Barnacle Bay
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
Selected for the 2026 Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List
A Best Graphic Novels for Children 2025 ALA Selection
"Perfect for fans of the visual style and humor of Ben Clanton’s Narwhal and Jelly, and also a useful introduction to marine habitats and sea life for classroom units and individual interest.”—School Library Journal
This hilarious new graphic novel from the Little Habitats series explores the ecosystem of a bay and the marine creatures and plant life that call it home.
Crab is fed up with the bay. Each day is the same; nobody cares for him or appreciates his sense of humor. So he’s leaving. Just when he is about to go, he bumps into Larva, who is looking for a home. Crab agrees to show Larva around the bay, exploring its many places and residents, on his way out.
Together, Crab and Larva visit the sea kelp, a fine shell-ection of oysters, mussels, clams, and a bickering group of sea anemones, amongst many more neighbors in the bay.
Will Larva find the perfect spot to settle here? And if he does, what will Crab do?
Designed for kids aged 6-9, Barnacle Bay features:Science-based information about marine life reviewed by expertsFun facts about underwater creatures and plant lifeBrightly colored graphic style illustrations
Packed with humor, playful jokes, and fun facts about marine life, this beautifully illustrated graphic novel dives into the fascinating world hidden within this tiny, often overlooked, ecosystem.
Book 1 in the Little Habitats series!
In a big world, we can often overlook the importance of being little! This series of graphic novels for young readers aims to introduce children to nature’s small and vital ecosystems. Full of humor and hijinks, each book in the series features a heartwarming story set in a different habitat, with accompanying fact pages throughout. The familiar becomes fantastic as we zoom in on these overlooked creatures and communities, and prepare to laugh out loud as we explore the environments that they inhabit.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Crammed with ocean puns ("Shell-phones off, please!"), interesting factoids ("Young hermit crabs and young anemones bond with each other"), and nods to environmental damage ("Some big threats to kelp are pollution and climate change"), this information-packed graphic novel, the first in a series, uses a chance encounter between Crab and a tiny, floating blob, Larva, to explore sea creatures and plants. Crab is, well, crabby at first ("Heeey! Watch where you're going!"), until Larva explains its mission: "I'm not actually sure where I'm going... but I'll know when I find it!" Crab begrudgingly agrees to show Larva around, and gradually softens to expose a warm, kind heart. In polished cartoon-style panel artwork by Curll (Busy Scooters), the two visit a kelp forest, learn about anemones, meet bivalves, and more: "Everyone in the bay has an important role to play," the crustacean turned tour guide says. At last, Larva finds a place to settle—and makes an unexpected reveal. Each section is followed by a slightly less tongue-in-cheek informative sidebar, with a few comedic asides sprinkled throughout this cheerful introduction to marine life. Ages 6–9.
