Gift from the Heart: Clark the Shark Takes Heart by Bruce Hale

IF YOU LIKE A GIRL AND IT'S ALMOST HER BIRTHDAY, WHAT DO YOU DO?" CLARK ASKED HIS BEST FRIEND, JOEY MACKEREL.

Clark the Shark is a guy who makes no small gestures. When his mentor in all things social suggests that he send his crush, Anna Angelfish, some candy and a card, to the ebullient Clark the tried-and-true girl-pleasing gift seems too dull.

"WHAT WOULD IMPRESS ANNA ANGELFISH THE MOST?" HE WORRIED. THEN HE HAD A SHARK-ARIFIC IDEA!"

He spots a sign, SWIM RACE TODAY," and Clark thinks that winning the race and dedicating his win to the birthday girl would really score with a speedy fish like Anna. Being the biggest fish in the inlet, he takes the lead easily, but when he looks back to see if Anna is impressed, he gets off course and crashes into the reef. Bummer!

Efforts to impress Anna by rescuing her from a stuck school sub-bus just make a mess of the bus, and Clark despairs of ever impressing Anna Angelfish.

"SOMETIMES," ADVISES JOEY, "GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES."

And the third time is the charm, as Clark finds just the right small gift to win Anna's favor, in Bruce Hale's latest Clark the Shark saga of mastering undersea social skills, in Clark the Shark Takes Heart (HarperCollins, 2015). Hale's deft narration helps readers understand that sometimes what appears to showing off is just a lack of more subtle interpersonal skills. And then, sometimes "Less is more," as Clark learns in a lesson in affairs of the heart at Theodore Roosterfish Elementary School. Illustrator Guy Frances again does a fine job of portraying personalities and interpersonal relations among denizens of the deep in charming style.

Other similarly themed Clark the Shark stories are Clark the Shark and Clark the Shark Dares to Share (See my reviews here.)

Too Cool for School? Flip and Fin: We Rule the School by Timothy Gill

HOW DO FISH GET TO SCHOOL?

ON THE OCTOBUS!

Flip and Fin, the sand shark twins, crack each other up with their sea-themed riddles.

But now they have to train for a new challenge--the annual school Joke Day! If they can't be the standout stand-up comic kings, how can they rule the school?

Flip falls flat when he forgets the punch line of the old groaner, "Orange Who?" knock-knock. He needs practice!

Flip works on his routine all week, with his twin Fin acting as straight man:

"WHAT DID THE OCTOPUS SAY TO HIS GIRLFRIEND?"

"I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND, HAND, HAND, HAND, HAND, HAND, HAND, HAND!"

The sand shark twins polish their quips all week, and Fin is confident he is ready. Flip is not so sure.

When the big day comes, Flip feels stage fright setting in as he listens to his pals cracking up the class. Even Celia Starfish knocks-knocks them dead with the old Orange Who? riddle. Flip is not feeling confident when he takes the stage.

"AH...  AH.... ER...."

But his twin Fin has his back. From the audience Fin feeds Flip his line:

"HEY, FLIP! WHAT DID THE BEACH SAY TO THE WAVE?"

And Flip snaps back with his best toothy grin...

"LONG TIDE  NO SEA!"

Seasoned joke fans will fall for the sandbar fare in Timothy Gill's Flip & Fin: We Rule the School! (Greenwillow Books, 2014). Flip and Fin are two brash and toothy characters whose call-and-response act offers kids some simple and sophisticated riddle fare, set off by Neil Numberman's jolly and bright bottom-of-the-sea illustrations of deep-sea students. For twin fin trouble, double this one with one of Bruce Hales's tales of Clark the Shark, (see reviews here).

Showing and Sharing: Clark the Shark Dares to Share by Bruce Hale

CLARK THE SHARK LOVES SCHOOL!

BUT SOMETIMES CLARK GETS A LITTLE MIXED UP!

ONE MORNING MRS. INKYDINK TELLS CLARK'S CLASS "TIME FOR SHOW AND SHARE!"

Clark is one of those students who has enthusiasm to spare. He throws himself completely into whatever he's doing, snout and fin. If it's time to share, he's ready to show everyone everything he's got. Trouble is, Clark is somewhat short in the social skills department. To him sharing means telling everything on his mind and showing off whatever he can do.

When Bonny Bonefish plays the class a song she's learned, Clark launches into his Funky Shark Dance, completely upstaging Bonny and tromping on not a few fins in the process. Mrs. Inkydink is not pleased.

"BUT I WAS SHARING TOO!" SAID CLARK.

"SHARING IS CARING," SAID MRS. INKYDINK. "EVERYONE MUST WAIT THEIR TURN!"

Clark thinks he's got the message, but when Amanda Eelwiggle wins the prize of a scrumptious pie in the Reading-Roundup, Clark moves in, all to ready to SHARE the heck out of Amanda's treat.

Mrs. Inkydink points out sternly that Amanda gets to choose the one to share her prize. This stuff gets confusing,  muses Clark,

At recess the guys get into a game of sea hockey, where Clark shares his skills too much; in fact, he's a total puck-hog. The guys on his side are disgusted.

"A WIN'S NOT A WIN UNLESS WE ALL GET TO PLAY!"

