How to Staycation Like a Snail

In the follow-up to How to Party Like a Snail (www.cmreviews.ca/node/3172), Hrab brings back her loveable characters: introverted Snail, who "loves the quiet things about adventures," and his best friend, Stump, a tree stump "rooted in the ground". After declining an invitation to go on vacation with his friends, Snail realizes that having a fun and adventurous staycation with Stump is possible. They make an extra effort to smell, listen to, and notice their surroundings, noticing the light flickering through the autumn leaves. Reading through a travel book about their glade, they are interrupted by a group of visitors: parachute seeds from the sky, looking for a peaceful vacation. Snail and Stump show their new friends around, concluding that staycations last forever.

Snappy, hilarious, and heartwarming, How to Staycation Like a Snail is a welcome sequel to the author's previous work. It is a keenly perceptive and sensitive tale that will be appreciated by all seeking quiet moments amid busy lives. More importantly, it validates introverted feelings that many young children may experience but are not understood or supported by others - all in an amusing and entertaining tale. The palette of colours enhances the autumn scenes, with moss greens and apricot oranges dominating. While delightful and engaging, the illustrations and characters are simple and uncluttered, enhancing the calming theme of the story. The speech bubbles are integrated nicely with the main text and serve to enhance and not detract from it. With its high-quality storytelling, engaging illustrations, and relevant themes, How to Staycation Like a Snail is a must-have for all children's collections.