Imagine getting so very, very small that you could leave your house by a crack under the door and live, for a while, in your very own, private snail house. Imagine a tigerish bird, raindrops like sacks of water, an apple the size of a huge bomb. Imagine the adventures you might have... Now picture yourself on the verandah one warm summer's evening, with Michael, Hannah and the baby, as Grandma begins her story...

The beloved fable about loving your home from four-time Caldecott Honor-winner Leo Lionni. A young snail dreams of having the biggest house—or shell—in the world. Then one day, his wise father tells him the story of another snail with the same dream. He grew and grew, adding bright colors and beautiful designs, until he found that his house came at a terrible cost. The young snail decides that a small, easy-to-carry shell might be best for a life of adventure and exploration.

Following the trails of Hawai‘i’s snails to explore the simultaneously biological and cultural significance of extinction. In this time of extinctions, the humble snail rarely gets a mention. And yet snails are disappearing faster than any other species. In A World in a Shell, Thom van Dooren offers a collection of snail stories from Hawai‘i—once home to more than 750 species of land snails, almost two-thirds of which are now gone. Following snail trails through forests, laboratories, museums, and even a military training facility, and meeting with scientists and Native Hawaiians, van Dooren explores ongoing processes of ecological and cultural loss as they are woven through with possibilities for hope, care, mourning, and resilience. Van Dooren recounts the fascinating history of snail decline in the Hawaiian Islands: from deforestation for agriculture, timber, and more, through the nineteenth century shell collecting mania of missionary settlers, and on to the contemporary impacts of introduced predators. Along the way he asks how both snail loss and conservation efforts have been tangled up with larger processes of colonization, militarization, and globalization. These snail stories provide a potent window into ongoing global process of environmental and cultural change, including the largely unnoticed disappearance of countless snails, insects, and other less charismatic species. Ultimately, van Dooren seeks to cultivate a sense of wonder and appreciation for our damaged planet, revealing the world of possibilities and relationships that lies coiled within a snail’s shell.

Grandma tells Michael, Hannah, and their baby brother the story of three children who shrink to such a small size that they decide to live in a snail's shell.

Our international primary reading series will help your learners become confident, independent readers. Snail is looking for a house. Where can he live? Yellow Band books include longer story plots to support the development of inferential skills. There is more emphasis on learners' understanding through reading and less use of illustrations to show meaning. Longer sentences include a wider range of vocabulary while repetition is used for dramatic effect rather than to build high-frequency vocabulary. Contains full teaching support including learning outcomes, curriculum links and follow-up activities.

Norman, a slug who wants to be a snail, is determined to find something that will work as a shell.