Is This a House for Hermit Crab?

by Megan McDonald, Katherine Tillotson (Illustrator)

Overview

Follow a hermit crab on the perilous journey to replace his outgrown shell in this classic picture book by the author of the popular Judy Moody and Stink series.

Hermit Crab has outgrown his shell, and it’s time for a new home to keep him safe from predators. The beach is strewn with possible choices, but none are quite right. A rock is too heavy; a tin can is too noisy; a fishing net has too many holes.

He stepped along the shore,
by the sea, in the sand . . .
scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch

When a giant wave sends Hermit Crab careening toward a hungry porcupine fish, will he find a hiding place in time?

Katherine Tillotson’s immersive artwork breathes new life into this classic text by Megan McDonald, beloved author of the Judy Moody series. Brand-new backmatter provides further learning about all things hermit crab.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823452194
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	02/13/2024
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	273,367
Product dimensions:	9.28(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.33(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Megan McDonald is the award-winning, bestselling author of the beloved Judy Moody series, along with many other middle grade titles and picture books. She began writing Is this a House for Hermit Crab? during her career as a children’s librarian, inspired by her own childhood pet. Megan lives with her husband in Sebastopol, California.

Katherine Tillotson has previously worked with Megan McDonald on picture books such as Shoe Dog and It’s Picture Day Today, as well as collaborating with other authors. She lives and works in San Francisco with her husband and two dogs, Sookie and Chi, who help her around the studio.

Editorial Reviews

★ "A fresh, welcome return for a time-tested tale."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

★ "Few picture-book writers have used a repeated, rhythmic rhyme as successfully as McDonald. . . With only minor changes to the narrative, this new edition features Tillotson's lively, colorful illustrations and, in the back matter, informative notes on hermit crabs. A welcome new edition of a memorable read-aloud favorite."—Booklist, Starred Review

"Rich illustrations."—The Horn Book

From the Publisher

★ 2023-11-18
After 30-plus years, McDonald’s acclaimed first title gets bright new illustrations in this reissue.

A hermit crab that’s outgrown his shell seeks a suitable replacement onshore—he needs to stay safe from porcupine fish. His investigations lead him from a too-heavy rock to a too-noisy tin can and on to driftwood (too dark), a plastic pail (too deep), and a burrow (too crowded). After rejecting a fishing net (“too many holes”), the hermit crab is swept out to sea, where a porcupine fish sets its sights on him. The crab races over to a sea snail, whose shell proves empty. Hermit Crab climbs inside, and the porcupine fish swims off. McDonald’s tale sparkles as brightly as ever, with patterned repetition perfect for both group and one-to-one sharing. A former children’s librarian, she helps young children identify with the tiny crab’s quest for safety and independence while tacitly acknowledging that they might know more about the inefficacy of the creature’s test homes. (Driftwood isn’t just dark inside; it floats. And a net’s more hole than not.) Tillotson’s vibrant mixed-media illustrations ramp up the drama early, with the porcupine fish looming offshore as Hermit Crab begins his search. The quest unfolds through double-page spreads, and it all comes to a satisfying resolution, with Hermit Crab in a new home that fits “just right.” Up-to-date facts on hermit crabs and resources are appended.

A fresh, welcome return for a time-tested tale. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

PreS-Gr 2-- Across flecked, sand-colored pages crawls Hermit Crab--``scritch-scatch, scritch-scratch''--hunting for a new house. He tries a rock, some driftwood, a plastic pail, and a net. Nothing suits him until, washed to sea by a great wave, he must find a place to hide from his enemies. An empty sea snail's shell provides the perfect home. Schindler's pastel illustrations provide the perfect visualization of the text. Hermit Crab and his enemy, the pricklepine fish, appear so realistic that children will want to reach out and touch them. Prints in the sand left by Crab's moving ``houses,'' foamy waves breaking on the beach, the vastness of the ocean floor and its quiet greenness--all can be felt in Schindler's pictures. The bits of repetition in the text are pared with the visual continuity of sand and sea and the outgrown shell left on the sand as Hermit Crab tries on each prospective home. This wonderful marriage of words and illlustrations is destined to become a well-loved storyhour tale. Eric Carle's A House for Hermit Crab (Picture Book Studio, 1987)--a bit more sophisticated--could be paired with McDonald's story for a lesson on the habits of this interesting sea creature and its symbiotic relationship with its neighbors. --Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

School Library Journal