Where do crabs go when they just need a break? To the seashore, of course! Follow a family of crabs as they embark on a fantastic Crustacean Vacation in a children's book written by Brian Benoit and illustrated by Marty Kelley, due out in the spring of 2012.
On their grand day out, Mom, Dad, two crablets and Grannie venture on land to picnic on the beach (yum, peanut butter and jellyfish!), play games in a boardwalk arcade (not even a crab can win at The Claw), and slide and glide in a water park. This is no ordinary boardwalk. Here, a seagull runs the candy store, a shark manages the tattoo parlor, a seahorse hawks prizes, and the lifeguard is an octopus. Young readers will delight in the clever rhyming verses paired with wacky and wonderful illustrations from the imagination of acclaimed New Hampshire artist Marty Kelley.
"Brian's whole premise for Crustacean Vacation was so silly and funny and unusual, it was impossible not to love it," says Islandport children's book editor Melissa Kim. "And when Marty agreed to illustrate it, I knew we had a winner. He really sees the world through the eyes of a 6-year-old and brings that world to life with his art."
Kelley is the author and illustrator of several children's books, including Fall Is Not Easy, The Rules, Winter Woes, Summer Stinks, Spring Goes Squish, The Messiest Desk, and Twelve Terrible Things. His career as an artist started when he began drawing historically accurate pictures of spaceships dropping bombs on dinosaurs. He has, in the past, been a second grade teacher, a baker, a cartoonist, a newspaper art director, a drummer in a heavy metal band, a balloon delivery guy, and an animator. Now he visits lots and lots of schools to show students how he creates his books. He is also a juried member of the New Hampshire State Council for the Arts Visiting Artist Roster.
Originally from Somersworth, N.H., author Brian Benoit now listens for the roar of the surf deep in the woods of Cavendish, Vt. His sea creatures were originally conjured up to entertain his brother during family trips on the Maine coast, but have since proven popular with his own children. Influenced by the poetry of Ogden Nash, Shel Silverstein, T.S. Eliot, Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll, he currently indexes historical government documents for NewsBank/Readex. He lives in Vermont with his wife, Jennifer; daughter, Emery; son, Liam; a border collie; three Practical Cats; a host of chickens; and numerous tropical fish. Crustacean Vacation is his first children's book.




