Fiction: A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1987, ISBN 0-88708-056-1
Non-fiction: Is This a House for Hermit Crab? by Megan McDonald, illus by S.D. Schindler, Orchard Books, 1990, ISBN 0-531-08455-8
A hermit crab sheds his old shell and looks for a new one. Here, two books look at that process. Eric Carle's fiction version features his stunningly creative artwork and takes the crab through the months of the year, beginning in January. To decorate his dull new shell, the crab invites other sea creatures to live "on" his shell. In wonderful Carle fashion, the book is rich on many levels: naming sea creatures, using adjectives to describe them, showing generosity and the way the crab adjusts to change. A circular story, it ends with the crab back in January (of the next year), again looking for a new home to decorate. The back of the book gives a brief description of the other sea animals mentioned in the book: sea anemones, starfish, coral, snails, sea urchins and lanternfish.
The non-fiction version, written about the same time as the fiction one, features more subdued but also more realistic illustrations. In this book, the crab is looking for a new shell, and tries all sorts of unacceptable items (a tin can, a rock, etc) before he finds the right shell. The book makes it clear that the shell is used for protection. Even though it is classified as non-fiction, it is written in a narrative style, and could confuse younger children, as it is not set up like typical non-fiction text (pictures, bold print, glossary, etc).
No comments:
Post a Comment