Old Dog and Elly fear goannas, Ms Chen fears geckos, and Big Cuz fears the dentist. Little J boasts he isn’t scared of anything, but this may not be true. When Mick, Ally, Little J and Old Dog go to the beach, Little J discovers that his hero, Mick, is scared of Hermit crabs. Together, on the cliff, Mick and Little J overcome their shame of being afraid and help each other to be brave.

Engage - Explore ideas, experiences, observations and imagination to create visual artworks and design, including considering ideas in artworks by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.

Revisit the events of Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 11 ‘Nothing Scares Me’, and have students concentrate on the animals that the characters were afraid of, such as a goanna, a gecko, and hermit crabs. Quiz students on why these animals were feared – their appearance and physical features, size, behaviours, colour, texture, or potential to harm a person if frightened themselves.

Hermit crabs

Have students view images and/or video clips of the hermit crab and observe the details of the animal and its shell, particularly the shape, size, colour, texture, patterns, etc.

• Hermit Crab
• Amazing Crabs Shell Exchange (Hermit crabs) 
• Hermit Crab images
• Hermit Crabs
• 10 Facts About Hermit Crabs
• Crabs trade Shells in the Strangest Way | BBC Earth

Using three squares on one sheet of paper, have students draw three pictures of the hermit crab

Square 1: Focus on the shape and comparative size of the hermit crab.

Square 2: Focus on a detail of the texture of the surface of the hermit crab.

Square 3: Focus on the colour and pattern of the hermit crab.

View National Gallery of Victoria artworks by Aboriginal artists and/or Torres Strait Islander artists with the subject of the ‘crab/hermit crab’.

• Robin GUNINGBAL (1943 - deceased), Artist's Totems, c.1971, Deutscher and Hackett
• ‘Kalparrku’ (Crab) (1994), Eva Nargoodah
• ‘Gumu’ (hermit crab) (1995). Galiwin'ku Community Screenprinting (maker) & Ernest Matjawuy Gondarra (designer)
• ‘Hermit Crab In Green Shell’, 2011

Discuss with students how these artworks, by Aboriginal peoples and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, are special to them. Have students observe how each artist represents the animal, particularly its size, shape and pattern, and how the artist fills the shape and patterns the background.

Examine the artworks for how Aboriginal artists show the contrasting patterns on the shell, and the colour and structure of the crab’s body.

Ask students to design an artwork where the same shape of the hermit crab is repeated three or more times in the composition. Suggest students change the position of the crab/hermit crab so that the images radiate from the centre of the page, and use different textures and colours taken from the crab’s shell to fill each shape.