Graeme Swinimer knows every nook and cranny of his fishing community of Lower Narrow Spit. What’s left for a future marine biologist to discover?

But when Graeme’s dad catches a gargantuan lobster with antennae the size of bicycle spokes, the discovery soon has the whole town abuzz. Graeme is thrilled when his dad promises to put the creature up for auction at the town’s annual lobster festival and, if it gets the highest bid, use the prize money to take Graeme to a marine research aquarium. But what if the right thing would be to set the lobster free?

Lower the Trap is the first book in The Lobster Chronicles, a trilogy about how life changes for three boys in a small coastal town when a giant lobster is caught in a trap.

• Canadian Children’s Booknews: “How reassuring it is (for children) to find that not all heroes are larger-than-life figures but are just like them, complete with frailties and foibles as well as qualities of greatness. Graeme wins our sympathy as doubts assail him, and we become deeply involved in his dilemma as he confronts it with genuine emotion and developing awareness.”
• Quill and Quire: “Kerrin uses a child’s natural curiosity for the strange and spectacular to explore an important aspect of Canadian life that will be unfamiliar to those who live in parts of the country where commercial fishing is not a way of life. Her approach to the series, in which each book will be told from the perspective of a different narrator, has the potential to be a powerful teaching tour.”
• Kirkus Reviews: “Kerrin, author of the Martin Bridge chapter-book series, aims for a slightly older audience in this first installment of a planned trilogy. Set in a fictional Nova Scotia fishing village, the books will examine, through the eyes of three separate boys, how their life changes with the capture of a gargantuan lobster. Kerrin conveys a believable plot with minimal text that’s driven by spot-on dialogue. A cast of colourful characters and a satisfying ending will leave readers wondering whose story is next.”
• CM Magazine: “Kerrin has many interesting elements, including great description, an interesting setting, and a diverse set of characters.”
• Toronto Star: “School social relations and an accessible plot combine with regional issues in this story, the first in a trilogy that examines the same event from three perspectives.”