How to Survive as a Shark by Kristen Foote

Brave the deep (& your shark instructor) as you learn all the ins & outs of what it's like to be this special fish!


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I received a free copy of this product from Innovation Press in exchange for writing a review.  All opinions are my own.


Just like this fun title I shared the other day, your children will have loads of fun learning about sharks in a unique way with this colorful book:






This time your teacher in Shark School is a salty pirate. He starts things off by reassuring you that he probably won't be gobbling you up before the lesson is over, because he just snacked on a sea lion.


I absolutely love how this entire book is written in "pirate!" It's just so fun to read aloud!

Not only are these fellow cannibalistic creatures a threat to you once you're outside your mama, but you soon learn that you probably chomped a few of your sisters and brothers for breakfast before being squirted out to swim in the deep, blue sea!

Yikes! It's rough-going, being a shark!

But once you move past all the initial nasty bits, you quickly learn that you're a pretty special fish in the ocean.


The diagrams are so helpful and easily illustrate the different things you're learning.

The way that you breathe, float and find your prey will amaze you -- you'll use all six of your senses to help you find your next meal!


Just like in almost every school, there's always one little classmate who's always sneaking food!

As the day draws to a close, you still have more questions for your teacher -- but he's beginning to get a little hungry again, so he quickly gives you a handout on a few Shark FAQ:


I love how there are all these extra tidbits at the end!

Now you can swim off on your own, Little Chompy, and fill your own belly full of something slippery.

Once your child emerges from the mode of make-believe shark-in-training, there's an additional page full of real-life Great White photos along with a few extra facts.


Even this disclaimer page had me cracking up! I just love the humor in this book!

A great glossary wraps up this highly engaging, fact-filled book that easily entices your kids to learn more about these fascinating creatures.


Not only are these definitions listed here, but they're hidden throughout the book, as well, turning vocabulary time into a game!

This book is loads of fun -- I loved reading it to Gv in my best pirate voice and the hilarious illustrations had us cracking up at every turn of the page.

It is a wonderful addition to your STEM shelf and sure to inspire plenty of further investigations after the book is closed!


Such a fun addition to your science collection!

We even decided to explore the floating aspect of fish a bit more by doing a little buoyancy investigation later on. 

First, we made little plastic-egg sharks. We drew on giant teeth and hot-glued on a shark fin and some googly eyes to make these more fun.



Then, we took 3 balloons and filled each one with something different: water, air and oil.


We didn't need much water or oil to fill the balloons. Just make sure to get all the extra air out before you tie it, otherwise it won't work properly.

Finally, we talked about how heavy each egg was before placing them all in a box of water to see how they would float. 


The one with the air bladder floated -- just like most fish!

This one had an oil bladder, like sharks do -- and it floated, too! Gv was surprised, since it was the heaviest.

The one filled with water sank. It's hard to tell that in the photo, but you can see how deep Gv's hands are and the egg is between them.


After that little activity ended, we made a silly shark fin headband, so Gv could "attack" Daddy when he got home from work.



You never know what you'll walk in the door to find around here!

Even though this book is filled with facts that will keep an older child immersed in all things shark for days, I think it's also a great one to go ahead and grab while your kids are still preschoolers. There are plenty of colorful pages to flip through and it's easily the type of book you can just pick up and share a fact or two at a time with.

Grab your own copy of the book here and kick off Shark Week at your house!




Does your child enjoy learning new facts, but likes having fun at the same time?  I'd love to hear!  Either leave a comment below or email me at lisah
ealy (at) outlook (dot) com.

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1 comment:

  1. My little guy will enjoy this. Thank you for contributing to Literacy Musing Mondays.

    ReplyDelete