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How to Spy on a Shark
Spend a day at sea tracking sharks―with the help of a robot! Join a team of marine biologists as they head out in their boat to study mako sharks. Simple, entertaining text and bright, accurate illustrations bring science and technology to life, and additional pages of facts about sharks follow the story. This book is bound to make a splash with young minds!
24 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 17, 2018
Great non-fiction for the earliest of readers. The paintings by Francisca Marquez are bold and colorful and very realistic. The text is simple enough for toddlers, but with the backmatter included, coupled with the conversation-starting artwork, teachers and care-givers will find plenty to talk about with their 2-7 year olds.
October 23, 2017
a cute read. the lad liked it enough to read it twice in a row.
February 7, 2018
Read at Storytime on February 7th
Theme: Sharks and animals with a bite
Theme: Sharks and animals with a bite
July 24, 2018
I was so bored.
June 6, 2019
An elementary level picture book about researchers foloowing a shark for the say and the equipment they use. Easy to follow but concept is older.
May 26, 2022
For Shark Storytime
March 5, 2015
Booklist January 1, 2015 (Vol. 111, No. 9)
Grades 1-3. Three young people take a small boat out to sea. The oldest enters the water and observes a mako shark and her large pup. Back in the boat, the three catch the pup in a net and tag it. Then they drop a torpedolike robot overboard and watch as it follows the pup’s electronic tag for miles, shooting video all the while. Trailing in the boat, they retrieve the robot and head for shore. The short, rhyming text comments on the action, which is more fully described in the appended notes. With simplified, rounded forms and soft colors, the illustrations give this adventure an idyllic look. The crew members seem surprisingly young to be tagging sharks and handling a $180,000 robot; while the flyleaf copy refers to them as marine biologists, they look more like a college student and two middle-school kids. Though the illustrations seem to represent a child’s imaginings rather than actual marine biologists at work, the book’s engaging title, topic, and jacket art will certainly attract an audience.
Kirkus Reviews January 15, 2015
Houran invites readers along as a group of marine biologists tracks and follows a juvenile mako shark.The marine biologists use a net to catch the young shark, attaching a tag to the pup's pelvic fin. They then use a robot to track and monitor the shark, keeping tabs on its movements and eating habits. At the end of the day, the scientists (two women and one man, one Caucasian and two of indeterminate ethnicity) pull up the robot and wave goodbye to the sharks. Unfortunately, the author misses the mark in choosing to write in second person. "Take a boat ride / out to sea / until you spy a fin. // Get all set / to get all wet / and splash! / go diving in." Instead of tagging along on an adventure, readers may feel like they are being given orders and instructions, and many will feel uncomfortable or not up to the task. The simple illustrations bring readers up close to the action, but they are not part of it, as the text suggests. Backmatter gives a little more information about the topics presented--sharks fall asleep when they are turned belly up; makos can swim up to 35 mph--but this would have captured more interest within the body of the text. The dichotomy between the adult tasks and the simply worded rhyming text makes this one to skip. (Informational picture book. 4-6)
School Library Journal March 1, 2015
PreS-Gr 1-Animal fans will enjoy this simple picture book on the study of sharks. Relying upon concise sentences, Houran explains how marine biologists track mako shark pups by fitting them with tracking devices and using small robots that follow the sharks, recording their movements. The author provides more in-depth information about this process at the end of the book. Children will be drawn in by the soothing, serene illustrations, tinged with deep sea blue, that evoke a peaceful tone not usually associated with these animals. Educators seeking a younger, gentler alternative to Katherine Roy's excellent Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California's Farallon Islands (Roaring Brook, 2014) should consider this work. Pair Houran's informative and kid-friendly title with Tedd Arnold's Fly Guy Presents: Sharks (Scholastic, 2013) or Gail Gibbons's Sharks (Holiday House, 1992). VERDICT A splendid bridge for introducing very young readers to expository texts, and a useful addition to the 590s.-Martha Rico, El Paso ISD, TX (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Grades 1-3. Three young people take a small boat out to sea. The oldest enters the water and observes a mako shark and her large pup. Back in the boat, the three catch the pup in a net and tag it. Then they drop a torpedolike robot overboard and watch as it follows the pup’s electronic tag for miles, shooting video all the while. Trailing in the boat, they retrieve the robot and head for shore. The short, rhyming text comments on the action, which is more fully described in the appended notes. With simplified, rounded forms and soft colors, the illustrations give this adventure an idyllic look. The crew members seem surprisingly young to be tagging sharks and handling a $180,000 robot; while the flyleaf copy refers to them as marine biologists, they look more like a college student and two middle-school kids. Though the illustrations seem to represent a child’s imaginings rather than actual marine biologists at work, the book’s engaging title, topic, and jacket art will certainly attract an audience.
