Shark Picture Books

Shark Awareness Day is July 14th. Shark Week on Discovery Channel is usually held in April. These are both great opportunities to grab a few extra picture books about sharks, but really, shark picture books are fun any time of the year!

I tracked down 30 picture books on sharks. Here are my top recommendations for you (pictures link to Amazon, downloadable PDF library list below)-

Shark Picture Book Recommendations:

Shark Dog by Ged Adamson. A girl and her father travel to an island with exotic animals. Unbeknownst to them, one of the creatures return their home as a stowaway. He is half dog and half shark. Sharkdog becomes the girl’s pet, but having a pet that is half shark presents some unusual challenges. This is a cute story.

Shark Detective by Jessica Olien. Shark lives alone. He eats potato chips and watches detective shows. He DREAMS of becoming a detective. One day he sees a poster of a lost cat. He decides his time has come at last to BECOME a detective. He is going to find that lost cat. This is a clever story I would gladly read on repeat.

Nugget & Fang by Tammi Sauer- Nugget is a fish and Fang is a shark. They are best friends who do everything together. One day at school Nugget learns that Sharks are dangerous and he shouldn’t be friends with a Shark. Fang is devastated when he hears the news. This story is about prejudices, peer pressure and friendship.

Dude! by Aaron Reynolds (author of Creepy Carrots). I am just going to warn you, “Dude” is the only word used in this book. Reading the story is all about voice fluctuation. It is about about the adventures a platypus and beaver have when they encounter a shark while surfing. My 7-year-old LOVED this book.

Shark vs Train has been a family favorite for years. It is CRAZY creative. Who would think to write a book about a competition between a shark and a train? I am sure glad Chris Barton did. This book is funny- both the text and pictures (although I have to say I like it much better when I do not read the word bubbles, just stick to the main text). It is a great book for all ages.

Misunderstood Shark by Ame Dyckman. In this book, Bob the Broadcasting Jelly fish is interviewing Shark in a live marine documentary. Bob is attempting to uncover the truth. Are sharks super scary or just misunderstood? Shark is on his best behavior while he is in front of the audience. Is he just pretending or is this the real shark? This book makes me laugh. It is sprinkled with little shark facts. This story may be a little scary for the little ones but older kids will get a kick out of it.

Shark Kiss, Octopus Hug by Lynn Rowe Reed- This story is about Charlie the Shark and Olivia the Octopus. They are best friends. More than anything in the word, Charlie wants a kiss. Olivia feels the same way about receiving a hug. They try their best to convince some people to fulfill these wishes, but as you might imagine- these plans don’t work out too well. This is a story of discovering that sometimes you already have what you need.

Land Shark by Beth Ferry- Bobby has a plan. He is going to convince his parents to get him a shark for his birthday. His parents get him a dog instead. He is determined not to like said dog, but the longer the dog is around, the more Bobby realizes this dog has some very shark-like qualities.

Bedtime for Baby Shark, Art by John John Bajet- I think there are two types of people. People who like the song Baby Shark and people who wish it didn’t exist. If you are of first mindset- you would love this book! Same great tune, new lyrics and hand gestures. Perfect for bedtime.

Non-Fiction

Hark a Shark by Bonnie Worth- This is a rhyming non-fiction book that is part of The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library. It is PACKED with great information about sharks. Although it is longer than many picture books, the rhyming moves the story along at a good pace. I really enjoyed this book.

Super Sharks- A LEGO Adventure in the Real World- This book is also non-fiction. It is mostly full of shark facts but also contains pictures of lego figurines and fun LEGO build ideas relating to the subject matter on the different pages.