"I have a gray top (or back). Unsuspecting prey
above me don't even notice me against the dark-
colored water below me until ...
CHOMP!
Yet my tummy is white, so to prey looking up
from below me, I blend in with the lighter sky
above. This called countershading.
And it makes me the SNEAKIEST shark in
this book!"
I am quite sure that my younger granddaughter will not think she wants to hear this book. She is 'not fond' of sharks, or learning more about them. I think that this funny, fact-filled book about said ocean denizens may change her mind. We will see in coming days.
The great white, as narrator, does its very best to convince readers that it is the "GREATEST SHARK" in the entire book. Immediately, a voice contests that assertion. It's the whale shark whose claim to fame is being BIGGEST. The illustrative comparison shows the former how small it really is. The whale shark is as big as a school bus! Turn the next page and the great white is okay with being small as it affords some real benefits. So, now it is the SMALLEST. Is that so? Of course not!
And so it goes, from page to page ... another shark species arrives to discount the statements being made by the great white. The conversation goes on; all the while readers are learning more and more facts about our narrator, as well as a fact or two about other species. The tone is humorous. I think it would be a fun book to read with numerous readers in a readers' theatre presentation. Or for two readers - one as narrator, the other as the voices of each of the other sharks.
Readers will enjoy taking long looks at the animated collage illustrations. The review of shark facts provides a perfect opportunity for Laurie Keller to draw a blueprint with labelled and captioned body parts that are particular to the great white itself. Ms. Holub adds a short list for further reading, and a warning:
"Don't swim too close to sharks. We can be
dangerous. But we're helpful too. Our hunting
skills keep the oceans healthy."
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