Shark-Mad Stanley

Yes this book fosters the development of most of the processes. Through the book kids are able to observe the different parts of the shark and ask questions about why the shark is shaped the way he is. The book also provides examples of different sharks giving the child to classify different types of fish and compare and contrast sharks and fish to other animals.

Author: Andrew Griffin
Illustrator: Andrew Griffin
Year Published: 2000
ISBN: 78680594

Science Topics

Minimum Suggested Grade Level

1st Grade

Maximum Suggested Grade Level

5th Grade

Summary

This is the story about Stanley who owns a pet goldfish and loves animals. Stanley has seen and loves every animal there is to count. He especially loves sharks. He knows everything about sharks including their diet, where they live and how they live. After considering a shark as a pet he realizes that he does not have the necessary materials or living accommodations to have a shark as a pet. His pet goldfish is very happy to hear that considering the fact that goldfish are a sharks favorite food.

Evaluation

Appropriateness: High
Authority: High
Accuracy: High
Liteary Artistry: Medium
Appearance: High

Questions

Does the book foster development of processes?

Does the book provide an opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions?

Yes, the book does provide an opportunity for kids to ask their own questions. In one of the pages there is a diagram of a shark and all of the different body parts. The body parts have labels with what that body part does for a shark. Children will be able to use this information to possibly compare and contrast the functions of these parts to ours.

Does the book encourage children to think for themselves?

The book does somewhat of a good job encouraging kids to think for themselves. When Stanley is considering a shark as one of it's pets it compares the living style of the goldfish and asks himself what would happen if he did the same think for the shark. This gives the kid the opportunity to stop and reflect on what would happen if for example Stanley needed to provide the same living environment for the shark as he would for his goldfish.

Is the science topic addressed in ways that are appropriate to the lesson?

Yes, for the most part it is. The book does a really good job at presenting the topic of sharks in a way that a student can understand and also gives the teacher a lot of opportunity to add information such as facts about sharks. This book could also be used in lesson plans and a teacher could also add other information and present videos of actual sharks and a teacher can also use comparison charts such as a venn diagram to compare and contrast different animals to sharks.

Is the content based on sound scientific principles? Is it accurate?

Yes the information that is presented is accurate. What I really liked about this book is that it uses a lot of kid friendly vocabulary that could be easily understood by children. If I were to use this book in the classroom one thing that I would do is expand on the different parts of the shark and provide the students with information about the different parts of the goldfish.

Does the book distinguish between fact and fiction?

Yes it does. Although there is a story behind the book that is the story about Stanley considering a shark for his next pet the book presents the fact in the book separately and you are able to see the distinction between the story and the nonfiction part of the book which will most definitely help students when it comes to distinguishing between fiction and nonfiction.

Are the illustrations clear and accurate?

Somewhat, the shark is sometimes depicted in different sizes throughout the book. In one part of the book the shark is bigger than the goldfish while in the other part of the book the goldfish seems to be just as big as the shark. I really liked the chart about the shark in the page where all of the body parts are names.

Is the book written at the level of your students?

I would use this book for about 1st or 2nd grade. I feel that the book is written at the level of my student. When it talks about the body parts of the shark I like how it uses terms such as "nose" and "mouth" to talk about the different parts of the shark. Had they used more complicated terms that kids may have had a harder time seeing the different parts.

Is there a multicultural component? Is it free from stereotyping?

There is not a multicultural component in the book. I would have liked for the book to have added English and Spanish word translation. I feel that animals is a topic that all kids love to learn about considering that a lot of my students have pets at home. Therefore there needs to be books where the kids are learning about animals in both languages.

Is the book free from gender bias?

There really isn't gender bias in the book. I would have liked however for there to have been a female character in the book as well. Possibly Stanley's mom could have been portrayed in the story. I feel that sometimes kids are reluctant to pick up a book because of the fact that it isn't for girls or it isn't for boys. Therefore the colors chosen should really be taken into consideration when creating a book.

Does the book show the close association between science and other disciplines?

Yes, the book talks about the anatomy of the shark and also talks about the different types of sharks that live in the ocean. I like how it also talked about what the sharks eat and what is required for them to be able to survive. Although the story is fiction it does present a lot of components that could be used for instruction.

Does the book present a positive attitude toward science and technology?

Yes, it does present a positive attitude toward science and technology because it speaks truthfully about what is known about sharks including that it eats goldfish. I think that this would be a great book to have in my classroom library because not only is it kid-friendly but it is also very informative.