I'm Getting a Shark!

by Brady Smith, Brady Smith (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

From the author-illustrator of Random Acts of Drawness, Brady Smith delights with his whimsical but educational picture book, I’m Getting a Shark! For fans of sharks, birthdays, getting presents and getting excited, this is a year-round joyride full of fun facts and terrific illustrations. This is one of those books you'll want to keep coming back to and you’ll impress yourself with how many fin-based facts you find!

The fabulous, funny story of a shark-obsessed child who's convinced she's getting a pet shark for her birthday.

Meet a little girl who is the biggest shark superfan around! And when she overhears her parents utter the word "shark" while discussing her birthday, her imagination is off and running! She can't wait to be surprised by the pet shark she just KNOWS is coming her way . . . but what kind will it be? As she lists all the possibilities, her disbelieving pooch, Ralphie, tries to set her straight. But she's not paying attention—instead, she is getting more and more excited by the beauty and variety of these awesome creatures. Finally, when her birthday rolls around, she gets a different kind of surprise—a wild shark adopted in her name. She's disappointed at first—but ultimately is proud to play a role in helping protect the creatures she loves so dearly (and is finally listening to Ralphie—who sure knows a lot about sharks for a dog!).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593111123
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/18/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	302,075
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD520L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Brady Smith, an illustrator and fine artist, also wrote and illustrated the picture book You're Missing It! (with his wife, Tiffany Thiessen). He has exhibited his paintings in a number of galleries in Los Angeles, New York City, and Houston. Also an actor and writer, he has appeared in and written numerous TV shows and movies. He lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, two children, three dogs, eight chickens, and one fish named Goldie Han Solo.

Editorial Reviews

A humorous take on animal conservation. . . . Amusingly illustrated. . . . Cheery cartoon art. . . . Good to get for animal lovers.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2021-03-31
A humorous take on animal conservation that provides information.

A child with a passion for sharks shouts to the whole neighborhood, “HEY, EVERYBODY, I’M GETTING A SHARK!” The emphatic text is set in a vibrant speech bubble befitting the cartoon art. The kid tells Ralphie the dog about overhearing Mom tell Dad about the shark, and the anthropomorphized pet rattles off a series of facts about sharks to convince the kid that getting a shark is a bad idea. The narrator meets Ralphie’s objections with a string of amusingly illustrated fanciful ideas (imagining opening a dogfish grooming salon for that species of shark, for example). It’s a big disappointment when Mom and Dad present “an adoption certificate for a real shark that is swimming in the ocean right now.” Their explanation that this real shark is “happy and healthy [a]nd you’re helping it stay that way” is accompanied by a book about sharks. The kid begins spouting off shark facts, which irks Ralphie to humorous effect—hadn’t Ralphie been saying exactly that? The narrator is ultimately pleased with the gift, calling out to the neighborhood, “HEY, EVERYBODY, I’M SAVING A SHARK!” While a closing page depicts Ralphie saying “there are special organizations that let you help animals in need,” frustratingly, there is no brief list nor any guidance to readers who would like to find them. The cheery cartoon art depicts the narrator and family with pale skin and brown hair; their neighborhood is diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 18.1% of actual size.)

Good to get for animal lovers. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews