Sharks

 by Seymour Simon

Author Seymour Simon is well known for his outstanding non-fiction /  informational books for young children.

Book Talk

True confessions:  When I grew up, reading informational texts was not taught or encouraged.  It was not necessarily discouraged, but other than encyclopedias, I really don’t remember reading—or seeing—many non-fiction books.

So, as motivated as I am to try to digest non-fiction and how I truly find many non-fiction topics fascinating, I still find informational books sometimes difficult for me to read….

….until I have read Seymour Simon’s books—and Sharks is a prime example of his well-written, engaging writing style for informational texts.

Whereas the book is not a narrative non-fiction, the presentation of facts is written in a flowing,  engaging  and easy-to-understand way.

An example of the Simon's informational writing style:
"The largest shark, and indeed  the largest fish in the world, is the whale shark. It can grow as long as sixty feet and weigh as much as twenty tons--as long and heavy as a huge trailer truck."

On the first page, Simon dispels the myths about sharks being man-eating monsters.  In the subsequence pages, he presents intriguing information and facts that teach the reader about the fascinating animal that sharks are.

If you were not a shark fan before you read this book, you will come away with a new respect and a bit of wonderment about these incredible animals.

Kids will love this book.  The pictures are close-up and graphic-but not scary- they match and add support to the text on the opposite the page.

Suggested Uses As a Mentor Text:

Genre: Informational

Writing Workshop: Informational Writing, Opinion Writing

Reading Workshop Strategies: Questioning, Search for and Use Information

Grammar: Commas: in a series and introductory phrases, Sentence fluency

Curricular Themes: Science: Sharks,  Animal Adaptations

Seymour Simon's webpage:http://www.seymoursimon.com/