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A Crabby Book #1

Hello, Crabby!

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Check out this hilarious early reader series from Geisel Award Honoree Jonathan Fenske! Pick a book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic's early reader line, Acorn, aimed at children who are learning to read. With easy-to-read text, a short-story format, plenty of humor, and full-color artwork on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and fluency. Acorn books plant a love of reading and help readers grow! Crabby is NOT happy. Sun is in Crabby's eyes. Salt is in Crabby's teeth. Sand is in Crabby's shell. Plankton tries again and again to cheer Crabby up -- with laugh-out-loud results! Will Crabby ever crack a smile? Or will Crabby always be crabby? With comic speech bubbles and full-color artwork throughout, Geisel Award Honoree Jonathan Fenske's early reader series is sure to be a hit with new readers!

48 pages, Paperback

Published April 30, 2019

41 people are currently reading
143 people want to read

About the author

Jonathan Fenske

56 books37 followers
Jonathan Fenske is the author and illustrator of the leveled readers Woodward and McTwee, Love Is in the Air, Guppy Up!, and A Pig, a Fox, and a Box, which was a 2016 Geisel Honor book. He is also the author of two picture books, Barnacle Is Bored and its follow-up, Plankton Is Pushy. Jonathan lives in South Carolina with his family.

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5 stars
175 (35%)
4 stars
186 (37%)
3 stars
108 (21%)
2 stars
16 (3%)
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7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
Profile Image for Scottsdale Public Library.
3,541 reviews498 followers
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May 24, 2019
Crabby is a crab who truly lives up to his name! Since Plankton is forever trying to cheer him up and make him smile, without much success, there are some entertaining results. Beginning readers will love this early reader series that looks a lot like a graphic novel. - Jen K.
Profile Image for Becky.
6,209 reviews304 followers
May 9, 2019
First sentence: Today is just another day at the beach.

Premise/plot: Hello, Crabby! is a new early reader series by Jonathan Fenske. There are several stories in this one: "The Beach" (which guest stars BARNACLE from Barnacle is Bored), "The Crabby Crab," "The Joke," and "The Cake." (The last three guest star PLANKTON from Plankton is Pushy.) The stories are delightfully silly. For example, in "The Beach," Barnacle is trying to warn his friend that a WAVE is coming. Crabby thinks that Barnacle is wanting him to wave at him. Needless to say CRABBY gets hit by the wave. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Plankton pushes his way into THREE stories while poor Barnacle is only in one.

My thoughts: BARNACLE IS BORED is one of my favorite, favorite, favorite stories to read aloud. I just love it. I enjoyed Plankton is Pushy. So I was THRILLED when I realized that Hello, Crabby! is by Jonathan Fenske. I would definitely recommend this early reader.
Profile Image for Michelle Nero.
757 reviews30 followers
May 9, 2019
Crabby is ... well, just crabby and Plankton does everything possible to shake that crabby out. Funny!
Profile Image for Jennifer.
159 reviews
May 24, 2019
Crabby is a crab who truly lives up to his name! Since Plankton is forever trying to cheer him up and make him smile without much success,there are some entertaining results. Beginning readers will love this early reader series that looks a lot like a graphic novel.
Profile Image for Becky.
673 reviews15 followers
May 26, 2019
The first early reader in the Acorn series by Scholastic. The characters are funny and the illustrations are expressive. Adults will enjoy reading this book to children.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
1,174 reviews15 followers
May 13, 2019
These Acorn easy readers are GREAT! I especially love the character of Crabby. Fun.
Profile Image for zapkode.
1,046 reviews79 followers
February 7, 2019
{My thoughts} – I am always interested in finding beginner reader books. We have two little one’s that are going to be learning to read in a couple of years. The cover of this book is appealing. It has a Crab on it that looks kind of grumpy. The colors are bright, but not too bright that they are distracting.

Once you open up the book you’ll see the same very nice illustrations with a chat bubble/comic like style for the text. This style is extremely nice because it allows for easy to read sentences for the children that are first beginning how to read. It is important to understand that simple and easy to read text is essential for a beginner reader book. And this book definitely has everything needed to help a reader begin their reading journey.

I think this book can be the perfect addition to any home or classroom library. It’s well written, the text and the illustrations go together hand and hand and it’s funny in it’s own way. Any child that gets this book in their hands will definitely benefit from having it!
Profile Image for Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book*.
6,048 reviews218 followers
February 6, 2019
Hello, Crabby! By Jonathan Fenske. EARLY READER. Scholastic, APRIL 2019. $16(hb)/$5(pb). 978-1338281507

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Fenske tells four little stories with his well-acknowledged sarcasm and aplomb. Familiar characters from his previous pictures make appearances, helping children bridge the gap from picture book to graphic novel.

