heetlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
What happens when a shy crab finds an interesting new shell. A cute story for any age.
xterminal's review
4.0
Carter Goodrich, The Hermit Crab (Simon and Schuster, 2009)
I will tell you right now that I am unable to give this book an unbiased review. Come on, a pre-lit book featuring an obsessive introvert? How did someone even get the idea to write such a thing? I'm in love with it. It's a little on the advanced/wordy side for the bean (who's seventeen months old today, as I write this), but I plan on buying a copy, having gotten it out of the library for the first go-round, and keeping it around until he's old enough to appreciate it. As for the storyline, well, said obsessive introvert, the titular crab, is always on the fringes of his seafood society. But when humans from above drop a lobster trap down and pin Flounder to the sea floor, the hermit crab (who not coincidentally just made himself a new shell out of another dropped piece of detritus, and that piece of detritus is one of the little details that make this book fabulous) inadvertently turns himself into a hero while simply looking for something to eat. Goodrich's resolution is entirely unexpected, given the target reading level, which makes me love it even more. Even if you don't have kids, hit your local library or bookstore and check this one out if you're an introvert—it's suitable, and lovely, for all ages. ****
I will tell you right now that I am unable to give this book an unbiased review. Come on, a pre-lit book featuring an obsessive introvert? How did someone even get the idea to write such a thing? I'm in love with it. It's a little on the advanced/wordy side for the bean (who's seventeen months old today, as I write this), but I plan on buying a copy, having gotten it out of the library for the first go-round, and keeping it around until he's old enough to appreciate it. As for the storyline, well, said obsessive introvert, the titular crab, is always on the fringes of his seafood society. But when humans from above drop a lobster trap down and pin Flounder to the sea floor, the hermit crab (who not coincidentally just made himself a new shell out of another dropped piece of detritus, and that piece of detritus is one of the little details that make this book fabulous) inadvertently turns himself into a hero while simply looking for something to eat. Goodrich's resolution is entirely unexpected, given the target reading level, which makes me love it even more. Even if you don't have kids, hit your local library or bookstore and check this one out if you're an introvert—it's suitable, and lovely, for all ages. ****
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