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Claws: The Crab, the Lobster, and the Shrimp
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 24, 2026
First of all, thank you very much to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy or ARC of this book and the opportunity to read and review it. The provision of an ARC does not in any way, shape, or form influence my opinion, rating, or the contents of this review. All opinions and thoughts expressed here are my own, formed without regard for anything but the content.
Claws: The Crab, the Lobster, and the Shrimp (which shall hereafter be referred to as Claws for the purposes of this review) is an interesting exploration of crabs, lobsters, shrimps, and various species of each, highlighted by gorgeous artwork and individual information cards for the species delved into. The facts in this book are researched and detailed enough for those who want to learn more about crabs, lobsters, and shrimps without sounding like a scientific paper or textbook. Fascinating species like the coconut shrimp are discussed specifically, as well as special characteristics of kinds of crustaceans in general, showing off the great diversity of these creatures.
Highlights
The artwork really is beautiful in this book and draws attention to the variety of crustaceans discussed and their many differing and similar physical characteristics. It is bright and colorful and catches the eye.
There is a decent amount of information, but it was not difficult to read and process. The cards are a very nice touch. It was amazing to see just how many different species there are (and this book doesn't even touch on all of them) and to read about their different traits. I thought the little titles for the species pages in the first half (not the cards) were cute.
General Comments
Claws is broken up into two parts, with the first part talking about crabs, lobsters, and shrimp in general then talking about species. The second half consists of compact species cards with pictures and information like habitat and size. The cards are great, but just as a personal preference, I would have liked to see them closer to the pages discussing the species, like right after the picture for each one. I feel like it would have felt more cohesive, though that is not to say that it feels poorly organized. It's well-organized. I just would have preferred to see the cards grouped with the earlier information.
I think the first part of the book could have done with some labels under the pictures as well. While it is generally easy to tell what the pictures are of, captions could help younger readers, who might not be able to as easily discern what is being shown. Some more detailed drawings with labels pointing to specific parts of crustaceans, such as in the section differentiating between some kinds of crustaceans, might have been nice as well, but not having them did not significantly detract from the book. While I did like the little titles for the species pages in the first half, I think emphasizing the actual names a little more so they stand out on the page would have been helpful for younger readers as well.
Conclusion
Overall, this is an informative (but not deep dive) book that children, teens, or adults interested in animals in general or water animals specifically or who just enjoy learning about new topics would probably find fun to read. Everything, from the artwork to the well-researched facts, cards, and additional resource suggestions, comes together to make it a great read, and I give it a 4.5 stars out of 5 stars rating due to some of the things I mentioned in my general comments, rounded up to 5 stars because I also think it is well-written (and that artwork really is gorgeous). This would make a great gift, with the cards in particular making it a book that older kids might enjoy using to learn facts about different species.
Claws: The Crab, the Lobster, and the Shrimp (which shall hereafter be referred to as Claws for the purposes of this review) is an interesting exploration of crabs, lobsters, shrimps, and various species of each, highlighted by gorgeous artwork and individual information cards for the species delved into. The facts in this book are researched and detailed enough for those who want to learn more about crabs, lobsters, and shrimps without sounding like a scientific paper or textbook. Fascinating species like the coconut shrimp are discussed specifically, as well as special characteristics of kinds of crustaceans in general, showing off the great diversity of these creatures.
Highlights
The artwork really is beautiful in this book and draws attention to the variety of crustaceans discussed and their many differing and similar physical characteristics. It is bright and colorful and catches the eye.
There is a decent amount of information, but it was not difficult to read and process. The cards are a very nice touch. It was amazing to see just how many different species there are (and this book doesn't even touch on all of them) and to read about their different traits. I thought the little titles for the species pages in the first half (not the cards) were cute.
General Comments
Claws is broken up into two parts, with the first part talking about crabs, lobsters, and shrimp in general then talking about species. The second half consists of compact species cards with pictures and information like habitat and size. The cards are great, but just as a personal preference, I would have liked to see them closer to the pages discussing the species, like right after the picture for each one. I feel like it would have felt more cohesive, though that is not to say that it feels poorly organized. It's well-organized. I just would have preferred to see the cards grouped with the earlier information.
I think the first part of the book could have done with some labels under the pictures as well. While it is generally easy to tell what the pictures are of, captions could help younger readers, who might not be able to as easily discern what is being shown. Some more detailed drawings with labels pointing to specific parts of crustaceans, such as in the section differentiating between some kinds of crustaceans, might have been nice as well, but not having them did not significantly detract from the book. While I did like the little titles for the species pages in the first half, I think emphasizing the actual names a little more so they stand out on the page would have been helpful for younger readers as well.
Conclusion
Overall, this is an informative (but not deep dive) book that children, teens, or adults interested in animals in general or water animals specifically or who just enjoy learning about new topics would probably find fun to read. Everything, from the artwork to the well-researched facts, cards, and additional resource suggestions, comes together to make it a great read, and I give it a 4.5 stars out of 5 stars rating due to some of the things I mentioned in my general comments, rounded up to 5 stars because I also think it is well-written (and that artwork really is gorgeous). This would make a great gift, with the cards in particular making it a book that older kids might enjoy using to learn facts about different species.
July 1, 2026
Claws is a book that looks into some of the more notable crustaceans that a young reader may come across and so as a result some readers may be able to identify the animals without looking at the identifying information.
The book has multiple introductory information with the "celebrity" Foreward, an Introduction from the authors and the first chapter basically dedicated to the animals as a whole, giving readers with basic information. In this regards the book also ends with a To Learn More and thankfully a glossary although there is no way for a digital reader to access that information.
The rest of the book provided each animal with its own spread with the left dedicated to text and the right to illustration. Unlike other nonfiction books, though, each animal has no name mentioned as a title but rather a title is produced based on behavioral, physical appearance or an environmental aspect of the animal. At the bottom readers are directed to a corresponding page number in which all entries have been collected in simple inded-like format.
These latter entries provide readers with a common name as well as an individual scientific name and family name. Furthermore there is habitat and distribution information as well as a size guide comparing the animal to a comparison to a human whether a hand or a whole. Finally this informative page ends with one fact.
My biggest concern is the language as no pronunciation guide is offered and young readers will definitely come across words they will have no knowledge of since the book leans more towards the scientific. And until I reached the end, I was not aware of the hard-to-reach Glossary as I usually skip over the Table of Contents.
Furthermore I am up in the air with the illustrations. They were gorgeous and bright but still rather stylized while some of the described colors weren't shown correctly. Also given the fact that the authors made a couple suggestions of photo opps, I kind of wished full colored photographs would have been used to see these animals as they were meant to be.
In the end it is a pretty good starter to some of the world's most interesting crustaceans and one that will make a great addition to any scientific libraries for children.
***I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
The book has multiple introductory information with the "celebrity" Foreward, an Introduction from the authors and the first chapter basically dedicated to the animals as a whole, giving readers with basic information. In this regards the book also ends with a To Learn More and thankfully a glossary although there is no way for a digital reader to access that information.
The rest of the book provided each animal with its own spread with the left dedicated to text and the right to illustration. Unlike other nonfiction books, though, each animal has no name mentioned as a title but rather a title is produced based on behavioral, physical appearance or an environmental aspect of the animal. At the bottom readers are directed to a corresponding page number in which all entries have been collected in simple inded-like format.
These latter entries provide readers with a common name as well as an individual scientific name and family name. Furthermore there is habitat and distribution information as well as a size guide comparing the animal to a comparison to a human whether a hand or a whole. Finally this informative page ends with one fact.
My biggest concern is the language as no pronunciation guide is offered and young readers will definitely come across words they will have no knowledge of since the book leans more towards the scientific. And until I reached the end, I was not aware of the hard-to-reach Glossary as I usually skip over the Table of Contents.
Furthermore I am up in the air with the illustrations. They were gorgeous and bright but still rather stylized while some of the described colors weren't shown correctly. Also given the fact that the authors made a couple suggestions of photo opps, I kind of wished full colored photographs would have been used to see these animals as they were meant to be.
In the end it is a pretty good starter to some of the world's most interesting crustaceans and one that will make a great addition to any scientific libraries for children.
***I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
January 29, 2026
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.
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.
Read
January 25, 2026Adorable! 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.
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.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
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.
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.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
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
ARC provided by Netgalley & Chronicle Books
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Claws
By Marco Colombo
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this colorful and informative book! A delightful feast for the eyes with the gorgeous colors of the many sea creatures. Some loosely painted and others detailed to look like the real ones! Several informational cards/ blocks that treat the reader to animal info they may not have known. Great for gift or coffee table. I think most ages would enjoy this.
By Marco Colombo
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this colorful and informative book! A delightful feast for the eyes with the gorgeous colors of the many sea creatures. Some loosely painted and others detailed to look like the real ones! Several informational cards/ blocks that treat the reader to animal info they may not have known. Great for gift or coffee table. I think most ages would enjoy this.
June 3, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and ChronicleBooks for the ARC!
Claws is an illustrated guidebook about crustaceans, translated from Italian.
This was very informative and it was interesting to see each species highlighted. The illustrations were very colorful and detailed.
It is a kid-friendly book, but it isn’t quite an introductory text. The language is fairly complex, which might be due to the translation, but it’s still interesting.
Claws is an illustrated guidebook about crustaceans, translated from Italian.
This was very informative and it was interesting to see each species highlighted. The illustrations were very colorful and detailed.
It is a kid-friendly book, but it isn’t quite an introductory text. The language is fairly complex, which might be due to the translation, but it’s still interesting.
November 22, 2025
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.
Thank you to NetGalley, Marco Colombo and Chronicle Books for the ARC.
June 25, 2026
I recieved a digital ARC of this book thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley.
This was a cute nonfiction. The descriptions were short and easy to understand and the images were fun and helped the keep the focus. I also really liked the quick summary of all the animals at the end. I would have also enjoyed some real pictures of the animals, when possible, but that's just personal preference.
This was a cute nonfiction. The descriptions were short and easy to understand and the images were fun and helped the keep the focus. I also really liked the quick summary of all the animals at the end. I would have also enjoyed some real pictures of the animals, when possible, but that's just personal preference.
July 16, 2026
A quick read. But the delightfully illustrations make the book an extreme joyful interlude between long fictional and tech readings.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews