The End of the Beginning: Being the Adventures of a Small Snail (and an Even Smaller Ant)

by Avi, Tricia Tusa (Illustrator)

Overview

Small steps lead to big adventures for a pair of unlikely friends in this “charming modern fable” by the Newbery Medal-winning author of Crispin (Booklist).
 
Avon the snail has never had an adventure. And adventure, he has heard, is the key to a happy life. So he sets out on an exciting journey with his new pal, Edward, a thoughtful but misinformed ant. Together they meet all manner of wise, weird, and intriguing creatures—including a dragon!—and discover that even tiny adventures can broaden your view of the world.
    
“This finely-spun fantasy…features ingenious wordplay and heartfelt proof of friendship’s rewards.”—Parenting magazine

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547539249
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	12/15/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	153
Lexile:	560L (what's this?)
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 Months to 11 Years

About the Author

AVI has written many acclaimed novels for middle grade and teen readers, including his Newbery Medal–winning Crispin: The Cross of Lead and his two Newbery Honor books, Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. He lives in Denver, Colorado.

TRICIA TUSA has illustrated several picture books, including The Magic Hat by Mem Fox, Mrs. Spitzer's Garden by Edith Pattou, and her own Maebelle's Suitcase, Camilla's New Hairdo, and Bunnies in My Head. She lives in Galisteo, New Mexico.

Avi's many acclaimed books for young readers include the Newbery Medal-winning Crispin: The Cross of Lead and the Newbery Honor books Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle as well as The Secret School and The End of the Beginning. He lives in Colorado.            
TRICIA TUSA has written and illustrated many wonderful picture books, including In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck; Mrs. Spitzer's Garden by Edith Pattou; The Magic Hat by Mem Fox; The End of the Beginning by Avi; and her own Follow Me.

Date of Birth:

December 23, 1937

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Education:

University of Wisconsin; M.A. in Library Science from Columbia University, 1964

Website:

http://www.avi-writer.com

Read an Excerpt

Chapter one

 

In Which the Adventure Begins

 

avon, a rather small snail, read a book every day. He loved to read because books told him all about the things that creatures did when they went on adventures.

           Now, Avon had noticed that when creatures finished their adventures, and when the stories ended, the creatures were always happy. Because Avon had never had an adventure of his own, the more he read, the sadder he became. It was absolutely necessary, he decided, to have adventures for himself. Only then would he be happy.

           He sighed. “No adventures will ever come my way.”

           A newt who was passing by overheard Avon’s words. “Nay, lad, don’t say such things.”

           “But don’t you see,” said Avon, close to tears, “the most important thing in the world is having adventures. Not only have I not had any, I don’t think I ever will. And if I don’t have adventures—like the ones I’ve read about in these books—I’m bound to be unhappy forever.”

           “Then go out and seek some adventures,” said the newt.

           “I don’t know how,” Avon said.

           “Remember, lad,” said the newt, “if it’s going to be tomorrow, it might as well be today. And if it is today, it could have been yesterday. If it was yesterday, then you’re over and done with it, and can write your own book. Think about that.”

                Avon thought about it for a long moment, and then he said right out loud,

           “Yes, I will do it. Yesterday for sure!”

 

 

Text copyright © 2004 by Avi

Illustrations copyright © 2004 by Tricia Tusa

 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

 

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be submitted online at www.harcourt.com/contact or mailed to the ­following address: Permissions Department, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A charming tale."—Publishers Weekly"A story that begs to be read aloud."—Booklist

Editorial Reviews

Newbery medalist Avi (Crispin) returns to animal fantasy with this gently humorous tale about two travelers in search of excitement, an earlier version of which appeared as a beginning reader (Snail Tale: The Adventures of a Rather Small Snail, 1972). Avon the snail wants adventures like the characters he reads about in books. He sets aside caution and heads out, immediately meeting Edward, a cocksure ant who has (mostly wrong) answers for all of Avon's worries. Avi's droll wit spices the rather quiet journey, as when Edward goes to formally greet his new friend: "When he realized Avon did not have hands, he shook one of his own. `Pleased to meet you,' he said." Careful listeners will figure out the travelers' trip consists of the length of a long branch and will enjoy being in the know when Avon and Edward clearly aren't. What qualifies as excitement for this pair may not raise goose bumps on anybody else's skin-they mistake a mouse for a dragon ("good dragons disguise themselves as nice creatures, and bad dragons as nasty ones," Ant explains), and must "battle" an oncoming snail in order to pass one another on the narrow branch. But the bite-size chapters and the clever repartee make this a charming tale, and the occasional, slightly anthropomorphized pencil illustrations show Avon and Edward to be the friendliest of creatures. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3 Up-A charming modern fable. Avon the snail's voracious reading convinces him that having an adventure is the key to a happy life so he sets out on a journey with his new friend, Edward the ant. In a series of very short chapters, the two travel-at a snail's pace-the length of a branch, meeting another snail, a caterpillar, a worm, a cricket, a salamander, and a mouse (whom Edward and Avon are sure is a dragon in disguise). Many insights unfold: "here" and "there" are not much different; while getting lost is easy, it's finding one's self that's hard; whether rushing or going slowly, one still arrives; and it is important to look at the world with one's heart and not just with one's eyes. The book is full of plays on "beginning" and "end." Until Avon and Edward help the worm, he is unsure which is his front and which is his back, and is doomed to a life without end. When they reach the end of the branch, are they actually at the end of the sky and the beginning of the branch? Avon and Edward turn around and head back, coming to a house that looks magically like Avon's own. The friends decide to live together in this magic castle. And so, true to the book's title, the beginning of their friendship ends. Whimsical pen-and-ink sketches add much to this wise little book. It's perfect for reading and discussing.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Avon, a snail whose reading tastes run to adventure, longs for a real journey of his own. Setting out, he promptly meets his neighbor, an ant named Edward, who offers to accompany Snail on the expedition. Readers who remember the way that Mole sets out with Ratty, or the way Bilbo Baggins leaves home, or even those who remember their first adventures in the neighborhood will recognize these two for small creatures with large spirits. Their friendship is complicated by the little differences that friends discover-and cemented by shared interpretations of the bit of the world they encounter. Though they only reach the end of the branch, they meet some interesting fellow creatures, and their world grows immeasurably bigger, as many explorers and adventurers before them have discovered. Avi has reworked material from his Snail Tale (Pantheon, 1972), and the results have a charming gravity and affectionate tone. The compact, simple text is readable in a large font with great spacing; the small trim size and Tusa's graceful, whimsical black-and-white drawings suit the contents perfectly. (Fiction. 4-10)

Kirkus Reviews

"A charming tale."—Publishers Weekly
"A story that begs to be read aloud."—Booklist —

From the Publisher