthearted endpapers introduce facts about snails critical to the storyline: They sleep a lot, wake slowly, pull up to 200 times their weight, enjoy piggyback rides and have eyes in different locations.

Early risers will identify with Snippet’s dilemma.