Do you have a slowpoke in your family? You know the person who can never seem to get things done quickly, who doesn’t like to rush.

Deborah Kerbel has hilariously highlighted the plight of the slow poke in her new story Slow Moe illustrated by Marianne Ferrer. Moe is a snail and he’s also a little brother driving his big sister crazy because he is SO slow! The funny thing is, when there are no grown ups around he turns into a kid: a running, jumping, swinging kid. Even though it’s frustrating to have a snail/younger brother in the family the narrator still loves him.

Deborah Kerbel has cleverly taken the sometimes frustrating slow poke in the family and put a very smart spin on them. Sometimes they just need to take their time and contemplate to get themselves moving. We all have different quirks, things that drive our siblings or parents a little bit bonkers (especially now as we are having to spend all the livelong day with each other) but in the end we still love each other because we are family after all. Slow Moe is traditional in its depictions of family: mom, dad, sister, brother and could lead to a great discussion of family and how all families are different, some even have snails for siblings. 

Marianne Ferrer’s illustrations are fantastic.  They are colourful and full of hidden surprises as you look at each page. You get subtle hints that Moe may not actually be a snail after all.