The Crab Alphabet Book [Paperback]

With his signature humor and amazing facts, best-selling author Jerry Pallotta offers a decapod for every letter of the alphabet.

Meet dozens of crustaceans--and a few bonus animals--with engaging text and a laugh-out-loud narrative, from A (Arrow Crab) to E (exoskeleton) to I (Imocaris, a kind of fossil scientists believe to be the first crab on earth) to Z (Zebra Hermit Crabs, which have a hard covering on their legs and claws, but their body is soft). Readers of all ages will be entertained (and learning!) with every page turn.Who knew there were so many kinds of crabs? At least 26, in fact. Pallotta is known for his many alphabet books, ringing the abecedarian changes on such subjects as construction equipment, victory gardens, icky bugs, herbs and spices, and dinosaurs, to name just a few. Here, he brushes the sand off of crabs from A to Z. Readers will learn that crabs are decapods, a term that means 10 feet, with crabs qualifying by having eight legs and two claws. The subject itself is intriguing, and paired with Leonard's realistic acrylic illustrations, the result is striking. Many readers would know a few types, such as fiddler, blue, (zebra) hermit, and king, but most will likely be a surprise: Christmas Island, Halloween, mitten, ghost, velvet, xeno, and yeti. Kids will giggle at the ninja crab and the pom pom crab (which holds venomous anemones in its claws ). The book is nicely designed, with a capital and lowercase letter in the top corner of each page and the illustration framed with a white border. Humorous notes ( please don't call a grumpy teacher a crabby teacher—it's not nice! ) and informational tidbits ( If a crab loses a claw or a leg, it grows back ) appear in faux hand-lettered callout boxes throughout. The Sea Mammal Alphabet Book publishelÃ'