“Shark Baby” by Ann Downer & illustrated by Shennen Bersani

“Shark Baby”  is a cute book about a shark trying to figure out who he is.  He sees other animals of the sea and asks if he is one of them.  The story is cute.  I don’t particularly like the use of  “Mother Ocean” in the story but that is a personal preference for me.  The pictures are delightful and would keep the attention of young children. The illustrator uses lots of lively colors with lots of detail.  I especially like the large character on each page that jumps out and catches your interest.

The teacher help pages are very good in this book and give added information about the ocean animals as well as questions for teachers to use to increase interest and knowledge. (Reviewed by: Claudette Delorge, Librarian)

About the author: Ann Downer has never lived very far from the ocean. When she was little, her uncle took her to a beach to see horseshoe crabs, and she has been interested in sea creatures ever since. She spent part of her childhood in and around the Pacific Ocean, living first in the Philippine Islands and then in Thailand. Now she lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, not far from the Atlantic Ocean. With her husband and son, she likes to go looking for sea creatures in tide pools in Maine. She once had a chance to go out in a very small boat with some scientists who study whales, and got to listen to the whales coming up for air. She used to be scared of sharks (she still is, a little!) but mostly thinks they are some of the most beautiful and fascinating creatures on Earth. Ann helped edit two books about the ocean for grown-ups: Oceans: Heart of Our Blue Planet and Underwater Eden: Saving the Last Coral Wilderness on Earth. She is the author of five novels for young readers and Elephant Talk, a book about the ways elephants communicate.

About the illustrator: Award-winning children’s book illustrator Shennen Bersani has two million copies of her illustrated books cherished and read by families throughout the world. She has been a freelance illustrator since 1989. She works primarily with colored pencils, sometimes using a mixed-media technique of colored pencils, crayon, and paint. Her art delivers a unique blend of realism, heartfelt emotion, love of nature, and life lessons for children of all ages. In addition to Home in the Cave, The Glaciers are Melting!, and Astro:The Steller Sea Lion for Sylvan Dell, Shennen has illustrated a number of best-selling books, including, Snakes: Long, Longer, Longest; Sharks: Big, Bigger, Biggest; Ocean Counting: Odd Numbers; Icky Bug Shapes; and My Sister, Alicia May. Her art also appears in many magazines, newspapers, and publications. Shennen lives with her family near Boston.

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy of Shark Baby was provided by Sylvan Dell Publishing in exchange for our honest review. Opinion expressed are solely those of the reviewer.