Titus Tidewater is a sweet children’s picture book that reinforces friendship and doing the right thing. The book begins with Titus, a lobster, wearing his new summer shell and enjoying his summer home in the ocean. Titus decides to head out for an adventure, and his day is uneventful until he spies a beautiful lobster, Daphne, caught in a trap. He is unable to rescue Daphne from outside the trap, so he wiggles his way inside the trap but becomes tangled as he attempts to free Daphne. Before they can escape, the trap is lifted out of the water. Daphne is thrown back into the ocean because she is too small, but Titus is kept and sold to two children who want to keep him as a pet. They place Titus in a small puddle near the ocean, but he is able to escape and return home when the tide is high. When he finally returns to his summer home, Daphne is there waiting for him. She takes care of Titus’s wounds and feeds him, and they spend many seasons together, happily exploring the ocean.

There are interesting facts about lobsters sprinkled (in the form of footnotes) throughout Titus Tidewater. The illustrations are simple, but lovely, watercolor paintings. My 6-year-old son really enjoyed the book (especially the part where Titus made it back to the ocean), and I liked that Titus was willing to risk his freedom to save Daphne. I think this book would be a great addition to a study about the ocean, lobsters, or Maine, and it’s also a charming read-aloud.

Product review by Courtney Larson, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, October 2010