Shark Week’s almost over, but the fun doesn’t stop there!
Keep the shark love going with these shark-themed kids’ fiction and nonfiction books for 1st-6th graders.
1. Nugget and Fang: Friends Forever—or Snack Time?
Tammi Sauer, Michael Slack
Level: Preschool-Grade 2
In the deep ocean, tiny Nugget and big, toothy Fang get along swimmingly—until Nugget’s first day of minnow school. There Nugget learns that minnows are supposed to be afraid of sharks!
To regain Nugget’s trust, Fang takes desperate (and hilarious) measures. But it’s not until his big sharp teeth save the entire school that minnows learn this shark is no foe. Fantastically stylized artwork adds even more humor to this undersea story of unlikely friendship.
2. Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist
Jess Keating, Marta Álvarez Miguéns
Level: Grades 1-4
Eugenie Clark fell in love with sharks from the first moment she saw them at the aquarium.
She couldn’t imagine anything more exciting than studying these graceful creatures. But Eugenie quickly discovered that many people believed sharks to be ugly and scary—and they didn’t think women should be scientists.
Determined to prove them wrong, Eugenie devoted her life to learning about sharks. After earning several college degrees and making countless discoveries, Eugenie wrote herself into the history of science, earning the nickname “Shark Lady.” Through her accomplishments, she taught the world that sharks were to be admired rather than feared and that women can do anything they set their minds to.
3. I Am a Shark
Lori C. Roeb
Level: Grades 1-3
What does the ocean look like through a shark’s eyes? How do sharks find food? What’s it like to continually shed teeth?
Written from the perspective of a shark, this accessible, engaging book encourages further progress in children’s reading abilities. Simple factual text, new phonic structures and concepts reinforced by photos teach readers about the habits, skills and actions of a shark.
After acquiring new reading skills and learning about a unique topic, children can use the glossary and quiz to reinforce reading comprehension.
4. Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands
Katherine Roy
Level: Grades 3-6
A few miles from San Francisco lives a population of the ocean’s largest and most famous predators. Each fall, while the city’s inhabitants dine on steaks, salads and sandwiches, the great white sharks return to California’s Farallon Islands to dine on their favorite meal: the seals that live on the island’s rocky coasts.
Massive, fast and perfectly adapted to hunting after 11 million years of evolution, the great whites are among the planet’s most fearsome, fascinating and least understood animals.
Neighborhood Sharks is an intimate portrait of the life cycle, biology and habitat of the great white shark, based on the latest research and an up-close visit with these amazing animals.
5. The Ultimate Book of Sharks
Brian Skerry
Level: Grades 3-6
Go on an underwater adventure to meet one of Earth’s coolest predators.
In The Ultimate Book of Sharks, National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry takes kids below the ocean’s surface to see these amazing creatures up close. Don’t wait… dive in!
Available on Epic!
Happy Shark Week!