On Tuesday, children’s author Nick Jones began a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for his next picture book, Snailish.
Beautifully illustrated by Leo Brown, the book is about Squidge, a little slug who feels envious of snails because their shells keep them warm and safe. One day Squidge finds an empty sea shell and decides to wear it! But this is just the beginning of Squidge’s problems…
Snailish has important messages about self-acceptance, liking yourself the way you are and not being envious of others. Completely separate to the story, the book is quite original in that the central character is both male and female.
This is because slugs in real life are hermaphrodites, so it seemed appropriate to go against children’s book tradition and avoid the temptation to make Squidge either a boy or a girl. Squidge’s pronouns are therefore they/them.
Kickstarter have now chosen Snailish as a ‘Project We Love’, which means they will promote it on their platform. We are very excited to see thta Snailish has already nearly hit the target of £1,200, which will cover the printing costs of the book’s first run.
Please check out Nick’s Kickstarter here and pledge support if you can. There are various pledge options for individuals, schools and organisations.
