Sharks by Seymour Simon

Sharks Reviews

• 
  Manybooks

  REVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL 1995 EDITION
  
  So yes, I do indeed very much appreciate that with his 1995 picture book Sharks (textually intended for older children above the age of seven or so and penned educationally but not too densely), author Seymour Simon certainly provides a thorough, balanced but also not ever scientifically overwhelming introduction to sharks (their physiologies, their various behaviours, what sharks eat, how different shark species reproduce, and yes indeed, that sharks are not really all that much of a threat to humans, that most stories showing sharks as horrible and evil killing machines are fantastical, ridiculous and sensationalistic, such as for example Jaws and most sharks are ruthless man-eaters movies or of course also sharks as monsters waiting to devour masses of humans novels).
  
  However, if Seymour Simon really wants to rehabilitate sharks, why are oh so many of the accompanying photographs close-ups of gaping shark mouths and their pointed teeth? For if I were a child looking at many of the photographs featured in Sharks, I would both likely be frightened and also consider sharks in general as very much potentially dangerous to my health and well-being (and while Seymour Simon’s printed words of course show that the majority of shark attacks on humans are generally cases of mistaken identity, of predatory sharks believing that a swimmer or a surfer is possibly a seal or another type of prey animal, in my humble opinion, far too many of the included pictures visually seem to show sharks as frightening and dangerous, and yes, that is from my point of view most unfortunate and annoying). Combined with my massive annoyance at the lack of any bibliographic materials whatsoever in Sharks and that there is also no information and details provided by Seymour Simon’s text as to shark evolution (and that many scientists actually consider sharks in general as being pretty well living fossils), while as a general introduction to sharks I do rather grudgingly recommend Sharks, my star rating for Sharks also reflects my growing frustration and will only therefore be but two stars maximum (and no, I do not know whether the 2006 edition of Sharks might contain secondary sources, but the original, Seymour Simon’s 1995 edition, most definitely does not include a bibliography, and that is a huge academic lack and faux pas as far as I am concerned).
• 
  Randie D. Camp, M.S.

  All about sharks. The vocabulary was beyond my ability but my 5 year-old enjoyed helping me sound out shark specific terms. Way too long, but a child (or adult) hungry for knowledge about sharks would adore this.
• 
  The Reading Countess

  I recently had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Simon speak at NCTE, so when my youngest son came home with this one tucked in his backpack, we had much to share.
  You can't go wrong with anything from this man. He is a delightful speaker and an even more talented author.
  Any one of his books would make wonderful mentors for informational text writing.
  This time he served as a mentor to a burgeoning reader.
  
• 
  Courtney Ingraham

  I think this book would be a great resource for a research project that students could complete during a lesson about animals. This book will help broaden students vocabulary, as well as their knowledge base on sharks.
• 
  Erika

  I actually jumped when I turned the page and saw the great white. Learned about shark reproduction which was very fascinating.
• 
  Heidi Garner

  Seymour Simon's "Sharks" was written with the intent of informing readers about the many characteristics of sharks, in hopes of raising awareness and decreasing fear of sharks. Simon talks about the fact that sharks rarely bite humans and when they do it is because they are confusing the humans for seals or sea lions. This book is full of information about sharks appearances, mating habits, diets, births, etc. This book also includes a lot of the scientific vocabulary.This book also includes a lot pictures of different sharks, not just great whites or tiger sharks, like are normally seen.
  I think this book would be a great resource for a research project that students could complete during a lesson about animals. This book will help broaden students vocabulary, as well as their knowledge base on sharks. This book would be best in 3-5 classrooms because of the more complex vocabulary terms and different concepts that it addresses. This book would also be a good one to have in your classroom library because many students would benefit from and enjoy reading it.
• 
  Sheryl Smith

  This is a geat bilingual book, going/coming from either language, Spanish or English. There is enough of the easy common words, with the introduction of some specific words having to do with sharks.
  
  Very cool pictures!!!
• 
  Deanna Sutter

  We really liked this book. The book we read was from the "Smithsonian" series however, so I don't know if the pictures are different in that edition. The cover is different at any rate. Lots of good information and GREAT pictures.
• 
  Cyndi

  My nephew is not a fan of reading, but he really liked this book. The back cover has pictures of covers of books on other topics and he told me that we need to tell his dad to get those books for him.
• 
  Tricia

  Photographs make this book...especially after as many as we have read in the past 6 months. Geared to elementary-school aged.
• 
  Dj

  So much information. did you know sharks don't have any bones
  
• 
  Eric

  My son has made me read this book many times. He is always asking what does this say, what does that say. He really enjoys this book.
• 
  Deserie

  Just always enjoy Seymour Simon's nonfiction. Learned a couple things about sharks. Appreciated the facts he included.
• 
  Theresa

  Breif informational story
• 
  Austin

  Sharks are a type of fish that are very dangerous. The most dangerous shark is the Great White Shark. The friendliest sharks are the whale sharks which have huge mouths.
• 
  Sarah

  It's a little freaky but it's awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!