Moving Day [Library Binding]

Robert Kalan (Author), Yossi Abolafia (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

But finding that shell isn't so easy. In words that demand to be read aloud (and memorized), and picturs that inspire laughter (and careful scrutiny), this saga of a hermit crab's quest for the perfect home is certain to become a favorite with young readers everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This slight but upbeat story takes place on the ocean floor, where a hermit crab searches for his ideal shell. Like Goldilocks, he rejects a number of possibilities, declaring, "Too long,/ too wide,/ too big,/ too small,/ these shells/ will not do at all." At last, the picky crustacean discovers a nautilus with "more room inside./ Room to grow,/ room to hide." Kalan (Jump, Frog, Jump!) compares adjectives such as "fancy" and "plain," "heavy" and "light," introducing beginners to a range of opposites. Abolafia (Fox Tale; My Three Uncles) makes the most of the limited material, presenting simultaneous views of underwater and landlubber life in his watercolor seascapes. His cartoon shellfish?whose pink pincers resemble those of a crayfish, not the asymmetrical claws of a real hermit crab?wears bandages after encountering a pointed shell ("too rough"), and poses playfully in front of a peacock-tail-shaped half shell ("too fancy"). Kalan and Abolafia supply plenty of good humor, but look to Megan McDonald's and S.D. Schindler's Is This a House for Hermit Crab? (Orchard, 1990) for scientific substance as well as a pleasing presentation of the same subject. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1?Using the familiar theme of an outgrown shell, Kalan and Abolafia have created a humorous, cumulative, rhymed story perfect for beginning readers. A comical hermit crab, complete with baseball cap and hobo's stick and kerchief, explores the ocean floor looking for "a shell that's right." He encounters many types?too big, too small, too long, too wide, etc.?that "will not do at all" before finding one that's fine, "like that other shell of mine." The brightly colored illustrations contain adequate realism to identify the various shells and the various denizens of the deep and invite further study. The pictures have funny elements that expand the Dr. Seuss-like text?small fish bed down in a discarded sardine tin; a shark is pictured about to eat a fish that is about to eat a hooked worm. Large format with sparse text also invites group sharing.?Claudia Cooper, Ft. Stockton Independent School District, TX
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (May 31, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688139493
• ISBN-13: 978-0688139490
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,890,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Young Children Love This Book, August 14, 2002

By 

Christine Morrison "christine" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moving Day (Library Binding)

As a former marine science teacher, I read this book to every class of Kindergartners I ever had. The kids loved it! It remains one of my all-time favorites for children just learning to read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for a hermit crab thematic unit, August 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Moving Day (Library Binding)

This is a great book for a primary grade teacher to include in a theme about hermit crabs or sea animals. Other books that are particuarly good are Eric Carle's A House for Hermit Crab and Megan McDonald's Is This a House for Hermit Crab? Moving Day features many opposites with descriptive words that would be great in both language arts and science/math lessons. On several pages, the illustrations in Moving Day have tiny, humorous details that the kids will enjoy discovering. Moreover, the very large print lends itself well to shared reading (reading in which the teacher points to each word as it is being read aloud). A great book for a teacher's Ocean-theme collection!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Two Year Old Loves It!, July 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Moving Day (Hardcover)

We got this book from the library, and I'm buying our own copy. My two year old loves this book, and just about knows it by heart. Of the hundred or so books he can choose from to be read each night, he has consistently chosen this one for two weeks. In two year old terms, that's forever!