Life-Size Sharks and Other Underwater Creatures (Life-Size Series)
Grade 3-6–Large pages; a toothy cover; and many gatefolds showcasing jaws, spines, and tentacles will certainly catch youngsters' attention. Snippets of data accompany the dramatic, colorful illustrations and offer enough information for casual browsers. However, there are a few problems. The sawfish pictured is a saw shark (sawfish do not have barbels, saw sharks do). Dentition depicted (much with gory traces of red) does not always match detailed descriptions in standard reference works. The blue-ringed octopus lacks his defining blue rings. And so it goes. Yes, the back of the dust jacket provides a life-size poster of a great white's bloody jaws, but is this enough? For thrill-seekers, maybe.–Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.