Misunderstood Shark

by Ame Dyckman Narrated by Ramón de Ocampo

Overview

From bestselling author Ame Dyckman comes the laugh-out-loud story about a Misunderstood Shark who just wants to show the world who he really is...

Every beachgoer knows that there's nothing more terrifying than a... SHARRRK! But this shark is just misunderstood, or is he? In a wholly original, sidesplittingly funny story, New York Times bestselling author Ame Dyckman and illustrator Scott Magoon take this perennial theme and turn it on its (hammer)head with a brand-new cheeky character. The filming of an underwater TV show goes awry when the crew gets interrupted by a... SHARRRK! Poor Shark, he wasn't trying to scare them, he's just misunderstood! Then he's accused of trying to eat a fish. Will Shark ever catch a break? After all, he wasn't going to eat the fish, he was just showing it his new tooth! Or was he? Explosively funny, extraordinarily clever, and even full of fun shark facts, this surprisingly endearing story gets to the heart of what it feels like to be misunderstood by the people around you. With a surprise twist ending, our Misunderstood Shark will have kids rolling with laughter!

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

01/29/2018
The live TV show “Underwater World with Bob,” staffed entirely by aquatic creatures, is suddenly interrupted by a shark who is about to consume a little orange fish right on camera. Once Shark realizes that he has an audience, he changes his tune. “You misunderstood!” he demurs, still clutching the terrified fish. “I was just... showing him my new tooth!” The host tries to play along, offering shark facts as Shark—smitten with his new public persona—claims that he is also being misunderstood when it seems like he wants to eat a baby seal or some beach-going humans (“I brought Band-Aids!” he roars). Shark is so persuasive that the octopus holding the boom mike declares, “The ocean gets its saltiness from the tears of misunderstood sharks! I read that somewhere.” Magoon’s cartooning is both funny and visually striking as the toothy, scenery-chewing Shark plays to the camera and zips through the green-blue water, barely resisting his primal urges. And the playful typography used for Dyckman’s rapid-fire dialogue makes her blooper-reel humor even funnier. Ages 4–6. Author’s agent: Scott Treimel, Scott Treimel NY. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Apr.)

From the Publisher

Praise for Misunderstood Shark:"Bob the jellyfish is the host of an underwater TV show, and while taping his latest segment, he's interrupted by a hungry shark chasing a cute fish! Time to panic? Not quite...At every initially terrifying turn, dubious Bob takes the opportunity to share a shark fact and dispel a myth...the over-the-top humor, comical asides from the TV crew, and Magoon's boisterous, candycolored artwork, in thick lines and cartoonish shapes, will lure in many a reader. The sneaky shark facts will go down easy in this uproariously silly picture book." — Booklist"Magoon's cartooning is both funny and visually striking as the toothy, scenery-chewing Shark plays to the camera and zips through the green-blue water, barely resisting his primal urges. And the playful typography used for Dyckman's rapid-fire dialogue makes her blooper-reel humor even funnier." — Publishers Weekly"A maligned shark steals the show to explain just how wrong his fellow fish are about him in Dyckman and Magoon's debut collaboration...[Dyckman] gives ambiguity the narrative spotlight with well-honed tension prolonging readers' indecision. Meanwhile, Magoon's flair for underwater illustration also allows a shark's redemption and his prey's suspicion to both live on the page. Readers will need to decide for themselves if Shark is really as scary as he seems or if misunderstandings have colored our opinions. Fun and playful…or so Shark would have us believe." — Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Ame Dyckman's Horrible Bear!:3 Starred ReviewsJunior Library Guild Selection* "Molly Bang's Sophie finally has a worthy shelf-mate for absolutely spot-on characterizations of mood. VERDICT: Highly recommended for picture book collections." — School Library Journal, starred reviewPraise for Ame Dyckman's Wolfie the Bunny:4 Starred ReviewsParents Magazine Best Fictional Picture Book 2015The Huffington Post Best Picture Books 2015ALSC Notable Book for ChildrenSchool Library Journal Best of the YearNYPL 100 Titles for Reading and SharingWilde Award Best Picture Books Ages 4-8A Bank Street College Best Children's Book of 2016* "Interspecies adoption puts a fresh spin on the new-baby theme... A treat of a picture book." — The Horn Book, starred reviewPraise for Ame Dyckman's Tea Party Rules:3 Starred ReviewsEzra Jack Keats New Writer AwardJunior Library Guild SelectionDolly Parton Imagination Library Selection* "Dyckman's (Boy and Bot) and Campbell's (Flora and Ulysses) story is like a pretty petit four with an unexpectedly zingy filling." — Publishers Weekly, starred reviewPraise for Ame Dyckman's Boy + Bot:3 Starred ReviewsPlease Touch Museum’s Kids’ Choice AwardSCBWI Crystal Kite AwardIndieBound’s Kids’ Next ListAmazon Best Picture BookNYPL’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing* "Dyckman’s debut offers pitch-perfect pacing and gentle humor… As Boy and Bot would say, it’s ‘affirmative’ that this book will be a hit." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review Praise for Scott Magoon's I Will Not Eat You:"The full-bleed illustrations are saturated with rich, dark colors but manage never to be scary. With several humorous twists, lots of imaginative play, and illustrations reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s in Where the Wild Things Are, this is a surefire read-aloud hit. VERDICT Highly recommended for storytime and one-on-one sharing." — School Library Journal"Magoon’s bold, angular, digitally rendered drawings capably juggle action, suspense, and comedy." — Publishers WeeklyPraise for Scott Magoon's Breathe:Huffington Post Best Books of 2014A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2014A Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2014 for Best Read Aloud and Best Books for Animal LoversPBS Best of 2014* "Magoon’s digital art captures the colors and crisp, airy light of the Arctic setting; cartoon lines and wide eyes present creatures above and under the ice as friendly, rounded and smiling... Richly composed and sweetly appealing — just right for baby storytimes as well as one-to-one sharing." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

