Don't Worry, Little Crab

What’s it about?

The story.

Little Crab lives in a rock pool and is afraid of the sea. Big Crab is patient. The waves are too big. Don't worry. The water is too cold. Don't worry. The sound is too loud. Don't worry. Little Crab comes up with every reason not to go in, and Big Crab offers no argument, just presence, and quiet reassurance at each step. Eventually, together, they go in. Chris Haughton makes the sea genuinely imposing: the illustrations shift from the warm terracotta of the rock pool to the vast dark blue of the ocean in stages, and the onomatopoeia, SWOOSH, SPLASH, gives the read-aloud a physical rhythm that children respond to physically. The moment Little Crab realises the sea is wonderful is shown entirely in illustration, without a word, which gives it a weight beyond what any text could. A consistently recommended book for anxious children, for children facing new experiences, a swimming pool, a new school, any first, and for reading before a beach holiday. One of the most emotionally precise children's books about fear and what it looks like to be gently, patiently supported through it.