Surprising Sharks

by Nicola Davies

Paperback, 2003

Status

Check shelf

Call number

E D

Genres

All Topics

Nonfiction

Collection

E ANIMALS / CATS & DOGS Shelf (RED & PINK labels)

Publication

Scholastic Inc. (2003)

Description

Introduces many different species of sharks, pointing out such characteristics as the small size of the dwarf lantern shark and the physical characteristics and behavior that makes sharks killing machines.

Local notes

1907-028

User reviews

LibraryThing member sdglenn

Great for grades3-5. Illustrations drawn with markers. Good for helping children understand nonfiction. Introduces many different species of sharks, pointing out such characteristics as the small size of the dwarf lantern shark and the physical characteristics and behavior that makes sharks killing

machines.

Show Less

15 more

LibraryThing member rachel0217

This was a great book that informs children about the different types of sharks. The book also describes each shark's physical characteristics.

LibraryThing member genevieve1331

“Surprising Sharks,” by Nicola Davies is an interesting nonfiction story that supplies a lot of information about different kinds of sharks. Rather than being just informative, there are a lot of illustrations and the story is built around the information. As the story is told, there are small

paragraphs of information regarding the sharks next to illustrations. It is a great way for kids to learn but remain interested as they read. At the end of the book is a very simple index, telling which pages the various sharks in the book are mentioned, which is a great touch.

This book would be great for elementary aged children. I really enjoy the unique way that the information is presented around the storyline in this book. Not only that, but the bright and fun illustrations and variations of the text kept me engaged. I also thought that the index at the end of the book was awesome because it would be a good introduction to children of how to use the index to conduct research.

After reading this story, I would have children choose one of the sharks mentioned in the story and have them gather information and facts about that particular shark from the book. It would be a good way for kids to begin to learn how to list facts when they are conducting research. I could also introduce the index to the children with this book. I could photocopy an index page for everyone and have the class answer questions about which page to find which shark.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Book_Mountain

This is an incredibly informative picture book about sharks. It helps children learn about sharks while keeping them entertained with stories about sharks. This story keeps the focus away from shark attacks and on the cool aspects of sharks. The photos are large and show sharks of different shapes

and sizes. However, they are not realistic pictures of sharks but interpretive drawings of these different species of sharks. There are also a lot of diagrams of sharks in this book. The book is still extremely informative and appeals to a younger audience because of these pictures. Recommended for ages 4-6

Show Less

LibraryThing member Jessie_Bear

Surprising Sharks challenges popular assumptions about sharks while illuminating the ways in which sharks are different, as well as how they are the same. The text briefly introduces the reader to a variety of sharks, such as a goblin shark or an angel shark, with an index to ease locating relevant

text. Font size varies, with larger fonts carrying main concepts and smaller fonts full of more detailed facts. Two spreads of shark diagrams break up the rest of the text, with important and well displayed diagrams on the basic anatomy of a shark. Humans frame the shark text well, tying the end and the introduction with a takeaway message. However, it is unfortunate that the humans depicted as endangering sharks, or shown at all, are overwhelming white males. Nevertheless, the illustrations are colorful and appealing, done in acrylic paint and chalk pastels. While a young shark connoisseur may prefer less simplified illustrations or even photographs, these illustrations serve as a good introduction to sharks to a young audience. With a lack of stated bibliographic sources or acknowledgements citing experts, the zoologist-written text overall is a good introduction to the concept of varying sharks, but not an in-depth resource. This book is recommended to children ages six through eight.

Show Less

LibraryThing member JenJ.

Published by the same company as Sea Horse by Christine Butterworth, Surprising Sharks has several similarities but some differences as well. Like Sea Horse, Surprising Sharks uses two sizes of text to denote the main story line which can be used for read-alouds and the sidenotes which provide

additional material for information seekers. Both titles include simple indexes, but where Sea Horse focused on just one of the many sea horse species, Surprising Sharks covers many different species of sharks. The two titles also have different illustrators with James Croft producing illustrations in acrylic and pastel for Surprising Sharks. Croft's brightly colored illustrations bring out the variety of colorings that sharks display and match the humor in Davies' text. Sharks are a grade school favorite and Surprising Sharks is an excellent addition to shark subject materials.