School Library Journal

05/01/2018
K-Gr 2—Jellyfish Bob, television host of Underwater World with Bob, has Shark as his guest. Shark seems to be easily distracted but is intent on presenting himself in a positive light. In the middle of the interview, when shark goes off to chase a fish (he claims to be showing the fish his new tooth), a baby seal (just taking him back to his mother), and the smell of blood (giving the human on the beach a box of Band-Aids). Jellyfish Bob, like any good host, covers by entertaining the audience with interesting facts about sharks. Kids will like the wild, exclamatory text even if it feels a bit disjointed to adult readers. As she does in her title Wolfie the Bunny and Boy + Bot, Dyckman hits the mark of both hilarious and sweet. Magoon's illustrations (a pink jellyfish with a cowboy hat and glasses, a yellow squid working the boom mic, and a bright orange squid wearing his sunglasses on his forehead and working the clapper board) make up a fabulous cast that swim around in cool-colored waters, ranging from bright greens to deep indigos. VERDICT Make no mistake, this is a fun addition to any collection, best for reading close-up and one-on-one.—Hillary Perelyubskiy, Los Angeles Public Library

Kirkus Reviews

2018-03-04
A maligned shark steals the show to explain just how wrong his fellow fish are about him in Dyckman and Magoon's debut collaboration.Sporting a stylish fedora atop his bell, Bob, a jellyfish TV host, is about to start his show when a great white shark interrupts. Bob begs Shark not to eat a fish on the air, and Shark, with a big smile to the audience, insists he had no intention of eating anyone and simply wanted to show off his new tooth. After all, "sharks can grow and lose 30,000 teeth in their lifetime"—never mind that they lose most of them by using their powerful jaws on their prey, a "fun fact" that Bob, perhaps sensibly, omits. Bob never does quite get control of his show back as Shark hauls off first to eat a baby seal (whom he really just wanted to return to her seal family) and then to chase down a source of blood (so he could offer a Band-Aid). Although she seems to gender all her characters male with the exception of two ungendered squid production assistants and the female baby seal, Dyckman otherwise gives ambiguity the narrative spotlight with well-honed tension prolonging readers' indecision. Meanwhile, Magoon's flair for underwater illustration also allows a shark's redemption and his prey's suspicion to both live on the page. Readers will need to decide for themselves if Shark is really as scary as he seems or if misunderstandings have colored our opinions.Fun and playful…or so Shark would have us believe. (Picture book. 4-8)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171262099
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/25/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	Up to 4 Years

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