If Sharks Disappeared by Lily Williams
My rating: 4/5 cats
sorry for all the shark reviews lately, but shark week means i gotta float old sharky reviews, and now i gotta review all the ones i read during THIS year’s shark week (although i only managed to read 6 this year -booo). this one was number three.
this is an excellent and responsible children’s picture book about sharks and how, although they might seem
they are a very important part of our life here on land. there’s a lot factual information about how ecosystems work
and how losing one part of the puzzle has ripple effects with dramatic consequences: it may seem like sharks are so removed from our daily experiences that they are unrelated or even inconsequential to human life, but if they were to go extinct, it would create a gap in the ecosystem that would result in very bad things for us, indeed.
i’m a little squirmy over the lesson being, basically, “if a majestic creature goes extinct, this is how youuuuu will suffer,” but i get that this age range probably isn’t equipped to comprehend the interdependence of species and trophic cascades and their whole experiential range is that which directly affects themselves, but i can’t help squirming anyway.
in any event, this is a thoughtful, well-designed book that seems perfectly age-appropriate, and provides a list of further reading to grow into, as well as a list of ways we humans can help to prevent sharks from disappearing, whether for our own selfish reasons or for the sharks themselves.
and because i love picture book endpapers the most:
