Goblin sharks

The elusive deep-water goblin shark fascinates scientists and divers, and, of course, children are already fascinated with the sharp-toothed beasts. As far as recorded history is concerned, the first mitsukurina owstoni was caught by a Japanese fisherman in 1897. With its pale-pink, almost translucent skin and double jaw, which it juts out to capture its prey, the shark looks quite different from more common sharks, and it uses its snout as an electroreception sense for hunting. Yet little is truly known about the goblin shark because of its challenging habitat, and scientists must speculate about the life cycle and reproduction of the shark because none have survived outside of the deep ocean. The simple yet creative text and color photographs will draw young readers to this title in the Exploring Our Oceans series.--Petty, J. B. Copyright 2010 Booklist

Gr 3-5-Each title examines a shark species in a largely engaging fashion, covering range, physical characteristics, food, reproduction, and predators. While general facts are included, the texts do a nice job of highlighting distinct traits, such as the mako's unusual body temperature. The language isn't always smooth, but the logical arrangement and fairly simple sentence structure make the information easy to process. Photographs are more useful than exciting-most fill less than half a page, limiting the potential for dramatic visual impact. Text boxes raise questions and encourage analysis from readers, neatly bringing in Common Core concepts (e.g., "How are the feeding habits of the goblin shark different from other sharks? In what ways does this surprise you?"). Most of these are effective devices to move students a bit deeper into the topic. Though slightly less visually appealing than some shark series, this set offers a strong presentation of information through words and pictures, making it a solid choice for an always in-demand subject area. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.