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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
{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!
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
*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.
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.
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...
This crab clearly just needs some coffee, but ok. Another great reader for beginners, especially for those who adored Barnacle Is Bored. This crabby crab is chronically grumpy and shrimp does his best to cheer the poor guy up.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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).
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?