Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: Shark

  • Surviving the Wild: Sunny the Shark

    Surviving the Wild: Sunny the Shark

    Colourful and lively, the shark on the front cover will attract many readers. A smiling shark! This graphic novel Sunny The Shark consists of simple digital artwork which conveys a message and cleverly expresses feelings of happiness and distress.

    The story begins with Sunny happily cruising in the warm waters when a shoal of tiny pilot fish surrounds him. They are trying to escape from a large tuna, who wishes to have them for lunch.

    They stay close to Sunny and convince him to let them travel with him. They help to clean small parasites from his skin and teeth. This proves to be a satisfactory arrangement for all. The days pass pleasantly each helping the other.

    On his journey Sunny is tagged by a marine protection crew but then gets caught in a piece of plastic which wraps around him. This is very distressing, and as he grows will prove fatal. After many adventures, Sunny finally breaks free from the plastic and can grow and move on.

    Remy Lai uses her art to simply explain the life underwater fish live and the responsibility that we must care for them. Introducing these concepts to young children in a gently manner is great way to support our wildlife.

  • Santa Jaws

    Santa Jaws

    Christmas is approaching beneath the shimmering blue sea. Shelly the shark is very excited and puts on her Santa suit. She has decked out her cave in festive style and has put a welcome sign on the door. She is waiting for a visit from her fishy friends. As time passes no one comes to her home. It is likely to be a sad and lonely holiday for the shark until, Sid the Squid knocks on the door.

    The front cover of Santa Jaws is eye catching, with a smiling shark, dressed as Santa. The glittery writing adds a festive feel. The illustrations throughout the book are splendid. Most are large, but with enough detail to compliment the story. The text is sometimes placed at the top of the page, sometimes at the bottom and sometimes it weaves through the page.

    With such a creative story, a special style of writing is needed. Mark has used a lyrical, rhyming text perfect for the genre. “Down beneath the ocean waves, it’s almost Christmas Eve…”  Young readers will be enthralled by the tale of Christmas, Shelly the shark, and Sid the Squid.

  • Australian Sea Life

    Australian Sea Life

    Australian Sea Life, the companion to Australian Birds, is a most beautifully illustrated and researched non-fiction book created for children of all ages. Matt Chun has selected a wide variety of Australian sea life to discover on the pages of his new book, which are accompanied with his absolutely captivating illustrations.

    Commencing with the greatly misunderstood and feared Great White Shark, one of the most predatory fish in the world, the detail of the illustration creates an almost a predatory smile on the face of the Great White, showing off the many, many rows of teeth. The text is set out in easily understood language detailing much about the Great White, its habitat and habits.

    A far more lovable species is the Copperband Butterfly Fish found in tropical waters and on coral reefs. They love their own company, enjoy hunting for food with their long snouts and have a wonderful system of stripes with which to confuse their predators.

    Coral in spite of the lovely illustrations, is nowhere as lovely as it would seem, as Coral can sting their prey, feeding on small fish and plankton, but in the right conditions can live for hundreds of years.

    Soldier Crabs get their name because they walk forwards, not sideways like their fellow brethren, have rounded bodies tinted a distinctive blue, long pale, skinny legs, with bands of deep purple at the joints and hunt in large troops!

    Weedy Sea Dragons would rate up there as cute, but strangely enough are not such terrific swimmers, needing to use their tails to anchor themselves in place.

    With his gloriously rich illustrations, Matt Chun has made discovering science very easy for children who are just beginning to show an interest in creatures of the sea, encouraging a desire to discover more about the wonderful world in which they live.