Amazing Shark

This is a real deep dive into the world of sharks. It’s different to your usual non-fiction book on animals but in a refreshing way, especially for those with a love of marine biology. There are no colour photographs used but instead the images are detailed black and white pen and ink illustrations that give you the feel of vintage naturalist’s sketchbook. The illustrations have an other-worldly, almost science fiction quality to them, as if in some pieces the sharks are swimming through a starry sky rather than the depths of the oceans.

The narrative of the book is written so that it feels that Michael the writer is speaking directly to you, or as if you are listening to a podcast or lecture on sharks. It’s very light and conversational but accessible to a younger audience still, allowing it to fit in as a fiction book. For those that want to learn more about these kings of the oceans they’ll read the whole thing from cover-to-cover like it’s a story.

Its split into seven chapters that cover different aspects of sharks’ lifestyles and biology- from lesser-known sharks to shark superpowers and intelligence. It tells you how the book and film of Jaws majorly affected how people see sharks and how they aren’t as deadly as we think they are.

Alongside the narrative text and the illustrations there are also added elements such as jokes, search-and-find activities, optical illusions, quizzes, ‘bright minds’ segments which are even deeper dives into the world of sharks and my favourite, the social media posts from sharks themselves in the final chapter.

This book celebrates the majesty of sharks and would be perfect for any young reader who likes to curl up with a book on a topic they love at home or in the corner of the library. In terms of readership, top primary school aged students with a keen interest in sharks would love this but it would also work nicely for older children too.

In addition to Amazing Shark this creative team have previously worked together to create two other books for Pushkin- Amazing Octopus and Amazing Jellyfish.