After school Clark goes to play their favorite action figures game, Sea Wars, at Joey Mackerel's house. Clark goes straight for Joey's brand-new figure:

"WOW! DARTH WADER!"

But Joey wants to be Darth Wader. He offers his next best action figure, Fluke Sea Walker. But when Joey goes for snacks, Clark appropriates Darth Wader. It must be my turn now! he says to himself.

WHAM! KAPOW! Clark means for Darth Wader to demolish Fluke, but Darth Wader is the one who's now history. Oops!

"THAT'S NOT SHARING! THAT'S TAKE AND BREAK!!!!" shouts Joey.

Clark is confused. Wasn't he taking turns? Isn't that the rule?

It's not until he gets home and finds his baby brother "sharing" his favorite ball cap by chewing a hole in the bill, that Clark finally gets why Joey Mackerel was so mad. Sharing means remembering that he's not the only fish in the sea--remembering to look at sharing from the other's point of view, in Bruce Hale's latest Clark story, Clark the Shark Dares to Share (HarperCollins, 2013).  Clark is a good-natured blunderbuss of a great white shark, well-meaning, but not necessarily the most empathetic of sea critters.

As in his first book, Clark the Shark, (read review here) Hale offers some deep-sea wordplay and has his good-hearted shark contrive some clever rhymes to remind himself of the rules of behavior, and Guy Francis' comic illustrations, offering plenty of visual under-the-sea puns and appealing schoolkids of the deep, make these stories a lot of fishy fun.

Curb Your Enthusiasml! Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale

CLARK THE SHARK LOVED SCHOOL, AND HE LOVED HIS TEACHER MRS. INKYDINK.

OF ALL THE FISH AT THEODORE ROOSTERFISH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THE BIGGEST AND STRONGEST WAS CLARK THE SHARK!

Clark's enthusiasm for the school experience knows no bounds... and that's the problem.

"Lunchtime! Sweeeet!" he yells as he inhales all of his lunch and most of his tablemates' grub as well. His big voice drowns out even the teacher, and at recess Clark's cowabunga style dissuades the other students from even approaching the swings and slides.

There such a thing as too much of a good thing, and Clark's over-enthusiasm for everything is overwhelming for his friends and and a bit over the top for even his veteran teacher, Mrs. Inkydink. Clark is making waves. In fact, he's a dorsal-finned tsunami!

"SOMETIMES THE RULE IS STAY COOL IN SCHOOL!" SHE SAID.

But how can Clark keep that rule in mind? Every time the class transitions into a different activity, Clark's runaway enthusiasm makes a mess of everyone else's efforts. Then Clark begins to coach himself silently.

STAY COOL IN SCHOOL. HEY! THAT RHYMES!

Putting school rules into rhyme works!  Soon Clark has concocted couplets for everything he needs to remember about being a good citizen in his class. Only your own lunch is yours to munch! No walking while Mrs. Inkydink is talking, he reminds himself, and it helps.  The class and the teacher relax. Whew!

Bruce Hale's latest, Clark the Shark (Harper, 2013), points up what is a hard transition to classroom etiquette for some rookie students,  learning not to overwhelm others with your own wants and ideas. And it's just in time for Clark the Shark, because a new student appears, Sid the Squid, whose size intimidates even Clark and who has his many hands all over everything in the room! Now it's time for Clark to teach this newbie the rules for a cool school! Hale's rhymes and Guy Francis' cartoon illustrations of an undersea school, nicely executed in watery palette and wavy lines, offer plenty of fun while the premise makes its point that everyone in a group needs to be considerate of all the others--a good message to keep in mind for back-to-school time!

Pair this one with Tom Lichtenheld's comic Shark vs. Train for a twosome of over-enthusiastic shark tales.

Nemo Redux: Gilbert in Deep by Jane Clarke.

Heaven knows, great white sharks need an image re-make, and in Gilbert in Deep Gilbert, an appealing young great white, along with his sidekick Rita Remorra, like Nemo before him, decides to dunk his usual backwater hide-and-seek to play "hide and deep."

Diving into the forbidden abyss beyond the reef, the two runaway youngsters swim into a darkened cavern to continue their game, where they encounter some downright ugly denizens of the deep, a bioluminescent angler fish and a vile-tempered viper fish to name a couple. After a brief confrontation with these toothy guys, Gilbert and Rita quickly do a deep sea version of "I hear my mama calling," and zip back to the safety of their lagoon. An appropriate scolding from Mama Great White ("You're in deep trouble!"), greets the two, who are reconciled to staying out of the depths until they're a bit bigger.

You might be excused for thinking that the familiar story line of the little runaway is a bit "washed up," from overuse, but here it provides the vehicle for inventive illustrator Charles Fuge to create some charming underwater scenes in a wonderful deep-water palette. Gilbert is portrayed as a lovable, impetuous little shark, and Rita, with her googly-eyed "I'm a follower" look, is just right as the clueless buddy ready to go along with any plan. For children who love stories of underwater animals, this nearly new book and its predecessor, Gilbert the Great, do a lot to offset the unfortunate publicity generated by that family black sheep of the great whites, cousin "Jaws."