Here’s a little post for all you Pagoo fans!  For those of you scratching your heads right now, Pagoo is a book by Holling Clancy Holling that tells the story of a hermit crab, Pagurus, teaching all about his life cycle and fellow inhabitants of the tide pool.  Our family has been enjoying reading it together this summer.   

Today we watched hermit crabs of various sizes scoot around in their shells of all shapes.  We accidentally separated one from his home while holding him up for the camera, but then we saved the day by returning him and his shell back to the water and watching while he zipped back in in a flash.  

 
We watched hermit crabs fight over empty shells.  The girls pretended to save them from a rain storm that threatened to dilute their salty pool.  We observed their beady little eyes and their two sets of feelers (one long set for navigating, one short set for “smelling” and testing their surroundings).  

 
We saw one hermit crab hitching a ride on his buddy’s back which reminded us of the Landlady of Traveling Towers.  One little guy had seaweed attached to his shell, and Boo reminded us of how Decorator Crabs “glue” greenery onto their shells (that amazingly continues to grow there in a symbiotic relationship).  What a great visit to Tide Pool Town we had today!  It really makes a book come alive when you can go to the beach and see the main characters in action!