"Shark Baby" by Ann Downer & illustrated by Shennen Bersani (review & giveaway)

In conjunction with Sylvan Dell Publishing and for Children's Book Week, we are featuring books from their Spring 2013 collection of educational books about the environment, animals, birds, sea creatures. Each of these books written for the young child kindergartner to age 9 is written to be read aloud or by the child. The illustrations are beautifully drawn or photograph images. Activities are included in the back of each book which will aid the adult to readily direct learning more about the subject.  Enter to win a set of the books for your child's own personal library.

Review: A shark egg case (yes, sharks begin life in an egg just like a chicken or a reptile) is floating attached by a string to a piece of kelp. Then the egg case begins to cascade around the ocean. The baby shark is hatched and then must discover where he actually belongs in the ocean. And he faces the dangers of large preying creatures.

Colorfully illustrated with personable sea creatures little shark makes his journey along. The colors are indicative of the sea and the brush strokes depict agitated or flowing currents in the sea. In the back of the book the educational helps include some math, some biological information/questions about sharks, and identifying different sharks.

This is a good book in a good series of books that will enhance the educational experience of the young kindergarten through 9 year old. Recommended for personal, school, and public libraries.

DISCLOSURE: I was provided a complimentary copy by Sylvan Dell Publishing in exchange for my honest review. Opinions expressed are solely my own and I received no compensation for this review.

GIVEAWAY: You may enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Begins May 12 & ENDS May 19 @ 12:01 a.m. EDT. Open USA addresses only.

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Author information: Ann Downer has never lived very far from the ocean. When she was little, her uncle took her to a beach to see horseshoe crabs, and she has been interested in sea creatures ever since. She spent part of her childhood in and around the Pacific Ocean, living first in the Philippine Islands and then in Thailand. Now she lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, not far from the Atlantic Ocean. With her husband and son, she likes to go looking for sea creatures in tide pools in Maine. She once had a chance to go out in a very small boat with some scientists who study whales, and got to listen to the whales coming up for air. She used to be scared of sharks (she still is, a little!) but mostly thinks they are some of the most beautiful and fascinating creatures on Earth. Ann helped edit two books about the ocean for grown-ups: Oceans: Heart of Our Blue Planet and Underwater Eden: Saving the Last Coral Wilderness on Earth. She is the author of five novels for young readers and Elephant Talk, a book about the ways elephants communicate.

About the illustrator: Award-winning children’s book illustrator Shennen Bersani has two million copies of her illustrated books cherished and read by families throughout the world. She has been a freelance illustrator since 1989. She works primarily with colored pencils, sometimes using a mixed-media technique of colored pencils, crayon, and paint. Her art delivers a unique blend of realism, heartfelt emotion, love of nature, and life lessons for children of all ages. In addition to Home in the Cave, The Glaciers are Melting!, and Astro:The Steller Sea Lion for Sylvan Dell, Shennen has illustrated a number of best-selling books, including, Snakes: Long, Longer, Longest; Sharks: Big, Bigger, Biggest; Ocean Counting: Odd Numbers; Icky Bug Shapes; and My Sister, Alicia May. Her art also appears in many magazines, newspapers, and publications. Shennen lives with her family near Boston. For more information, visit her website at http://www.shennenbersani.com/.