Genie Snail (Bethany Loveridge, illus Chris Kennett, Little Book Press)

In Genie Snail, author Bethany Loveridge (Renegade Timeline Officer) and illustrator Chris Kennett combine forces to deliver a bright, engaging and hilarious story about a young child who meets a snail that turns out to be a genie. Readers become active participants in the adventure, working alongside the child to crack Genie Snail’s rhyming challenge. The result is a clever learning-through-play experience that sparks curiosity and encourages critical thinking. When the child discovers the snail can grant wishes, they ask for the most lavish things they can imagine: a bottomless bowl of ice cream with a lemonade fountain and a mega water slide with shade and no queue. Kennett’s illustrations amplify these fantasies with hyper-exaggerated colour, scale and energy, while his cartoony style adds humour to Genie Snail’s ridiculous rhyming counteroffers, such as a lifetime supply of leafy kale. Beyond the laughs, Genie Snail offers gentle lessons about listening and problem solving. It also celebrates perseverance and learning from mistakes, as the child keeps trying to get their wishes right even after multiple knock-backs from the snail. Ideal for readers aged 4 to 8, Genie Snail is perfect for fans of Kate and Jol Temple and Rebel Challenger’s G.O.A.T. series and Luke Springer’s Mr Luke’s Magic Library series, also illustrated by Kennett.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Nadia Heisler is a CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) writer with a background in journalism and a passion for children’s books. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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