Face to Face with Sharks

Title: National Geographic's Face to Face with Sharks

Author: David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes

Non-Fiction #1

As a shark lover, I found National Geographic's Face to Face with Sharks to be wildly fascinating. Not only is the book jam packed with information on all different types of shark species but it includes plenty of amazing photos for readers to look at along the way. The book itself is divided up into several sections. The first is entitled "Face to Face" and gives the reader a little bit of background about the authors. The second is entitled "Meet the Shark" and includes general facts about sharks such as the fact that their body is made entirely out of cartilage. The third is entitled "World of Sharks" and describes where sharks live, what water depth you'll find them in, where they migrate, etc. The fourth section is entitled "Conservation", and is perhaps my favorite. In this section the authors detail current conservation efforts for different species of sharks as well as statistical information regarding their depletion. For example, did you know that humans kill more than 100 million sharks every year? 

As I was reading this book, I thought of so many educational connections that could be tied to this text. In fact, entire units of study in literally any elementary classroom could be based off of the information presented in this book. In particular, I liked how at the end of the book there was a section that details how you can help conservation efforts to save sharks. I feel like so many projects could be tied to this information. In addition, there are also sections about what children can do to learn more about sharks, a facts at a glance page, and a glossary that could be used to do a vocabulary unit. I truly feel like the sky is the limit with this particular subject matter. I really loved this book and think it would be a wonderful non-fiction addition to any classroom library.