The Lobster and the Sea

Rating:
Summary: A story every grandparent and grandchild need to share.
Review: I teach second grade and read this story to my class. It really struck a responsive chord in my students. Several parents told me their children came home and insisted upon calling out-of-state grandparents, aunts and uncles. Personally, I found it a really touching story and one that reminded me of how much I hated to leave my grandparents' house when I was a child.

Rating:
Summary: Loyal & constant love of family even when they aren't near
Review: The Little girl in The Lobster and the Sea copes with the feelings of possible abandonment and loss at the departure of a grandparent. Her grandfather is not dying, but wants to go back "home" where he grew up, in this case, China. "I thought this was home," worries the girl. Understanding comes for her in a dream when a pet lobster weeps with the desire to go back to the sea. In the same way, her grandfather longs to see his home place. The lobster and the Sea is somewhat a mood book, both in the wistful crayon illustrations and in the cerebral notion of "wandering" in the world but finally returning to the place of one's birth. It attempts to explain this urge to the Asian American child who might well have no such urge. It also helps to impart the notion of the constant and loyal love pf parents or grandparents, even when they cannot be present.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story!
Review: What a wonderful, touching, and thoughtful story this is! I moved to America eight years ago from Eastern Europe, and I can deeply relate to the experiences of both the girl and the grandpa, as well as to the lobster.... I will be reading this tale to my son, who was born in America, so he can appreciate the bravery one must have, when choosing to live between two cultures and two homes. Ms. Chiu and Ms. Takahashi have created a beautiful children's book, with a thoughtful message to both children and adults!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story!
Review: What a wonderful, touching, and thoughtful story this is! I moved to America eight years ago from Eastern Europe, and I can deeply relate to the experiences of both the girl and the grandpa, as well as to the lobster.... I will be reading this tale to my son, who was born in America, so he can appreciate the bravery one must have, when choosing to live between two cultures and two homes. Ms. Chiu and Ms. Takahashi have created a beautiful children's book, with a thoughtful message to both children and adults!