Previously read 6/2/08.
Used as a read-aloud for the Tons of Fun - Under the Sea program September 09. This went over well with the 2nd and 3rd graders although I didn't read aloud of the details that were printed in smaller font - just a few every now and then as the spirit moved me.

Show Less

LibraryThing member mssan5

This book is enjoyable to read because it has several different types of sharks with cartoonish but realisitic illustrations. It includes a storyline that makes learning about sharks more appealing to young readers. It includes diagrams that clearly illustrate the body parts of a shark.

LibraryThing member rdg301library

This is a book that is about different kinds of sharks, what they look like, what they eat, and more. Some pages may be a little busy for students to read along because there is so much written on each page.

LibraryThing member eschoe1

I absolutely loved this book. The amount of detail the author and illustrator put into this book is incredible. I love the way the author conveys her messages throughout the book. The opening hook really draws in the audience: "You're swimming in the warm blue sea. What's the one word that turns

your dream into a nightmare?" I can imagine myself reading this to my third graders and seeing their faces light up! The author used awesome text features to really draw attention to certain aspects of the book. She used bold print and cross sectioning to help the reader understand and move with the book. I also love the illustrations. Each page is covered with drawings of sharks, fish and crabs that help the reader stay interested in what he/she is reading. The author used diagrams to explain the different body parts of a shark, and the illustrator created a huge shark to help support the diagram. The overall goal of this book was to inform students about all of the different species of sharks.

Show Less

LibraryThing member kprinc3

My favorite part about this book was the creative styling of the fonts. The reader needs to turn the book in all sorts of directions to read each page. For an informational book, Surprising Sharks was very enjoyable to read. There was only about two sentences of text per page, making it a quick

read. The book was still packed with information about several different kinds of sharks. I also really liked the illustrations in the book because they made the sharks seem friendly and not so scary. Although the book was informational, it had an overarching message of stopping shark poaching. I feel like this draws attention to an issue not often discussed that the reader may not know about.

Show Less

LibraryThing member magen.rauscher

This was a fascinating informational books about sharks. The author began with asking the reader what they though to be the scariest animal living in the sea. The author assumed that the reader would be afraid of sharks. The Author's first shark in the book was the smallest shark in the world,

which was not very scary at all. The whole book talked about the interesting facts about sharks. Although the author pointed out that great whites, bullsharks and tiger sharks kill a few people each year, over 100 million sharks are killed each year. I would use this book to teach my students about sharks during a unit on the ocean.

Show Less

LibraryThing member pbusto1

This book was a very information book. It did a very good job explaining shark facts.And it was a interesting book.

LibraryThing member achamb15

This book was so interesting! It included wonderful incites to sharks and also included a story line. I really like the graphics that paired with the information given. The writing was engaging and entailed countless facts about sharks. Even though this was an informational book this still included

an overall message that sharks are not dangerous and people harm many sharks every year.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Lisapier

This book is written by the same author as Bat Loves the Night. Nicola Davies is a zoologist with a person interest in sea life. It too is a great informational text about sharks. The etxt and illustrations are excellent. It is alittle higher level than Bat loves the night. It would be a ggod part

of aclassroom library from grades 1- 5. In the upper grades it would be a good initial resource to help students narrow thie research of decide on a topic. The illustrations are higher level and the captions use scienctific academic language of upper elementary. This book also has a good index that could be used to teach standard Rl. 2.5. The information is presented in a whimsical manner that appeals to students and could be used to teach intonation and how to read punctuation. No elementary classroom library will be complete without books from the Nature Storybooks series.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Merryann

This is one of my favorite books about sharks because I love the way the author and illustrator use gentle, good-natured humor to impart great facts about sharks.

LibraryThing member eranda2

I liked this book for several reasons. The first reason why I liked this book is because of the great illustrations. The illustrations go along with the text perfectly that enhances the meaning of the book. Also I like how there was two points of views from the young boy and the shark. Especially

at the end of the story how the author explained, “If you were a shark swimming gin the lovely blue sea, the least word you’d want to hear would be…human!” The book explains that sharks are scared of us too because many people use sharks for “skin cream fertilizer, cattle feed” and many more. This story is very informative about the different types of sharks in the ocean.

Show Less

Fewer