Kirkus Reviews January 15, 2015
Houran invites readers along as a group of marine biologists tracks and follows a juvenile mako shark.The marine biologists use a net to catch the young shark, attaching a tag to the pup's pelvic fin. They then use a robot to track and monitor the shark, keeping tabs on its movements and eating habits. At the end of the day, the scientists (two women and one man, one Caucasian and two of indeterminate ethnicity) pull up the robot and wave goodbye to the sharks. Unfortunately, the author misses the mark in choosing to write in second person. "Take a boat ride / out to sea / until you spy a fin. // Get all set / to get all wet / and splash! / go diving in." Instead of tagging along on an adventure, readers may feel like they are being given orders and instructions, and many will feel uncomfortable or not up to the task. The simple illustrations bring readers up close to the action, but they are not part of it, as the text suggests. Backmatter gives a little more information about the topics presented--sharks fall asleep when they are turned belly up; makos can swim up to 35 mph--but this would have captured more interest within the body of the text. The dichotomy between the adult tasks and the simply worded rhyming text makes this one to skip. (Informational picture book. 4-6)
School Library Journal March 1, 2015
PreS-Gr 1-Animal fans will enjoy this simple picture book on the study of sharks. Relying upon concise sentences, Houran explains how marine biologists track mako shark pups by fitting them with tracking devices and using small robots that follow the sharks, recording their movements. The author provides more in-depth information about this process at the end of the book. Children will be drawn in by the soothing, serene illustrations, tinged with deep sea blue, that evoke a peaceful tone not usually associated with these animals. Educators seeking a younger, gentler alternative to Katherine Roy's excellent Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California's Farallon Islands (Roaring Brook, 2014) should consider this work. Pair Houran's informative and kid-friendly title with Tedd Arnold's Fly Guy Presents: Sharks (Scholastic, 2013) or Gail Gibbons's Sharks (Holiday House, 1992). VERDICT A splendid bridge for introducing very young readers to expository texts, and a useful addition to the 590s.-Martha Rico, El Paso ISD, TX (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2015
Off you will go for a fun boat ride following the super fast mako sharks around the ocean! Children will learn how a team of marine biologists tag sharks and then follow them with a robot. You’ll have fun following the team as they head out in their boat!
Lori Haskins Houran’ story is a pleasure to read with it’s rhyming text. The illustrations by Francisca Marquez are colorful, friendly and not scary at all. My little guy enjoyed the full spreads of imagery and followed along well for a 7 month old thanks to the appealing illustrations, although Benjamin would rather chomp on the pages of the book like a real shark! I will definitely read this book more and more to him as gets a bit older! Read more at www.diapers-and-daydreams.com !
Lori Haskins Houran’ story is a pleasure to read with it’s rhyming text. The illustrations by Francisca Marquez are colorful, friendly and not scary at all. My little guy enjoyed the full spreads of imagery and followed along well for a 7 month old thanks to the appealing illustrations, although Benjamin would rather chomp on the pages of the book like a real shark! I will definitely read this book more and more to him as gets a bit older! Read more at www.diapers-and-daydreams.com !
March 11, 2016
I love incorporating short nonfiction books into my story times, and the kids always love it. I believe instilling a love on nonfiction into kids is as important as instilling a love of reading. This is a short book about catching, tagging, and releasing a mako shark pup, and then tracking it with a robot to see where it goes, what it eats, who it meets, and how far and deep it dives.
Because the book does not explain every single little thing, it is easy to ask kids to answer questions based on context. "What is a pup?" for example. Also, "What kind of animal is the shark meeting in this picture?"
Because the book does not explain every single little thing, it is easy to ask kids to answer questions based on context. "What is a pup?" for example. Also, "What kind of animal is the shark meeting in this picture?"
March 5, 2015
An easy read for pre-k-1st about tagging and tracking sharks with few words per page.
March 19, 2015
Great introduction to sharks/marine biology.
April 21, 2015
Really great informational book for young readers. Simple narrative but is still interesting and covers what young kids would want to know. Great title too!
August 30, 2015
I liked the back matter a lot but the rhyming verse didn't quite work for me.
December 23, 2015
Great book to illustrate "how to..." writing. Good fact based picture book.
July 23, 2018
I would recommend reading some of the back flap first, so that there's a reason for catching the shark in the beginning.
February 9, 2017
Reviewed by Emma Lasker
“How to Spy on a Shark” has a bright beautiful cover with a large shark, and big teeth. The story has lot of rhyming words on every page, making it easy to listen to. The scientists spy on a Mako shark and pup. A baby shark is tagged and then followed by a robot!
You can read this entire review and others like it at San Diego Book Review.
“How to Spy on a Shark” has a bright beautiful cover with a large shark, and big teeth. The story has lot of rhyming words on every page, making it easy to listen to. The scientists spy on a Mako shark and pup. A baby shark is tagged and then followed by a robot!
You can read this entire review and others like it at San Diego Book Review.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews