Describe The Snail and the Whale Pictures
Blind kids benefit from picture descriptions every bit as much as sighted kids do from seeing the pictures. Don't forget to share these picture descriptions, written by a descriptive audio expert especially for Great Expectations!
Picture Descriptions for The Snail and the Whale
Front cover
- A pale blue sky hangs over a tropical island cove. In the distance, mountains stand behind lush green hills. Palm trees line a sandy beach. In the water, a tiny snail clings to the tail fin of a big black whale. Water sprays from the blowhole on the whale's back. His wide mouth stretches into a smile as he looks back at the snail. A colorful parrot flies overhead. A toucan, a black-and-white bird with a long yellow beak, perches atop a swaying palm tree. On the beach, a red crab scurries toward a patch of pink flowers.
The scene wraps around to the back cover where a green lizard rests on a rock, and a fuzzy brown monkey climbs a palm tree.Title page
- A red-and-white striped lighthouse stands atop a grassy beachside cliff. The whale swims in the foreground. His little passenger (the snail) rides on the tip of his curved tail fin.
First spread of story
- A smooth black rock pokes up out of the water. Green and yellow seaweed and clusters of white barnacles cling to its surface.
A tiny golden-brown snail wears a spiral shell on her back. Two short antennae sprout from her round head.
A seaport teems with life. A few seagulls swoop and dive. One is on a rock with a silvery fish in its beak. Another perches atop a trio of wooden pylons jutting up out of the water. A tugboat motors toward a lighthouse on shore near two cargo ships anchored at a dock. An orange tabby cat lazing on a high rock wall stares hungrily at a seagull sitting nearby.
At the foot of the wall, an overturned oil drum lies among another old drum and some debris washed up on the beach: a green glass bottle, pieces of driftwood, and a fish skeleton.
The little snail, perched on a big black rock dotted with seaweed and barnacles, takes in the vast scene. In the distance, three ships head out to the open sea.Text begins: "These are the other snails…"
- Nine more snails rest on the rock. They watch as the tiny snail writes a message out of slime!
The message "Ride wanted around the world" covers the rock in big curvy letters. The other snails eye the words as the afternoon sky turns yellow with the setting sun.Text begins: "This is the whale…"
- A crescent moon hangs in a night sky dotted with bright white stars. A gigantic whale pokes his head and tail above the surface of the sea. The whale gazes at the little snail, who smiles up at him from her perch on the rock.
The whale offers his tail fin to the little snail. She slithers onto its jagged, pointy tip.Text begins: "This is the sea…"
- The snail clings to the whale's tail fin held high above the icy waters. She looks so tiny set against the wintry gray sky! A dozen penguins gather on a massive iceberg. A few dive into the choppy sea. Nearby, two roly-poly seals bob along in the waves. A third rests on an ice floe.
Text begins: "With fiery mountains…"
- In a sunny island cove, the whale glances back at the snail and sprays water from his blowhole. Two playful dolphins leap into the air, while a turtle rests on the sand near the water's edge. In the distance, an erupting volcano shoots yellow-orange flames into the sky. Ash rains down over the mountainous ridge. A fuzzy brown monkey looks on from the high branches of a tree.
Text begins: "These are the waves…"
- The snail squeezes her eyes shut and holds onto the whale's tail with all her might.
Text begins: "These are the caves…"
- Three sleek gray sharks bare their razor-sharp teeth as they glide past the whale and the snail. A green octopus with long tentacles swims over them. Several striped fish flit among the coral as a blue lobster peeks out from its dark cave.
Text begins: "This is the sky…"
- The snail and the whale visit a tropical beach. Two crabs play in the sand under a palm tree. Two parrots relax on its feathery branches.
The snail and the whale proceed through a stormy sea. Lightning flashes all around them.Text begins: "And she gazed at the sky…"
- At the edge of a forest, a brown bear eyes the snail and the whale from a distance.
A bald eagle soars overhead, nearly as high as the snowy mountain peaks beyond the tree line.Text begins: "But then came the day…"
- Laughing boaters wearing swimsuits and sunglasses race their speedboats through choppy waves. Water sprays from their engines as the wind whips everything in their wake.
Text begins: "This is the tide…"
- The whale and the snail find themselves stranded on a sandy beach. A seagull in the sky gazes down at them.
Text begins: "And this is the whale…"
- The whale lies helpless on the sand with only the tip of his tail remaining in the water. Nearby, a path from the beach leads to a schoolhouse.
The snail hops off the whale and crawls toward the low white building.Text begins: "This is the bell…"
- The grassy schoolyard overlooks the beach. A group of children play outside at recess. The teacher rings a bell when recess is over.
The teacher stands in front of a blackboard and looks sternly at her students as they come in from recess.Text begins: "And this is the snail…"
- Back in the classroom, the children sit at their desks. Student drawings hanging on a wall show palm trees, a dinosaur, and a whale! The blackboard is in the center of the room.
The snail writes a message on the blackboard! The students watch the snail in amazement. The surprised teacher, her eyes bulging, drops her chalk.Text begins: "These are the children…"
- The children run down to the beach. Three red fire trucks follow.
Text begins: "Squirting and spraying…"
- Firefighters spray their hoses at the whale. The schoolchildren and villagers all pitch in to help! They dig a hole around the whale. It fills with water. A boy holds the snail so she can see everyone working to save her friend.
Text begins: "This is the tide…"
- The rising tide lifts the whale back into the water! He smiles at the snail making her way down his back.
Text begins: "And these are the villagers…"
- The villagers wave as the whale turns toward the open sea. The snail clings once again to her perch on the whale's pointed tail fin.
Text begins: "Back to the dock…"
- The snail and the whale return to their home port. A little gray fish leaps through the waves. A tuxedo cat inches along a high rock wall where a rusty freighter towers over the dock. The snail, not quite as tiny as when she left on her adventure, greets her friends on the smooth black rock.
Text begins: "And the whale and the snail…"
- The whale lowers his tail onto the rock so that all the snails can join him!
Text begins: "And they sang to the sea…"
- Nine snails balance on the whale's tail fin, gazing excitedly at the big world ahead. The evening sky glows yellow and purple with the colors of the setting sun. In the distance, three boats glide over the water. The whale looks back at the snails with a grin on his face. Water sprays from his blowhole. A tall black bird stands on the rock and watches them go.
Endpaper:
- Two stripey yellow and green fish with feathery red fins stare with wide round eyes.
Back cover:
- In the sea, nine golden-brown snails perch on a big rock. They wear twisty spiral shells on their backs. Little antennae sprout from their round heads.
These descriptions were written by Jill Robbins for Great Expectations.