It’s hard to be crabby at Crabby’s scowling face. I am very curious how well students will understand the jokes and sarcasm, though. As a library you will probably have to buy these in hardcover for the wear and tear. Part of the new Acorn series from Scholastic as an unleveled early reader.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
Profile Image for Mateo.
41 reviews1 follower
April 21, 2022
We are not fans of a whole book developing and enabling a terrible, grumpy character without any redeeming features. All the characters are bad or mediocre in some way, so there is not much to grab onto. We don't need books to be always preaching goodness and excellence, but we find evil and meanness, even if banal, pretty boring.
Profile Image for AMY.
2,824 reviews
January 31, 2019
44 pages. Very funny graphic novel. Lots of humor in dialog and colorful illustrations. A crab is not happy and no one can make him happy. Nice twist at the end. I think kids will love this one. Highly recommended for Grades 2-4.
Profile Image for Angie.
1,413 reviews9 followers
January 4, 2019
Crab is so crabby he’s funny!
Profile Image for Suzanne.
2,248 reviews44 followers
January 31, 2019
From the author of A Pig, A Fox, and A Box comes a very crabby character. Crabby is a crab who is grumpy, crotchety, and downright determined not to smile. No matter what the other characters say or do - even baking him a chocolate cake - Crabby remains consistently glum.

The book is full of jokes that readers can discover. Crabby says that something is fishy and a passing fish asks, “Is that a bad thing?” Crabby complains that Barnacle “is always hanging around.” For readers who are not familiar with sea creatures, it will be fun to learn about their characteristics and how they add to the humor.

There is even a guide on how to draw Crabby. What more could you ask for?
Profile Image for Jessica F.
850 reviews37 followers
December 25, 2020
Meet Crabby, a curmudgeonly crustacean with a bad attitude and biting humor! Plankton (a familiar character from Fenske's picture books) is determined to push Crabby into a better mood. Can Plankton succeed and turn Crabby's perpetual frown upside down?

The comic style speech bubbles and panels, full color artwork and expressive character illustrations are sure to capture a newly independent reader's attention! Love how the text manages to incorporate a large amount of high frequency sight words without being boring or losing any of the story's sharp, witty humor.
Profile Image for Serenity.
1,130 reviews11 followers
January 21, 2020
*I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher through my district library services*

Like all the branches books, this little book is geared toward those beginning readers who just don't have the stamina for a longer book. The text is fairly simple and it reads like a cross between a picture book and a graphic novel. It's silly, but for what it is, I think it will suit the intended audience well.
Profile Image for Sarah T..
216 reviews
May 15, 2019
This was cute but not my favorite of the Acorn ready reader books. It's a good book to use with kids to show emotions and that it's okay to be yourself, but it kind of backtracks with that in that the friend makes Crabby, because his crabbiness is making the friend crazy. I like Crabby and I like how punny this book is. It's okay.
Profile Image for Roben .
3,124 reviews19 followers
December 5, 2019
Crabby is just -- crabby. Though at some point, you begin to realize that his crabbiness does bring him a certain amount of attention. And cake. I liked the part with Barnacle. And we do know from previous Fenske books that Plankton is Pushy. Now I just have to figure out where to put it in the library...
Profile Image for Natalie.
1,756 reviews
December 2, 2021
Crabby is crabby and plankton tries so hard to get him to smile.

There are some funny dad jokes and word plays sprinkled in the book, but I kind of felt bad for plankton. Crabby just wouldn't give and nothing seemed to really break through his crabbiness (though in the end he seems to purposely hide it).
Profile Image for Jennifer.
598 reviews
June 11, 2023
A perfect early reader graphic novel for 1st-3rd graders that talks about emotions, gives some ocean creature fun facts, packs a punch with the crab jokes. This book is a great introduction to graphic novels in terms of speech vs. thought bubbles, and extremely lines and gutters throughout. The illustrations are brilliantly colored in primary colors with plenty of cuteness and humor also.
948 reviews7 followers
May 24, 2019
Love the size and binding of these Acorn readers. This one is not as easy to read as others in the Acorn series. Just finished Do You Like my Bike and Crabby is a little harsh after that sweet story. The illustrations are what save this book. They are laugh out loud at some points.
Profile Image for Jason.
3,957 reviews25 followers
May 30, 2019
I enjoyed this and its sense of humor, but I wondered if it went on a little to long for the beginning reader crowd? Maybe if a parent were reading together with the child... Still, the series and the imprint both show promise.
Profile Image for emyrose8.
3,816 reviews18 followers
May 30, 2019
Written like a graphic novel (but really it's a beginning reader book), it's my favorite of the books that feature these sea creatures. There are cameos from plankton, clam, shrimp, and barnacle (from previous books by the author).
Profile Image for Pam.
1,803 reviews
June 25, 2019
Cildren's early reader. Crabby wants to be crabby, and Plankton wants him to be happy. 48 page book full of humor. Is Crabby bored? What does it take to get Crabby to smile? How about a joke? Or is it the cake that makes him happy?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews

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