The Lobsters’ Night Before Christmas – Christina Laurie, illustrated by Elizabeth Moisan, Schiffer Kids, (9780764358265), 2019
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, Board Book
Rating: 1- 5 (5 is excellent or a Starred review) 2
Genre: Picture Book
What did you like about the book? The classic tale is reimagined under the sea as a family of lobsters awaits a visit from Sea Santa. The classic poem is retold with sea images such as: “Skate cases were hung on the reef with care/ In hopes that Sea Santa soon would be there.” The water color illustrations perfectly convey the underwater setting.
Anything you didn’t like about it? Unfortunately the rhythm and rhyme of the classic falters in this new version, making it difficult to read aloud. Forced rhymes also disrupt the story. There are instances where the illustrations do not complement the descriptive text. For instance when the poem describes Sea Santa the double page spread only depicts seagrass.
To whom would you recommend this book? This might be a nice bedtime story for a beach vacation and for children interested in the sea.
Who should buy this book? Public Libraries and elementary school libraries
Where would you shelve it? Picture Books
Should we (librarians/readers) put this at the top of our “to read” piles? No
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Catherine Coyne, Mansfield Public Library, Mansfield, MA
Date of review: 5/2/2020
Youth Services Book Review 
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