The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

This is a story about an inquisitive snail who hitches a lift with a humpback whale in order to see the world. This unlikely little-and-large pairing leads to a host of watery adventuring, culminating in the tiny snail achieving a mighty feat, using his brain rather than his brawn (reminiscent of the little brown mouse in The Gruffalo). The rhyming genius of Donaldson gives this book its beautiful lyrical and flowing prose which makes it a delight to read aloud, while the detailed illustrations provide curious little fingers with lots of things to point out and marvel over.