Claws: The Crab, the Lobster, and the Shrimp

by Marco Colombo, Francesco Tomasinelli, Giulia De Amicis (Illustrator)

128 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication June 2, 2026

Reviews

[donutqueenie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The information for each crustacean is well researched and assembled. The first half is very informative with paragraphs for each crustacean. The second half is like a quick reference guide with size references.

The illustrations were what drew me to the book. They were very colorful but almost every image was blurry. I opened the file both in the NetGalley reader and in the NetGalley app and it made no difference. This was disappointing because the whole purpose of this book is to be an illustrated guide. Hopefully this is just an issue with the digital and the physical hard copies will have clear images.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Release date 6/2/26.

Side note: if you loved this, the authors also have an illustrated guide to cephalopods too. I would love to read that one too! Cuttlefish are my favorite thing to see at an aquarium.

[Lis]

Adorable! This is great coffee table book for anyone who loves crustaceans. This is a general science book with good sources but not a very highly technical one, you do not need any background on crabs to read this. The illustrations are gorgeous and I wish there were more. I loved the trading cards in the back of the book, but I wish it had included a map of where they are native too rather than a list. As I only had a PDF copy I'm not sure if they pop out as a mini book.

The lighthearted nature of this book makes it a super easy and quick read. Have I mentioned how much i loved the art work? Everyone will be drawn to this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Chronicle Books for an advance copy of this ebook.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy!
If there's one thing I love, it's sea creatures. This was a fun and interesting book to pick up, packed full of information about crustaceans and nice illustrations of a variety of species. Each different section was interesting, and there are all sorts of fun facts throughout the book. It seems to be well-researched as far as I can tell, and there's just a touch of humor to the writing as well. The illustrations were my favorite part, especially some of the ones that spanned two pages. The art style seems simple at first glance, but each illustration was clearly carefully crafted, and there are many fine details when you take a closer look at each page.

[Horace Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful look into a wide range of crustaceans. It's well researched with a decent section about broader things about crustaceans while the bulk of the book has pages dedicated to a single one. The art is quite nice, though I would've perhaps liked some photographs since each drawing of the crustaceans appear twice, but I see why they went for the art.

ARC provided by Netgalley & Chronicle Books

[Bre · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful little book about crustaceans! The artwork is colorful and genuinely adorable. I enjoyed learning more about these ocean critters and their habitats. It has that perfect mix of fun facts and charming visuals that makes you want to point at every page and go, “Look at this little guy!!”

Thank you to NetGalley, Marco Colombo and Chronicle Books for the ARC.