Lobsters can't knit by Karla Courtney and Nicholas John Frith

Lobster can do lots of things: he can eat enough for three stomachs, swim forwards and backwards, and will always win at arm wrestling. But he lives deep in the ocean where it is very cold and he wants a jumper, one with long sleeves to keep him warm. Other sea animals give him lots of reasons why this is impossible. Octopus tells him he has too many arms and Shrimp points out that claws are not made for knitting. But Lobster keeps trying. He unsurprisingly makes a mess and scurries off home, throwing away his knitting efforts, but his fishy friends retrieve the wool and the needles and encourage him to try again. Each animal is given a specific task to do with the knitting. Octopus finds he is a clever knitter, Crab can ball up the wool, and Lobster is adept at cutting. Together they make Lobster a jumper, and several of the other animals have a knitted piece of clothing as well.

A warm hearted look at trying to become skilled at something, Lobster at first throws away his efforts but is encouraged by his friends to try again, with them helping out. A team effort results in Lobster having a warm jumper.

Illustrations with a retro look of books produced in the fifties are most amusing, showing a determined group of sea creatures struggling to help their friend. The pastel colours are a delight, and the endpapers covered with an array of sea creatures will intrigue younger readers.

Lots of laughter will accompany the reading of this story. The animals trying to create knitting is just hilarious, and seeing them eventually covered in woolly pieces will evoke much fun, while the individual animals, see the Crab and the Seahorse, look absolutely charming in their onesies.

A nod to pollution on the sea bed will attract readers’ attention and the information given about a lobster will be absorbed and checked.

Karla’s website has more fun with the readers, showing an array of knitted lobsters as well as information about the author.

While https://nicholasjohnfrith.com/ takes readers to the illustrator’s website and the work that he does.

Themes: Knitting, Sea creatures, Humour, Laugh out loud, Lobsters, Retro illustrations.

Fran Knight