The Great Shark Rescue: Saving the Whale Sharks

Sandra Markle's Science Discoveries

by Sandra Markle

Top-selling science author Sandra Markle presents the story of whale sharks―the largest fish on the planet. Facing threats from commercial fishing as well as climate change, they were categorized as endangered in 2016. Find out how scientists are working to study and protect these gentle giants of the ocean.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Animals, Middle Grade, Picture Books

48 pages, Library Binding

Published October 1, 2019

About the author

Sandra Markle is the author of more than two hundred children's books, which have won numerous awards, including Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book, IRA/CBC Children's Choice, NSTA/CBC Outstanding Trade Books for Children, NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended, and ALA Notable Books for Children. She lives in Lakewood Ranch, Florida and frequently travels to schools sharing her program "Sandra Markle's Books Are REAL Adventures."

Reviews

[Megan Wagner]

Jumped around from topic to topic a bit, and didn't seem to give a lot of info on what people are actually doing to try to save these fish. I feel like the biggest thing I learned was that we don't really know that much about them.

[Sharon Tyler]

The Great Shark Rescue: Saving the Whale Sharks by Sandra Markle is the story of whale sharks—the largest fish on the planet. Facing threats from commercial fishing as well as climate change, they were categorized as endangered in 2016. Find out how scientists are working to study and protect these gentle giants of the ocean.

The Great Shark Rescue is another great book about animal mysteries by Markle. I enjoyed learning about the whale shark, and found it sad but interesting to learn about the danger they are in. There are still so many unanswered questions, but I am glad to know there are dedicated scientists using a variety of tools and technology to learn more and make a difference.The photographs and maps really brought the facts to life, and made the book come together. I like that Markle took the time to mention great white sharks and the sheer number of vulnerable or endangered species of sharks. The timeline, glossary, source notes, and recommendations for further reading make me happy (as always). Properly citing sources and encouraging further learning and reading are so important, and I find them sadly lacking in other children's nonfiction sometimes.

The Great Shark Rescue is an interesting and engaging read for children and adults interested in sharks, endangered animals, animal research, and related topics. Maybe it will inspire some more animal activists and/or researchers. It would be a great addition to school and public libraries.

[Beverly]

Markle concentrates on the efforts being made to save whale sharks. Until reading this book, I did not even realize that whale sharks are now considered endangered. She mentions some of the scientists that are involved; some of the technology being used to track these sharks; and the marine reserves that have been set up by a few countries to provide safe places for these sharks and other sea creatures. The book is illustrated with photos, charts, and maps. The back matter includes a timeline, stating that Dr. Andrew Smith was the first scientist to discover a whale shark in 1828 (and bringing its existence to the attention of the scientific community). There is also an author's note, a glossary, an index, and a short bibliography/web site list. One more interesting fact: whale sharks are so sensitive to what they take into their mouths while feeding that they'll pause and cough out some things, such as jellyfish. This fascinating and interesting book is for about 4th grade and up.

[Psusan]

Looking for nonfiction for children to enjoy I can recommend The Great Shark Rescue by Sandra Markle. The information is given about this species that I knew so little about, along with the problems that they have, Man intervention is also part of the book since man’s boats are also part of the problem for these giants. The text is given in not too large of text chunks accompanied by interesting close-up photographs and drawings.

This is the perfect nonfiction book for classroom libraries as well as for individual children who are interested in the animal kingdom. Third grade and up should have no problem reading the text. I found myself rereading and looking back over the photographs and illustrations so it is one that readers would be interested in reading more than once.

The publisher through Net Galley provided a digital ARC. I have voluntarily decided to read and review

[A Allen]

I really appreciate the visual aids, such as the ones used when talking about purse seine and upwelling, as well as the bullet point list about the differences between humpback whales and whale sharks. This book is full of photos and does mention how we tell the male and female whale sharks apart, including photos of the anatomy, because the male sharks have claspers. I am marking the book as abandoned because the "ocean detective tools" portion bored me and I did not read all the words on these pages. Overall, I can see renting this book from our public library for students to look through on their own time during our shark week lesson plan, but I would not buy it for our classroom.

[Debbie Tanner]

This is a terrific story about whale sharks, a little known species of shark, that are disappearing at an alarming rate. Sandra Markle does a great job showing us why we should care about this species with interesting text, gorgeous full color photos, tons of charts, graphs, and maps. This one is definitely going to find a place in my elementary school library.

[Beth Filar Williams]

I read this as part of a committee who's reviewing books for sustainability list of children's books. Well done very scientific very interesting and I learned a lot. Definitely a good book for elementary school.

[Meredith]

Really interesting (and upsetting if you are like me and get sad when you read about endangered animals). I didn't really know anything about Whale Sharks before, probably because they are still very mysterious. I was glad to read this book and find out some things.

[AMY]

48 pgs. This is a well-written book about the whale shark and the efforts to help save them. I learned a lot and loved seeing the colorful photos throughout. Kids will enjoy reading this book and learning all about this sea creature. Highly recommended for Grades 4 and up.

[Mills College Library]

Picture M3461g 2020

[Amanda Walz]

very interesting about Whale Sharks. Mostly I found it extremely sad about what has happened to them. I didn't realize.

[KaitandMaddie]

This was a challenging read for both the girls, but really interesting. It’s fun to see what they will ask questions about.

[Zi Long]

Good audiobook for a drive

[Heather Landskro]

enjoy the audiobook and I love learning about whale shark!

[Em (Makenna)]

EArc from netgalley.


This was an informative book about whale sharks, and how they are being endangered by different problems in the ocean (fishing, the seas warming, etc) I liked how there were a lot of illustrations, but it did seem a little disorganized to me.