Crustacean Vacation

Overview

From out of the sea, from out of the spray, the crab family's going on holiday! And so begins a grand day out at the seashore, as a family of crabs ventures on land to picnic on the beach (yum, peanut butter and jellyfish!), play games in an arcade (not even a crab wins at The Claw), and slide and glide in a water park. This is no ordinary boardwalk. Here, a seagull runs the candy store, a shark sits in front of a tattoo parlor, a seahorse hawks prizes, and the water park's lifeguard is an octopus. Join Mom, Dad, two crablets, and Grannie as they create holiday memories like no other. Young readers will delight in the clever rhyming verses paired with wacky and wonderful illustrations ...

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Overview

From out of the sea, from out of the spray, the crab family's going on holiday! And so begins a grand day out at the seashore, as a family of crabs ventures on land to picnic on the beach (yum, peanut butter and jellyfish!), play games in an arcade (not even a crab wins at The Claw), and slide and glide in a water park. This is no ordinary boardwalk. Here, a seagull runs the candy store, a shark sits in front of a tattoo parlor, a seahorse hawks prizes, and the water park's lifeguard is an octopus. Join Mom, Dad, two crablets, and Grannie as they create holiday memories like no other. Young readers will delight in the clever rhyming verses paired with wacky and wonderful illustrations from the imagination of acclaimed New Hampshire artist Marty Kelley.

Marty Kelley is the author and illustrator of the children's books Fall Is Not Easy, The Rules, Winter Woes, Summer Stinks, Spring Goes Squish, The Messiest Desk, and Twelve Terrible Things. His career as an artist started when he began drawing historically accurate pictures of spaceships dropping bombs on dinosaurs. He has, in the past, been a second grade teacher, a baker, a cartoonist, a newspaper art director, a drummer in a heavy metal band, a balloon delivery guy, and an animator. Now he visits lots and lots of schools to show students how he creates his books. He is also a juried member of the New Hampshire State Council for the Arts Visiting Artist Roster. Originally from Somersworth, New Hampshire, Brian Benoit now listens for the roar of the surf deep in the woods of Cavendish, Vermont. His sea creatures were originally conjured up to entertain his brother during family trips on the Maine coast, and have since proven popular with his own children. Crustacean Vacation is his first children's book."

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
In Benoit’s slight but high-spirited debut, a happy-go-lucky crab family enjoys a holiday at the seaside. In appropriate vacation garb—the grandmother sports a patterned swimsuit and flowered bathing cap, and the camera-toting father wears socks and sandals on his eight legs—the quintet dives into the resort’s attractions. Benoit has fun with wordplay (“The crabs go in search of an afternoon treat:/ Peanut butter and jellyfish—bon appetit!”), but more often than not, the couplets sacrifice clarity (or logic) for the sake of a rhyme; after the crabs climb into a pipe that unexpectedly lands them in a water park, “Awe-struck, incredulous, thanking their grandma,/ The crabs find themselves in crustacean nirvana.” The story relies heavily on Kelley’s (The Messiest Desk) lively, googly-eyed cartoons to give the characters personalities, albeit ones built on cliché (exhausted parents, wacky grandma, kids dressed in pink and blue). Throughout, Benoit refers to the group simply as “the crabs” or “the crab family,” making readers feel like distant observers of the action; the “two little crablets” don’t even get names. Ages 4–8. (June)

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781934031957
  • Publisher: Islandport Press, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 6/15/2012
  • Pages: 36
  • Age range: 4 - 8 Years
  • Product dimensions: 9.75 (w) x 8.75 (h) x 0.38 (d)

Meet the Author

Originally from Somersworth, New Hampshire, Brian Benoit now listens for the roar of the surf deep in the woods of Cavendish, Vermont. His sea creatures were originally conjured up to entertain his brother during family trips on the Maine coast, and have since proven popular with his own children. He shares his life with his wife Jennifer, daughter Emery, son Liam, a border collie, three Practical Cats, a host of chickens, and numerous tropical fish. Crustacean Vacation is his first children's book.

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