Review by Booklist Review
These concrete poems about a selection of sharks will tickle the fins of many an aspiring marine biologist. Sharks, always a high-interest topic, are successfully showcased in this heavily visual format. First up is the usual suspect: a double-page spread featuring a great white. On the left, the open-mouthed shark cuts through the water, the top of his fin poking above the waves. He is mimicked on the right by triangular text: Okay. / We get / it. You're big / and bad and mean. Of the sharks that follow, some tiger sharks, whale sharks, bull sharks are familiar, but others are a rarer breed: frilled sharks, which live deep in the ocean; goblin sharks, which are pink and flat-snouted; and cookie-cutter sharks, which are named for the circular bite marks they leave on prey. The digital illustrations, glossy and brightly colored, are just cartoonish enough to dispel any fears young readers may have about the subject. The book ends with another favorite: a poem for two voices that features what else? a hammerhead.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Brown (Caminar) presents 14 types of sharks-wobbegongs, makos, and hammerheads, among them-in a series of well-crafted poems that range from playful to ominous. Several concrete poems are in the mix: a line describing the "two long whiskers-like a frown" of a nurse shark stretches across the fish's face like a mustache, while a spiral-shaped poem evokes the circular bites the cookie-cutter shark takes out of its victims, leaving a "cookie-shaped hole" when it twists away. Working in a mostly muted palette of greens, grays, and blues, Kolar (The Boy & the Book) contributes flattened, posterlike images of the sharks, often dramatically lit from above by angular shafts of light. All in all, it's a book that ought to leave many readers fascinated-and perhaps a little unsettled-by the diversity of sharks that exist beneath the waves. Ages 6-9. Author's agent: Tina Wexler, ICM. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
Brown begins this playful and illuminating collection by taking a bite out of the most infamous of these ocean predators, the great white shark: "youre no bully, / just a big attention hog. So / move over. Let another shark / swim to the beat." And thirteen other sharks do, each one featured on its own double-page spread, giving the subjects plenty of room. Verses almost as varied as the sharks themselves introduce such species as the wobbegong, goblin shark, and frilled shark: "Lean and / long, teeth / needle- / strong, / with foggy, / empty / eyes." Creative type placement and size emphasize physical attributes, behavior, and/or temperament. Reflecting the poems different moods, Kolars dynamic digital illustrations in blues, greens, and browns immerse readers in the underwater habitat. Brief factual asides in smaller type enhance the profiles, sometimes dramatically so. The whimsical-looking spiral-shaped poem for the cookie-cutter shark, for example, takes on a more threatening tenor after you learn that "they bite their preythen spin around, removing a hunk of flesh and leaving a cookie-shaped hole in their victim." Though lacking documentation, this book offers an accessible and engaging appreciation of these fascinating creatures. Pair with Nicola Daviess Surprising Sharks (rev. 1/04)though maybe not at the beach. kitty flynn(c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Fourteen sharks, each with a dedicated poem, lurk within these turquoise-watered pages. Despite their immediate reputation as fierce predators, sharks are varied and have many different characteristics. In her picture-book debut, Brown explores not only the well-known great white and hammerhead, but also the lesser-known deep-sea dwellers. The layout of the text frequently mimics the shark under discussion: words form the cavernous shape of the gaping megamouth or drip down into the mustachioed-frown of the nurse shark. The cookie-cutter shark's poem spirals in toward itself to mirror the twist of the tiny predator's bite. And well-placed spaces heighten suspense: "your slinky stripes slide around / from below you wait. / and stalk your prey you wait." A smattering of informational text is also included for each shark. Kolar's streamlined digital illustrations show wide jaws and toothy grimaces, but blood is never shed. Shimmering blues of the surface fall away to the murky depths of the ocean floor. An inviting format to spark shark discussions; however, it's a shame that sources and backmatter were left adrift. (Informational picture book/poetry. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
