The End of the Beginning
Avon the snail has never had an adventure. And adventure, he has heard, is the key to a happy life. So with his new friend Edward the ant, Avon sets out on a journey to find the excitement his life has been missing.
The travelers meet all manner of wise, weird, and intriguing creatures--including a dragon!--and it's not long before their adventures begin.
In the tradition of such classics as The Little Prince, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Winnie-the-Pooh, this completely original story--a modern fable for our time--brims with wit, wisdom, and profound insights about the meaning of things . . . great and small.
Reviews:
Grade 3 Up–A charming modern fable. Avon the snail's voracious reading convinces him that having an adventure is the key to a happy life so he sets out on a journey with his new friend, Edward the ant. In a series of very short chapters, the two travel–at a snail's pace–the length of a branch, meeting another snail, a caterpillar, a worm, a cricket, a salamander, and a mouse (whom Edward and Avon are sure is a dragon in disguise). Many insights unfold: "here" and "there" are not much different; while getting lost is easy, it's finding one's self that's hard; whether rushing or going slowly, one still arrives; and it is important to look at the world with one's heart and not just with one's eyes. The book is full of plays on "beginning" and "end." Until Avon and Edward help the worm, he is unsure which is his front and which is his back, and is doomed to a life without end. When they reach the end of the branch, are they actually at the end of the sky and the beginning of the branch? Avon and Edward turn around and head back, coming to a house that looks magically like Avon's own. The friends decide to live together in this magic castle. And so, true to the book's title, the beginning of their friendship ends. Whimsical pen-and-ink sketches add much to this wise little book. It's perfect for reading and discussing.–Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
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From Booklist:
Avon the Snail is a reader, so he knows that everyone leaves on a journey to find adventure. When he laves on his quest, he takes along Edward the Ant, and the friends find a dragon (in disguise, of course) as they travel from here to there, and discover that the end of the branch they are on is the beginning of the sky. With Tusa's occasional, expressive pencil drawings, this small chapter book seems part warm Frog-and-Toad-type friendship tale and part gentle farce. Young grade-schoolers will enjoy the slapstick with the small creatures; older ones will have fun with the wordplay (Father is stuck at home writing about fast food for Readers Digestion) and the situations (in a letter to his friend Avon writes about what he's doing--writing to his friend). Best of all is the fun with the heroic quest of leaving home to find home. A story that begs to be read aloud; even kindergartners will enjoy it. Hazel Rochman
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