A House for Hermit Crab

 

Bibliographic Information: Carle, E. (2002). A house for hermit crab. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.

 

Genre/Type: Fiction picture book

 

Summary: In this book, a hermit crab ourgrows his shell and must go out looking for a new one. Since Hermit Crab uses his shell as protection, he is afraid that a fish will attack him while he is looking for a new home. Hermit Crab comes across a new shell and gets inside of it. To make him feel more at home, he goes around the ocean asking different sea creatures to decorate his shell. The story continues chronologically, pointing out each new month (this can also be used as a concept book for teaching students the months in a year). The idea of protection is offered when Hermit Crab asks a sea urchin to protect his house. Eventually Hermit Crab outgrows this shell, just as he did his last, and must move out to find a new home. He gives his old shell to a smaller crab and finds a larger one to move into next.

 

Theme/Purpose: The purpose of this book is to help children understand the chronology of months, as well as the necessity of shelter for all living things. Hermit Crab needed a place to live for protection, and went to great lengths to make his shell feel like home. This book also exemplifies that all living things change and grow; another important concept for students to understand.

 

Selection/Evaluation: I selected this book because it draws on one of the most important things animals need to survive: shelter. This book does a great job reinforcing the concept that the shell of the hermit crab is his shelter and his home. This shell is a characteristic that the crab takes on to adapt to his environment. This is also a great book for its torn paper illustrations, which are a hallmark of Eric Carle's work.