Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a paean to the value of individual differences that is presented on a cosmic scale, Brain Pickings founder Popova (Figuring, for adults) relates the real-life story of Jeremy, a rare garden snail found in 2015 by a retired London scientist, whose shell spiraled to the left, signifying reversed internal anatomy--including a heart positioned on the right. Because of this, Jeremy, a hermaphrodite like all garden snails, required a similarly rare mate to procreate. Against a backdrop of biology, history, and genetics, Popova calls attention to differences of ability and the problem of the gender binary. In doing so, she elegantly underscores the desirability of genetic and other kinds of diversity, which is "always lovelier than sameness" and makes communities "stronger and better able to adapt to change." The book succeeds more as allegory than as informational text, with passages that bounce between metaphorical and scientific descriptions of gastropod reproduction and genetics. Ping Zhu's (The Strange Birds of Flannery O'Connor) art, however, turns a book about a humble snail into a riot of vibrant color, making for a celebration of the "strange and lovely little snail with a left-coiling shell and a right heart" that is shot through with a strange loveliness of its very own. Ages 7--12. (Feb.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2--4--This long, complex science picture book begins with a poetic description of the ancient origin of snails. A mysterious event (mutation) caused living creatures to form in the ocean. Mutation is a theme throughout the text, with the featured snail demonstrating the effect of recessive genes. The book's title might suggest that this is a story with a moral, but it's a biological indication of this snail's irregular physical characteristics. Its shell swirls to the left, unlike that of most snails, and its heart is located on the right rather than the left side of its body. Later on in the narrative, Dr. Angus Davidson asks everyday citizens to be on the lookout for other right-hearted snails for him to breed and study. Could such irregular genetic occurrences apply to humans? The text then explains snails' sexual identity and how they reproduce. Snails are hermaphrodites: Their bodies are both male and female. However, two snails often copulate "because diversity is always lovelier than sameness, and because it makes communities stronger and more able to adapt to change." Davidson's attempts at breeding are anti-climactic. He does not find any new right-hearted snails, but someday this rarity could occur again. Zhu's softly swirled paintings are rendered in shades of blue, green, orange, and yellow. VERDICT The romantic and anthropomorphic aspects of the story and explanations will appeal to some adult readers, and some parents and teachers may find this useful for introductory discussions of genetics, diversity, or evolution with children.--Margaret Bush, Simmons Coll., Boston
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Review by Horn Book Review
A snail possessing a rare left-spiraling shell is found by scientists and named Jeremy, even though it is not male but a hermaphrodite, like all snails. Jeremy not only has a "reversed" shell but its entire anatomy is flipped. This means Jeremy cannot mate with the overwhelming majority of snails because its reproductive parts won't line up with theirs. Popova skillfully employs metaphor to connect Jeremy's story to the underlying science of evolution, as in presenting the explanation of why snails, who can reproduce on their own, prefer to seek a mate: "because diversity is always lovelier than sameness, and because it makes communities stronger and better able to adapt to change." When scientists put out a call to the public to assist Jeremy in finding a partner with the "right" heart -- a clever dual meaning -- the search for sinistral snails turns up two, eventually allowing Jeremy to mate. Zhu's illustrations, filled with swirling expanses of color, brilliantly portray the concept of a recessive gene as a tiny but persistent snail silhouette inches across the pages and through geologic time. (c) Copyright 2023. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A poetic introduction to evolution, mutation, and the necessary reproduction to achieve both along the way. Author Popova takes readers on a journey through time, beginning with the emergence of single-celled organisms and ending on another one-in-a-million chance: a potential future snail with a particular, rare recessive gene. Gentle, lyrical text briefly outlines the evolution of modern life on Earth before introducing Jeremy, a common garden snail with a rare left-spiraling shell, found by chance by a human scientist who had recently listened to a snail researcher on the radio. So begins Jeremy the snail's path to the spotlight--with a few detours to touch on human politics, the concept of gender, and a floral metaphor or two about genetics. Tread lightly: The vivid and memorable (but never prurient) description of the mechanics of snail reproduction and the use of the scientific term hermaphrodite without discussion of the more polite ways humans might describe other humans (as opposed to snails) may produce some interesting family conversations. However, Zhu's soft, opaque illustrations of life on Earth, prehistoric and modern, micro and macro, are sure to enchant readers of all ages. The oversized trim allows her to play up the snail's tininess in long perspectives, and close-ups are luscious; both enhance the narration's sense of playful awe. A story as charmingly mesmerizing as a silvery snail's trail on a summer morning. (Informational picture book. 6-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
