posted on 16 May 2024

Slug Life by Moesha Kellaway

You might think that trying to rehabilitate the reputation of slugs is something of a lost cause. If you see a slug and your automatic response is say that they are disgusting, slimy nuisances then I suspect you’re in tune with the majority of people – especially those who see them as a menace to their beloved garden plants.

Fortunately for the humble slug population it has a new champion – author and illustrator, Moesha Kellaway. Her new picture book, Slug Life, is intent on turning this ‘shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc’ (Wikipedia) into something of a super-hero – and doing quite a good job of it.

Stevie the slug has a huge problem with self-esteem. He’s permanently grumpy – very grumpy – over the way humans assume that slugs are horrid, hateful creatures. In an effort to overcome his dismal moods, his mother decides to send him to Mr Babosa’s self-esteem classes. And it’s quite an eye-opening journey for Stevie.

His first discovery is that slugs are a rather cunning evolutionary relative of the snail and that they have lost their shells so that they can be much more flexible. On top of that there are loads of different types of slugs – the banana slug, the leopard slug, the ghost slug and lots more. They’ve even found their way into our seas and oceans – the donut slug, the sea angel, the blue dragon….

As well as munching on your pot plants slugs are central to the proper working of the soil and ultimately make a crucial contribution to the food chain because they also gobble up plenty of dead matter and are themselves food for other key species.

You will almost certainly be familiar with slug trails too – those glistening, meandering lines of slime that alert you to the presence of the slug. Well, Stevie’s next lesson is to discover just what a miracle of nature that slime trail represents – I promise you that when you read about the science behind it, you’ll be completely amazed.

Ultimately you will want to know if Stevie’s time at slug self-esteem classes has a positive effect on his mood. Well, I’m not giving any more away – you’re going to have to find that out for yourself by getting hold of the book.

Published by Rocket Bird Books, you will be able to get a copy from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order it for you if they don’t have copies on their shelves.

 

Terry Potter

May 2024