The White Snail
Written and illustrated by Iliana Metallinou aka Liana Metal
The White Snail includes an exciting story and educational material appropriate for young readers. It is the first of a series of books that aims to encourage children to read stories while, at the same time learn about nature. At the end of each book there are educational activities.
The White Snail’s basic theme is self-esteem that develops from early childhood. The hero of this story believes that he is not equal to the other snails just because he is different. This story is about the differences among people or peoples generally. It caters not only to young kids but also to adults, parents and teachers.
This series also aims to highlight some of the small miracles of nature, that we usually take for granted. The White Snail encourages the reader to notice snails closely and learn some facts about them via the educational activity at the end of the book.
BILINGUAL ΤΕΧΤ: GREEK/ENGLISH
This book can be read both in Greek and English. Thus, it caters to Foreign Language education as well as to readers all over the world.
Author and illustrator, Iliana Metallinou, holds a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics, is an artist, a book reviewer, former Language School owner, and nature lover. http://lianastories.blogspot.com
Available at Vasilis Savvanis Publications, Corfu, Greece,
www.aggelia-online.gr, local bookstores and kiosks.
The White Snail
ISBN: 978-960-98648-0-0
Paperback, 32 pages, 16x16 cm
5.50 euros
The White Snail by Liana Metal
Five Stars: A delightful children’s book
Liana Metal is a talented writer of children’s stories and it shines in her latest book The White Snail. The White Snail is about a happy, lovable white snail, who wishes his “home” was brown like all the other snails. He meets a lovely female snail, who admires his beautiful white home, and the white snail soon realizes that the grass is always greener on the other side.
The illustrations, done by Liana Metal, are cleverly designed. Young children who do not read yet, can easily follow the story while looking at the lovable animals. I particularly enjoyed reading the Greek version. It took me back to my Greek school days when I was in elementary school and had to go to Greek school right after regular school, 3 days a week. Some of the words I am familiar with but with others, I have to guess. With some words, I didn’t know what they meant and had to guess from the story. I didn’t know what the word for snail was in Greek and now I do.
Pauline Papacalos-Hager
Author of Memoirs of an American housewife in Japan
The White Snail
Reviewed by Maria Gouna
ETL teacher, Greece
Very Highly Recommended
Liana Metal is an EFL teacher and freelance writer from Greece. She has been writing articles, children’s stories, non-fiction books and short stories, as well as ELT books for classroom use for a very long time. Among her books are: “ The Hostel”, “Bedtime stories”, “Writing Basics”, “Flowers for Women”.
The White Snail is about a snail that differs from the others in that he is not brown but he is white and so he thinks that he is not as beautiful as the rest of the snails. As a result, he decides to paint his “house” brown! But what will happen? Will he be able to achieve his goal? Will the other snails laugh at him or accept him as he is? And finally, will he ever realise that to be different is not bad?
Written in a simple language without difficult verbal images or exaggerations and double-spaced, it is a book that is suitable for very young children as well as for the “older” ones. Moreover, it is fully illustrated by the writer herself and this is an aspect that makes the book more interesting and entertaining. Most important of all is the fact that the writer tries and succeeds in introducing young readers to concepts such as discrimination, racism and love for animals in an amusing and easy way. It is absolutely a book that caters to everyone!
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