Lobster's Vacation: Greetings from the Coast

Written by Michelle Robinson

Illustrated by Paul G. Hammond

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77471-280-1

24 pp.

Ages 3-7

June 2024

 

Enjoying his ocean life with buddies Crab, Starfish and Whale, Lobster is shocked to be caught and transported to a chef's kitchen. But he's having none of it, jumping from the hot pot and making a run for it. It's time for him to get a break and take a vacation.

From Lobster's Vacation, written by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Paul G. Hammond

So, amidst all the tourists and locals, some with maps and cameras, others with dogs and their binoculars, Lobster takes off. His first stop is for a tartan cap and ice cream on the waterfront. Then he's onto a tour bus and seeing all the sights from the wrought iron gates at Halifax Public Gardens National Historic Site to a harbour bridge and the Viola Desmond ferry. 

From Lobster's Vacation, written by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Paul G. Hammond

In the country, Lobster shares a campfire and some music with woodland animals. When the leaves start to change, there's berries to pick and hiking. But, as for most of us, Lobster's vacation becomes tiring, and he longs to see his friends.

Lobster's heading homeward.

So long, sandy shore!

 

Back home with his buddies

on the ocean floor.

At a time when many families are visiting Nova Scotia and other parts of Atlantic Canada for their summer holidays, Michelle Robinson has given them a picture book to take along and feed their travels. If you're fortunate enough to be in Halifax and environs, you may be able to pick out the very ice cream shop where Lobster gets his double scoop or the tartan shop. You'll certainly be able to watch popular kite flying and even board the Viola Desmond ferry. Lobster certainly sees all the sights, both touristy and local faves, but Michelle Robinson still gets Lobster home, and with a cheeky postcard to the fishermen who caught him in the first place.

From Lobster's Vacation, written by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Paul G. Hammond

Paul G. Hammond, also a creator from Halifax like Michelle Robinson, makes Lobster's adventures whimsical and postcard-ready. Every illustration is like a cartoon of a photo from a vacation, showing a smiling Lobster enjoying the sights of Nova Scotia and the company of others. Bold, bright colours, fabulous lines and shapes and text (within the art) makes for a flashy adventure for Lobster and for the readers who get to travel with him.

If you're lucky enough to be visiting the East Coast this summer or another, take along a copy of Lobster's Vacation. Use it as a child's guide to Halifax and area. The kids will love the rhyming story, and especially Lobster's escape from the cooking pot, and will be able to read it for themselves soon enough. And if a trip to Nova Scotia cannot be on your schedule, visit it vicariously through Lobster's Vacation. It's just like being there.

Fishermen Through & Through

by Colleen Sydor

Illustrated by Brooke Kerrigan

Red Deer Press

978-0-88995-517-2

32 pp.

Ages 4+

November 2014

There once lived three fishermen: Peter, Santiago, and Ahab. They were tough. They were as salty as the bottom of a pretzel bag. They were as weathered as a twisted stick of driftwood. (pg. 3)

These three men are the titular fisherman, a companionable trio whose lives on the sea do not preclude their ability to dream. Peter dreams of camel travel across a desert of sand,  Santiago imagines balloon travel on the wide expanse of sky, and Ahab is enamoured with the vision of endless fields of coloured tulips. But, as Fishermen Through & Through, they continue to fish, until one day, blow me down, a beautiful, white lobster becomes entangled in their nets.

Not wishing to be selfish, the three take their catch to the Fisherman's Net, a local restaurant, to be honoured by placement in a grand seawater tank, for all to enjoy.  News of the albino lobster spreads and everyone, from reporters to biologists and photographers, come to visit and witness the splendour of the lobster.  But, when the fishermen are offered a great deal of money for the lobster, they find themselves considering their dreams, the lobster and life on the sea to help them make the right decision.

Whether Colleen Sydor's three fishermen represent Saint Peter, Hemingway's old fisherman from The Old Man and the Sea, and Moby Dick's captain Ahab is irrelevant–though fitting–they are a credit to their vocation, fishermen through and through.  And their respect for the ocean, and what it gives and takes, is uncompromising.  With Brooke Kerrigan creating the graphics, the pencil illustrations are beautifully awash in soft watercolours, bringing the gentle waters and straightforward characters to complement the positive text.  Illustrator of Wellington's Rainy Day (Beck, 2011) and award-winning Kiss Me! (I'm a Prince) (McLeod, 2011) Brooke Kerrigan doesn't just add the pictures; she creates the spirit of Colleen Sydor's story through line and colour. Fishermen Through & Through is a complete story, through and through.