The Snail with the Right Heart: A True Story
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- Create Date：2021-04-19 09:51:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Maria Popova
- ISBN：1592703496
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Summary
Based on a real scientific event and inspired by a beloved real human in the author's life， this is a story about science and the poetry of existence; about time and chance， genetics and gender， love and death， evolution and infinity -- concepts often too abstract for the human mind to fathom， often more accessible to the young imagination; concepts made fathomable in the concrete， finite life of one tiny， unusual creature dwelling in a pile of compost amid an English garden。 Emerging from this singular life is a lyrical universal invitation not to mistake difference for defect and to welcome， across the accordion scales of time and space， diversity as the wellspring of the universe's beauty and resilience。
Reviews
Ellon
，
So I appreciate the beauty of the illustrations。 I also think that the concept of genes was explained well in this book。 But overall， the book left me feeling like "what did I just read？" I think it might have been the paragraph of description of snail sex （and the several later references to it）。 I also think that possibly the anthropomorphic descriptions threw me too （like talking about how the snail was an aunt-uncle and then how the one snail left the other snail because "the heart wants wha So I appreciate the beauty of the illustrations。 I also think that the concept of genes was explained well in this book。 But overall， the book left me feeling like "what did I just read？" I think it might have been the paragraph of description of snail sex （and the several later references to it）。 I also think that possibly the anthropomorphic descriptions threw me too （like talking about how the snail was an aunt-uncle and then how the one snail left the other snail because "the heart wants what it wants"）。 So while I learned a lot about snails and I think the science concepts were interesting， the book just left a bizarre impression in my head。 。。。more
mg
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These illustrations are STUNNINGLY gorgeous！ I want prints of each spread。 Truly， they are breathtaking。The story is quite interesting， and I especially loved that it didn't have a happy little， everything worked out magically kind of ending。 I was honestly shocked to see the word hermaphrodite here referring to Jeremy， but I did look it up and apparently it's ok to use the word to refer to animals/botany/etc。 It feels so weird to read， though， that it left me with some unease。 Loved that Jeremy These illustrations are STUNNINGLY gorgeous！ I want prints of each spread。 Truly， they are breathtaking。The story is quite interesting， and I especially loved that it didn't have a happy little， everything worked out magically kind of ending。 I was honestly shocked to see the word hermaphrodite here referring to Jeremy， but I did look it up and apparently it's ok to use the word to refer to animals/botany/etc。 It feels so weird to read， though， that it left me with some unease。 Loved that Jeremy was referred to with they/them pronouns throughout the book， though！ （And IRL， of course。） 。。。more
Angelina
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3。5 stars
Tina Hoggatt
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Lovely retelling of a scientific rarity， with philosophy thrown in for good measure。
Elisabeth
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I wanted to love this， because I love Maria Popova and Brain Pickings and especially her lists of picture books。 But I didn't。 The art was too simplistic for me。 The writing was good， but kind of all over the place。 It's a great marvel that could have been a great story， but it wasn't told very well。 I don't think kids will get into it。 Maybe the ones who are really into science will。 The more I think about it， I think the art was what bothered me。 It didn't tell a story。 The illustrations felt I wanted to love this， because I love Maria Popova and Brain Pickings and especially her lists of picture books。 But I didn't。 The art was too simplistic for me。 The writing was good， but kind of all over the place。 It's a great marvel that could have been a great story， but it wasn't told very well。 I don't think kids will get into it。 Maybe the ones who are really into science will。 The more I think about it， I think the art was what bothered me。 It didn't tell a story。 The illustrations felt very static。 There were no characters。 Even the snails were hard to tell apart。 And without characters， there's no identification or empathy。 But then this is non-fiction。。。。。 Maybe that's the problem: it can't decide if it's a story or a fact book。 And I think it will languish in the library because of that。 Our library has catalogued it in non-fiction with snails。 Kids looking for books for reports can't use it， and no one will find it browsing。 So where does it belong？ Perhaps， like Jeremy， this book is unique and doesn't have a place。 。。。more
Debra Hines
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Amazing picture books。 The true story of this one in a million snails not only looks at evolution and genetics， but makes us consider how differences can be strengths。 Such a fantastic book for older children and adults。
Katy
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stoner hippy children's science picture book？ stoner hippy children's science picture book？ 。。。more
Margaret
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Beautiful true story about a special snail。
Gordon
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I so wish I could be as enthused about Maria Popova's The Snail with the Right Heart: A True Story as so many 5-star raters are。 In fact I was eager to read it in part because of all the comments about gender and pronouns。 The cover art also appeared quite promising。 However， upon reading the book， which at its core is an attempt to explain recessive genes to young readers， I couldn't help but feel that the writing is pretty well muddled， guidance from the editor lax， and the artwork not living I so wish I could be as enthused about Maria Popova's The Snail with the Right Heart: A True Story as so many 5-star raters are。 In fact I was eager to read it in part because of all the comments about gender and pronouns。 The cover art also appeared quite promising。 However， upon reading the book， which at its core is an attempt to explain recessive genes to young readers， I couldn't help but feel that the writing is pretty well muddled， guidance from the editor lax， and the artwork not living up to the promise from the cover。I frankly thought the effort was derailed from page one。 While others， including the Kirkus Review， find the opening few pages about evolutionary concepts from billions of years ago charming， I found them to be confusing without a more immediate connection to snails， which is really just a matter of editing。 Reverse the order - introduce a snail （perhaps even Jeremy）， then introduce evolution by explaining how it relates to the physiology of the snail。 Without a more immediate connection， it seems as though the wrong book is sitting inside the correct dust jacket。Then there's the attempt to wade into the politically-charged area of gender and pronouns。 While a discussion of Jeremy's gender is highly significant given that snails are hermaphrodites and that requires an explanation that a child's mind can wrap around， trying to then apply the singular neutral pronoun of "they/them" to a snail called "Jeremy" is exceedingly messy and is latched onto without any successful attempt to explain further。 In this way， the book is a bit dumbed down for the sake of its audience。Likewise， the author is very choosy about when to get highly scientific and when to be vague and cutesy。 Having referenced the term hermaphrodite and successfully navigated the briefest trip around that concept， Ms。 Popova then introduces Latin to the young reader by referencing the term "situs inversus" just to be able to continue to use the phrase over and over again， rather than the exceedingly lengthy， commonplace English meaning， "inverted internal organs"。 Why use three words when two will suffice， especially when reaching for a Siebert Prize？ So when one uses words like hermaphrodite and "situs inversus"， why then shy away from equally complicated subjects for children like reproduction and genitalia and revert to dumbing it down with substitutions like "baby-making parts" and "love dart"？ While I understand that even the scientific community calls gypsobelum "love darts"， it nonetheless felt like a cop out given the use of other language in the book。I appreciate that Jeremy was an actual snail who lived roughly 2015-2017， and that a public appeal was launched to help find a mate for them so that numerous additional offspring with recessive genes could be created for scientific study。 I truly love Jeremy's story and the scientific concepts that their life illuminates on a very basic level for children to grasp。 For me， however， unlike the Kirkus review that enthuses this is "a story as charmingly mesmerizing as a silvery snail’s trail on a summer morning" that silvery trail turns out to be nothing more than mucus or to dumb it down yet further， slime。 。。。more
Betsy
，
In what area of your life do you consider yourself “conservative”？ Are there places in this great green world where you do not budge an inch？ Where you could never ever be swayed？ I ask this because as a reviewer of books intended for children I have to remain conscious at all times that every product I consider has had to squeeze itself through my own particular lens。 And what makes my lens any better than your lens？ This sort of question becomes abundantly clear whenever I look at a work of no In what area of your life do you consider yourself “conservative”？ Are there places in this great green world where you do not budge an inch？ Where you could never ever be swayed？ I ask this because as a reviewer of books intended for children I have to remain conscious at all times that every product I consider has had to squeeze itself through my own particular lens。 And what makes my lens any better than your lens？ This sort of question becomes abundantly clear whenever I look at a work of nonfiction。 For children’s books， I give almost no quarter。 Fake dialogue is my Achilles heel and if I see so much as a hint of it in a book then I recoil like a vampire huffing garlic。 As far as I'm concerned， fake dialogue is just the element that suggests greater， wider problems with the total product。 So what happens when I come across a book that stirs the fictional and informational elements of a story together in more creative， socially conscious ways？ In the core of my being， I want to slot books into clear-cut， neat little categories。 To box them up with labels and not have to think about them anymore。 