Sharks! (Animal Planet Chapter Books #1)

This is a great non-fiction book geared to young readers. The images and illustrations are amazing and give so much information in themselves. There is so much information in this book that youngsters will need to read this in several sittings. From birth, family life, food, hunting, appearances, migration, communication etc. it is all here. The book starts off telling us what all sharks have in common, then promptly tells us about all the many differences. We learn about their amazing senses, why their bodies are so light and why they can move so quickly. No book is complete without information about The Great White Shark. Learning about "Mary Lee" a great white that has been tagged and how the information they gather is used to keep humans safe. You can also go a website to see her being tracked. There are several species discussed in various chapters on different topics. The book shares a section on shark bites and myths about shark attacks. There is also a section called "Why Sharks Matter" dealing with how they help the environment and ecosystem and about how and why they are threatened.

I learned things about sharks that I did not know. I thought they had to keep moving so they could breathe, but found out that they have developed ways that they can actually sleep and still breathe based on currents and moving their muscles or that they have not bones, but are made of cartilage. There are several resources listed at the back of the book for further study.

This is a good book form young readers to learn about sharks. This seems to be a topic that is always of interest to people due to all the television coverage of sharks. I recommend this book to school, classroom and public libraries. This would be a great book for those reluctant readers as it does not seem like you are reading when going through this book.

What a fantastic book! My four year old son loves sharks and enjoyed this book very much. The pictures were great and the information was easy for him to understand. This is a great reference book for a parent to use when their child has a question about sharks.