Mallets Up! is in the genre of the new graphic novels. Not a comic book; but a story nevertheless.

The story is told, visually, of how the blue crab of the Chesapeake Bay gets to the table, ready to be picked.

From live blue-green crabs swimming in the bay in the morning, to hot orange crabs on a brown paper-covered table that night, it takes a crew.

Hearty Watermen haul in the crabs. They lift the heavy baskets in the darkness thru dawn, in the cold or heat, in the wind or dead calm.

The cook in the kitchen battle billows of steam, vat of boiling water, and pinching crab claws.

Trays laden with beer and piles of seasoned crabs are delivered by speed-possessed waiters and waitresses.

Mallets Up! The Feast Begins!

- NANCY HAMMOND, 2013