Most publishers are happy enough with this arrangement and don’t attempt to question it。 Then you get a publisher like Enchanted Lion Books。 Or an author like Maria Popova。 Smoosh the two together， and you end up with a book as beautiful， in every sense of the word， as The Snail With the Right Heart。 Subtitle: A True Story。 Not wrong。 But not something I can slot away。 A book that dares to play with storytelling and science in a wholly different way。It could have been ignored。 Forgotten completely， had a retired scientist not seen its shell。 Upon closer inspection the little snail appeared to be backwards。 Its shell did not spiral to the right but to the left。 And since the scientist had heard snail researcher Dr。 Angus Davidson on the radio not long before， he delivered the little specimen。 Dubbed Jeremy， Dr。 Davidson set about finding the snail a mate with a similar case of situs inversus （a condition in which one’s internal organs are “inverted”）。 Lo and behold two more such snails were found， but they mated with one another rather than Jeremy。 Fortunately， Jeremy was eventually able to have offspring， but none of them reflected what it was that made Jeremy so unique。 Nevertheless， someday in the future， perhaps another snail will share those very traits。 Long after we’re gone and some of the stars have disappeared from our sky。This leads us to a very big question surrounding this book: Is it or is it not nonfiction？ I mean， we’re living the Golden Age of Backmatter。 If I pick up a nonfiction book of any sort， I wanna see some killer resources， websites， and recommended reads at the back。 I want additional information about Jeremy that couldn’t make the text because there simply wasn’t room， or it didn’t fit。 So why wasn’t there any？ The key to this might lie in an accompanying release that was sent to reviewers。 There is a line in it that states that this book is merely “Based on a true story”。 Indeed， the Publishers Weekly review said that the book “succeeds more as allegory than as informational text， with passages that bounce between metaphorical and scientific descriptions of gastropod reproduction and genetics。” But does poeticism of text automatically negate a book’s factual content？ Is it impossible to write beautifully and still be considered informational？ One way of determining the book’s content is to take a look at where libraries have been shelving it。 A cursory look at nine libraries in my consortium revealed that all but one had placed it in the nonfiction section。 And even the sole library that listed it as fiction gave it a call number of 594。3。To my mind， Popova has managed to do what some of the best nonfiction is capable of accomplishing。 She has taken a true story and breathed life into it to make it human。 Her writing at the very start says， “Long ago， before half the stars that speckle the sky were born and before the mountains rose reaching for them， a giant ocean covered the Earth。” This sentence is a warning of sorts。 It tells the reader precisely what kind of title they have in their hands。 And if the adult gatekeeper reads the line “reaching for them” and something deep inside revolts， this may not be the book for them。 Another clue？ The cute title。 The Snail With the Right Heart。 As Shakespeare would say， “There’s a double meaning in that。” For still others they will have difficulty with the anthropomorphizing。 “Doctor Angus didn’t want Jeremy to be lonesome。” These were the parts that I personally had the most difficulty with。 I’m not sure it was necessary to add that component to the storytelling。 A scientist can be both affectionate and professional without having to base their experiments on a personal connection， after all。 The best way to understand this book is to understand Ms。 Popova’s connection to the source material。 On her site Brain Pickings she credits two inspirations。 The first， is The Little Prince which， she says， “I reread once a year every year for basic soul-maintenance”。 This explains a great deal。 Like The Little Prince this book aims outside its own borders。 Unlike it， it still is restricted to the confines of nonfiction。 The second influence is “a beloved young human in my own life， who is living with the same rare and wondrous variation of body as the real-life mollusk protagonist。” Indeed， Popova has vowed to， “donate all my author’s proceeds from the book to the Children’s Heart Foundation， whose quarter-century devotion to funding research and scientific collaborations is shedding light on congenital heart conditions to help young humans with unusual hearts live longer， wider lives。” Once I learned these details， the parts of the book that hadn’t quite coalesced together before came together at last。 Curiously， the ending of the book reminded me， in a lot of ways， of Gene Luen Yang’s Dragon Hoops。 That book too is a nonfiction story but written within a storytelling framework。 Yang， who puts himself directly into the narrative， frets throughout the book that if the sports team that he’s following doesn’t win the championship they’re aiming for， it might ruin this book that he is writing。 Similarly， in Snail Popova builds up the narrative to a point where you may begin to believe that the ultimate goal here would be if Jeremy were to produce another situs inversus offspring。 Instead， while it is capable of reproducing with another， that never happens。 One of my co-workers actually was not a huge fan of this book because they， “found Jeremy’s story depressing--if they were trying to inspire me they didn’t succeed”。 