Cover, Snutt the Ift, by Helen Ward. Available from Little Pickle Press
Every once in a great while a perfect children’s book comes along. Snutt the Ift: A Small but Significant Chapter in the Life of the Universe, published in America by Little Pickle Press, is one of those books. Written and illustrated by Helen Ward and originally published in the United Kingdom as Wonderful Life, the book relates the story of a small space-traveling animal who finds himself far from home and lonely. And then something wonderful happens.
Author and illustrator Helen Ward's studio
I won’t spoil it for you, but it truly is wonderful. Ward tells her story in spare, delicate, and evocative prose, but that’s just the start. She creates a fantastical watercolor world of blossiblums, butterflings, and whishgrass in her illustrations that young children will almost recognize. That slight dissonance provides 
a great springboard for discussions about the single greatest unspoken question of the book: Has Snutt found us? Does the dissonance in names and images reflect earth through the eyes of a small, weaselish scientist? Or is this another planet entirely?
The book also provides a way to introduce children to the natural world–how are butterflies like butterflings? How are they different? Just what kind of animal is Snutt? What kind of flowers does he discover? Do we have any here? You and your child will have many happy hours exploring along with Snutt.
All in all this book is a happy combination of poetic art and artistic copy, the kind of thing that can happen when an enormously talented writer and an enormously talented illustrator happen to share a body. Snutt’s story is printed using soy inks on recycled paper (to keep our wonderful corner of the universe wonderful). This is a beautiful, gentle book, just right for a bedtime story.
Author and Illustrator Helen Ward
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Tomorrow Snutt explores the Circle of Friends blog–catch up with him there.
Writing Prompt: One of the things that Helen Ward does well is play with perspective–readers are shown Snutt’s world from a dizzying variety of angles. Conversely, Snutt’s perspective–his view of his surroundings–remains consistent. It’s one of the things that helps readers to understand his character. Choose a character you know well–it might be someone in your writing, or someone in your life–and look at the world through his or her eyes for a few minutes. In what ways is this person’s perspective consistent with yours? In what ways is it different? Why?
What a great post, Sherry. This is one of the best blog book tour posts I’ve ever seen! The illustrations you picked are exactly right, too. Absolutely yummy – you really captured the essence of the book.
I’m so glad you like it, Dani–it really is a wonderful book.
Good luck to Helen and her tour and book! Looks like a cozy studio and a fun place to work.
I love this book, and this review was great. So glad that someone more in tune with children’s books found it as delightful as I did.
Thanks also for the writing prompt. I think it is always a good idea to sort out our perceptions from those of our characters. If we really want unique characters, we have to make sure they are seeing the world through their eyes. Early on in my writing, I noticed that I had a lot of characters liking the same things I do. Not necessarily a good thing.
Excellent point, Maryann. Your comment about your characters’ sharing your tastes brings up another issue–readers all too often assume that this is always the case. I’ve had readers become very upset because they assume that because I have included a perception or action in a story I must approve of it. To take this a step further, I wonder how this applies to Bible scholarship. I grew up on a conservative Christian home. Our church subscribed to the idea that Scriptures were literally true, and literally the Word of God, and that the actions of those “on God’s side” throughout the Bible had His endorsement. All sorts of trickery, barbarity, and dishonesty were presented as people acting in accordance with God’s will. Your comment raises an interesting point–were we assuming that because a story was included in the book God “wrote” that it reflected His perceptions and values? I am no longer a Christian and hold a very different view of the way the Bible was compiled, but since we’re talking about perceptions here, I’m wondering if understanding that a skillful writer often creates perspectives for his or her characters that differ from his or her own might not open doors for more a thoughtful interpretation of scripture. Just thinking here…
I do like the illustrations – very appealing.
Aren’t they, though, Alex? I find Snutt charming.
Great post, Sherry! I agree with you that the pairing of author and illustrator is a perfect marriage. Snutt the Ift is a show-stopper!
Hi Keith–Snutt is indeed a “show-stopper.” This book is a great argument for the idea that books written and illustrated by one person can explore questions in ways that bring special unity and depth to the work as a whole.
Snutt the Ift is a tremendous story which is enriched by the exquisite artwork. The illustrations really elevate the timeless message. There is a reason that Helen Ward’s works have sustained and continued to thrive over several decades.
I agree–I particularly like the visual pun at the end.
What a brilliant review of SNUTT THE IFT and I loved the peek into Helen Ward’s studio!
Thanks, Helena–isn’t that studio great? I love it.
I’m always in awe of artists. And I absolutely love the studio.
What I love is that she develops her story in such an organic way–the words and pictures just dance with each other.
I fell in love with Snutt the moment I laid eyes on him. My children adore him too. We have a running dialogue in our home about what the name of the Waft ought to be. Thanks so much for your fabulous post, Sherry.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Rana–I love Snutt, myself. Helen Ward is an amazing woman–I look forward to finding more of her books.