Crab Cake, written by Andrea Tsurumi, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Student Reviewer: Emma B.
Summary: The book Crab Cake by Andrea Tsurumi is set under the sea and has a circular structure. The book starts with a variety of sea creatures doing different things in a coral reef. Then the author shows the crab baking in detail. More creatures then do different things again, and then the crab continues to bake. A few more animals continue to do a variety of different activities and the crab still bakes. More animals are shown behind the crab baking. Then the pages of the book become darker and a load of trash is dumped into the ocean by a truck. Under the sea there is a big brown pile of trash and the water has turned a sort of brown and grey color. The animals are frightened and they all freeze. Even the animals that were once feared by other animals and those who were more powerful. Then the crab comes out of hiding and begins to bake once again. He bakes a cake. Then some of the other animals start to become curious and come out to see what the crab is doing. They ask for some of the cake and then all of the creatures come together. They come up with an idea. All of the animals pitch in and help to clean up all of the trash that has been dumped in the ocean. The next morning the people find all of the trash they dumped on their pier with the words “Come Get Your Junk” painted on it. The sea animals continue with their lives underneath the now clean sea and the crab continues to bake.

Straight Talk for Librarians: I think that this book could be a really helpful tool in a science classroom. This book would definitely appeal to a younger audience. The author used rhyme, alliteration, and personification to enhance the story. Personally, I was intrigued by the cover alone and I definitely think that it would be very appealing to younger readers. Even the title Crab Cake is an attention grabber. The book could be about a number of things and I think that once a reader starts to read this book they will want to know what happens, so they won’t want to put it down. I think that the images in this book are very busy and colorful which will definitely hold the attention of a younger reader. You could read this book multiple times and still find something new to look at in the illustrations. The use of graphite and digital technology really helps to make the story come to life. I think that the colors in this book also helps to convey its overall message and mood. This book brings up pollution in our oceans and how this can be very harmful and detrimental to the environment below the surface. When there is a load of trash dumped into the sea, the bright and colorful pages turn into darker and more sad looking pictures. I think that this helps carry the message that pollution is a very bad thing and it should not happen and the colors help convey that feeling. This change in color also makes the book more dynamic and intriguing to readers. This book would be very useful in a classroom setting to introduce the topic and idea of the environment and saving the planet. This book shows pollution and littering in a negative way, but makes it understandable enough for elementary level readers. Given today’s climate concerns, this book is a very timely purchase for any library.