I might have felt the same if Jeremy hadn’t actually sired some offspring eventually。 Instead， I think I might call this story bittersweet more than anything else。 If it were strictly science-based we might get some poignant words about how the experiments you run don’t always go according to plan。 Instead， the focus remains squarely on Jeremy’s short life and the hope that someday， perhaps far in the future （maybe when some of the stars that speckle the sky are gone） there might be another snail just like Jeremy。 And there’s a poetry to that thought。Ping Zhu， as it happens， created the cover art for Popova’s previous （and adult） book for Enchanted Lion Press， A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader。 Ping has done a few books for children and in this book， she was given a kind of leniency that I suspect other artists would envy。 The art appears to be watercolors， and the colors just pop。 While most garden variety snails are not usually considered the most colorful of critters， Ping finds broad sweeps of color in other places。 From the metaphorical parade of evolution to the snail sex page （oh yeah， it’s there， "love darts" and all） to the final image of a sun setting and the sky a red/orange/yellow/blue/purple/pink throb of tones， this is a treat to the eye。 My favorite part is the book’s most blatant indulgence。 In a section discussing genes， recessive and otherwise， the page inexplicably lifts out of the book， in a kind of half-gatefold， to reveal what is essentially three pages of vegetation and the occasional creepy crawly。 It doesn’t need to be there and yet the book is stronger for its inclusion。 I just love it。 I wish more children’s books could surprise us with unnecessary beauty once in a while。 In the midst of all that beauty， though， there are things I might have changed。 You can indulge in （for lack of a better word） lyrical writing and still have backmatter。 That doesn’t hurt anyone and it gives the book a wider audience。 The thing that I would have changed even more readily， however， I was the fact that while Jeremy is said quite clearly to be neither male nor female and that “Jeremy is a they”， the book then immediately goes back to calling the snail “he” for the remainder of the text。 And in an era were we are seeing too few “theys” in our children’s books， it hurt to so quickly lose that momentary elation I felt。 The book， I should say， is a little inconsistent on this point。 At the very end it goes back to calling Jeremy “they” but not long before we have sentences that say things like “Jeremy’s heart was also on the right-wrong side， as were all his vital body parts。” So I chalk this up as an copyediting snafu more than anything else。 An easy catch that got missed before the final printing。Clearly I like to spend inordinate amounts of time fretting over what does or does not make a book nonfiction。 But you know what？ This book is talking about genetics， genes， evolution， and biology in fun， original ways for children。 Popova manages to stay within the range of accurate informational fiction while also making her story read as fluidly and beautifully as any work of fantasy。 There’s no fake dialogue。 She doesn’t （and I cannot stress enough how grateful I am that she doesn’t do this） jump into the mind of the snail to get its perspective （though she does speculate just once）。 And the art is just stunning and strange。 Wordless gatefolds and sunsets and take a peek under the book’s jacket sometime to see what’s hidden there。 Honestly， I can see how this book could upset people who like their science a bit more rigorous than what you’ll find here， but I like it， flaws and all。 It’s a book that takes risks， makes mistakes， and comes out memorable in the end。 The right snail with the right heart in the right book for the right reader。 For ages 6-10 。。。more
Kristin
，
This might be nonfiction， but the illustrations and tone are rather "cosmic" in nature。 Hippies will love this。 Seriously。 I felt like I was listening to a Blue Oyster Cult record while reading this。。。 Maybe Blue Snail Cult？ :-\ This might be nonfiction， but the illustrations and tone are rather "cosmic" in nature。 Hippies will love this。 Seriously。 I felt like I was listening to a Blue Oyster Cult record while reading this。。。 Maybe Blue Snail Cult？ :-\ 。。。more
Jeanne
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Everyone should read this book。
Maeve
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The story of the snail， Jeremy， who was a scientific wonder because of recessive genes that made their shell swirl to the left。 While Jeremy is the focus of the story， topics such as the first living creature， genetics， other scientific marvels， and non-binary pronouns are also covered。
Caroline Edinger
，
A great story to read to your students regarding the wonders of science， evolution， genetics， probability and a country’s collective determination to seek answers。 The title sounds strange but trust me- it’s worth finding out！ I highly， HIGHLY recommend this book。 Your students will be filled with curiosity and questions。 You might even consider getting a snail as a class pet！ I got a couple！ The watercolor illustrations are spectacular。 Bravo to the author and illustrator！
Christine Whittington
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"The Snail with the Right Heart" is a true story。 The snail's name is Jeremy and he was different from other snails because his shell spiraled to the left instead of the right and all of his organs were reversed。 This is a recessive trait that very few snails have。 Jeremy's heart was on the right side of his body instead of the left。 He happened to have been discovered by a retired scientist who had just heard an interview with a snail researcher， Dr。 Angus Davidson--an excellent example of sync "The Snail with the Right Heart" is a true story。 The snail's name is Jeremy and he was different from other snails because his shell spiraled to the left instead of the right and all of his organs were reversed。 This is a recessive trait that very few snails have。 Jeremy's heart was on the right side of his body instead of the left。 He happened to have been discovered by a retired scientist who had just heard an interview with a snail researcher， Dr。 Angus Davidson--an excellent example of synchronicity。 The retired scientist sent Jeremy to Dr。 Davidson， who began a worldwide attempt to find him a mate who also had a left-spiraling shell。 This lushly illustrated book is the sweet story of Jeremy， genetics， evolution， snail love and reproduction and， underlying it all， the miracle of nature。 It is a children's book， but those children who do not already know how human babies are made may ask a lot of questions！ Snails are both male and female， so they can mate with themselves or with other snails。 Jeremy's pronouns are "they" and "them。" Popova describes snail sex as like "fitting puzzle pieces together" and sex will from now on be referred to in my own household as "puzzle-piecing。" "The Snail with the Right Heart" is a beautiful， charmingly written book with gorgeous illustrations。 Fascinated readers can find out more about Jeremy--he has his own Wikipedia page: https://en。wikipedia。org/wiki/Jeremy_。。。 。。。more
Amy Hanson
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This book is a beautiful story with beautiful artwork。 This was a great tale of acceptance and being OK with differences and how remarkable they are！
Tadeas Petak
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Delightuflly illustrated and even more beautifully written， this was on of the prettiest 30-minute elucidations of recessive genes， salutations to the cosmic chance， and ruminations on life itself I've ever had the pleasure with。 Delightuflly illustrated and even more beautifully written， this was on of the prettiest 30-minute elucidations of recessive genes， salutations to the cosmic chance， and ruminations on life itself I've ever had the pleasure with。 。。。more
Stephani
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Loved this book。
Anita
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I just wanted to express how much I appreciated this new picture book by Maria Popova， The Snail with the Right Heart。 It was perfect to share with my differently-wired son。 We liked that the snail's heart was different， like my son's was different， and liked that it went in depth about genetic mutations （hard to find in a picture book。） It does approach topics of reproduction and gender identity within a scientific framework， so pre-read if you're nervous about that， but I think it handles thos I just wanted to express how much I appreciated this new picture book by Maria Popova， The Snail with the Right Heart。 It was perfect to share with my differently-wired son。 We liked that the snail's heart was different， like my son's was different， and liked that it went in depth about genetic mutations （hard to find in a picture book。） It does approach topics of reproduction and gender identity within a scientific framework， so pre-read if you're nervous about that， but I think it handles those topics with compassion and wisdom。 。。。more
Jennifer Kelley
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What an enchanting tale， a true story of a snail whose shell spiraled left instead of right。 So beautifully written and illustrated！
Martha Meyer
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Absolutely magical book about a true story - the discovery of a snail whose shell revolves left instead of right， this book is also a meditation on genes and life and the wonder of being a “they”。 More reads！ This is definitely list。
Margaret Lukens
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I heartily recommend this children's picture book to: children too young to read， lovers of illustration， gardeners， children with a genetic ailment， parents of children with a medical challenge， scientists， elementary school teachers， young children interested in bugs， lovers of poetic language used in places other than poetry， budding biologists， adults in need of a jolt of wonder， anyone in charge of religious training for small children。 And others。 I heartily recommend this children's picture book to: children too young to read， lovers of illustration， gardeners， children with a genetic ailment， parents of children with a medical challenge， scientists， elementary school teachers， young children interested in bugs， lovers of poetic language used in places other than poetry， budding biologists， adults in need of a jolt of wonder， anyone in charge of religious training for small children。 And others。 。。。more
Anu
，
Ok， I pre-ordered and was waiting impatiently for the book。 Beautiful art and heartwarming story。 Worth the wait。 Love Maria Popova’s characteristic metaphors and melding of science and poetry。 Deducting one star in the hope that someday， her writing celebrates brevity and shines even brighter。
Earl
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