December 2019 will see not one, not two, but three sharks out of water.
Or at least, the book Shark Out of Water! (Hungry Shark Chapter Book #1) by Ace Landers will be out.
First, there are a lot of rough spots and sharp edges (and not just the points on the shark’s teeth). The first issue is this is written for the strong first to lower/mid-third grade reader. However, the kids are in middle school (aged 12-13). And while the issues presented could be aimed at any kid, I am hoping that “middle school drama” will not come into play. And the second, the writing is not as strong as it could be. Some of the issues I have I hope comes from the fact that this was a reader copy.
And the rest comes from the fact that this is a simplistic story and not overly deep; even if sharks need deep water to swim in. But what sharks, and other animals, really need to swim in is clean water. And the beach that our three shark friends meet their three human friends is less than clean.
The human kids: Tammy, Kyle and Alex are the President, Vice President and supporter of the Marine Science Club. Well, they are the only members of the club. To make them cooler and boost membership, Tammy takes her President duties serious and goes off to find something that would put them on the front page of the newspaper. A hermit crab they find is cool, but when three fins surface, these friends learn that sharks are very cool. Yet, it is not so cool when one of them is trapped by the garbage humans have left behind. What can they do to help??
Based on the “popular mobile video game” of the same name (not that I am sure what any of that means) this chapter book helps kids get excited over marine science and environmental issues.