Sharks

Children's Literature

Alphabet books are always popular; add sea critters—a large percentage of them sharks or other fearsome creatures—and you have some winning reading. Twist begins by giving readers visual guides—a hand symbol and an adult diver symbol—representing seven inches and six feet, so that readers can visualize each creature's size in real life. Then the author divides sea life into two categories: invertebrates, or animals without backbones and vertebrates, animals with backbones, with general information on feeding, defense against predators, fish and invertebrate groups. Beginning with anemone and anglerfish, the book proceeds through megamouth shark and needlefish to xenocrongrid eel and zebra shark. A colorful picture, plus introductory paragraph accompanies each animal, with size comparisons and factoids presented in a shark-shaped box here and there. The book's glossary is especially nice, taking several pages and including pictures. With its lively illustration and clear writing, this book is a great introduction to sea life. Add this to a public or private library or hand it to a young reader to keep her/him busy during a car trip. 2003, Blackbirch Press, Ages 6 to 10.
—Judy Crowder

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-Each book starts with a general overview of its topic. Following that, examples of the animal are given under each letter of the alphabet. Some letters have many, while others (e.g., Q, Z) have only a few, or even one. This format, while fun, can lead to some small inconsistencies. For example, each creature is generally referred to by its common name (e.g., "Portuguese man-of-war" is found under "P"), but sometimes the constraints of fitting an animal into the alphabet require different terminology such as a Latin name ("O" features "oxybelis"-the scientific name for vine snakes) or a generalized term ("J" for "jellyfish"). The text does not go into much depth-three or four sentences per entry is the norm. A silhouette of the human body or hand and each featured animal will help readers get an idea of the creature's relative size. Additional facts about random animals are found in boxes on some of the pages. Lots of large, realistic drawings add visual appeal. Each book also includes an illustrated glossary. There's not enough here for even a brief report, but the colorful drawings and factual tidbits will certainly draw an appreciative audience of browsers.-Arwen Marshall, Minneapolis Public Library Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.