A tale rooted in the oral tradition of the Irish Traveller community told by award-winning author Oein DeBhairduin and illustrated by Olya Anima.
Winner of Outstanding International Book, United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY), 2025
Nominated for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration, 2024
Shortlisted for the Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year (Junior), An Post Irish Book Awards, 2023
Beautifully illustrated.
Irish Times
Oein DeBhairduin’s tale, rooted in the oral tradition of the Irish Traveller community, is about identity and different ways of seeing the world. Two slugs travel happily together until a crow asks them where their home is. The younger brother, embarrassed, makes himself a shell, and calls himself snail. The older brother carries on as he is. At first, the brothers grow apart. But in time, they learn to respect each other’s way of life.
Fréamhaithe i dtraidisiún scéalaíochta an Lucht Siúil, is fáthscéal séimh é seo faoi éagsúlacht, féinghlacadh agus léargais éagsúla ar an domhan. Taistealaíonn dhá dhrúchtín, deartháireacha, le chéile go dtí go bhfiafraíonn seanchearc phréacháin díobh cá bhfuil a mbaile. Buaileann náire duine acu, a shocraíonn go dtógfaidh sé teach agus go dtabharfaidh sé ‘seilide’ air féin. Fuaraíonn caidreamh na ndeartháireacha agus fásann drochamhras eatarthu. Tá náire ar an drúchtín nach bhfuil blaosc aige go dtí go dtuigeann sé gurb ionann an bóthar a dtaistealaíonn sé air agus a bhaile agus, mar sin, beidh baile aige go deo. As seo amach tá an drúchtín sona beag beann ar dhrochmheas neacha eile agus tugann sé faoin saol le mórtas agus le muinín.
A warm story of difference and commonality
Sunday Independent
In a world full of prejudice, the message here is one of respect for all ways of life.
The Echo
A gorgeous, elegant book, with a profound, unforgettable message.
Meath Chronicle
A beautifully illustrated refreshing modern-day Aesop’s Fable … This sweet and unique picture book is rooted in the oral tradition of the Irish Traveller community and gently explores themes of belonging, community, friendship, acceptance, and feelings with a light-hearted and thoughtful touch.
BookTrust Northern Ireland
The Slug and the Snail is co-published with fellow Irish press Little Island.
Oein DeBhairduin
Oein DeBhairduin is a writer, activist and educator with a passion for preserving the beauty of Traveller tales, sayings, retellings and historic exchanges. Oein is the author of the award-winning Why the moon travels. His other works are Weave, The Slug and the Snail andTwiggy Woman. He is the Curator of Traveller Culture with the National Museum of Ireland and seeks to pair community activism with cultural celebration, recalling old tales with fresh modern connections and, most of all, he wishes to rekindle the hearth fires of a shared kinship.
Olya Anima is not just an Artist, Illustrator, and Visual Storyteller; she is a weaver of hidden connections and bearer of secret messages in her art. Her creations are more than mere images; they are illuminated with life, sparking a profound emotional connection with those who behold them. Olya’s current artistic focus revolves around the invisible realm of the unconscious, the intricate dance of relationships with nature, emotional resonance, metaphysical growth, and the transcendental essence of human existence.
