Going Deep! Smithsonian Readers World of Wonder Level 3

"Sharks have been around for approximately four hundred million years before dinosaurs roamed the earth.

The largest shark that ever lived was the Megladon. This prehistoric predator may have reached sixty feet in length. Fossilized Megalodon teeth measure up to seven inches high have been found."

The third volume in the series, Smithsonian Readers: World of Wonder Level 3 (Smithsonian/Silver Dolphin, 2015) takes elementary readers deep into the ocean to learn about sharks, deep into the rain forest's shady glades, deep into the eye of a hurricane, deep into the tombs of the Pharaohs, and deep into solar system space to learn all about the planets and their moons. The section on the United States concentrates primarily on famous monuments, national parks, and natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls.

Written by author Brenda Scott-Royce, et al, the six subject sections--Sharks, Wild Weather, The United States, The Planets, Rain Forest Animals, and Ancient Egypt, take young independent readers into many diverse areas of intrinsic interest to kids in third and fourth grades, while giving them practice in reading for content with text using a variety of sentence structures, phonics, and wide-ranging terminology. As in the other books in this series, technical terms are printed in boldface and defined in the text, and are also listed in a full glossary at the end of each section. New words and concepts are well supported by multiple colored photos on each page. Self-checking quizzes at the end of each section reinforcement for the information introduced in each section, and punch-out cards provide many opportunities for students to quiz each other on content.

Recommended as supplementary reading for classroom libraries, home-schooling texts, and individual or small-group research, this third volume in the new Smithsonian Readers series offers "engaged" middle graders a change to go deeper into learning about their world, gaining the sort of knowledge that everyone should know.

Auxiliary materials are available in multifaceted activity kits for additional learning by self-directing eager learners.

Sneaking Out: The Big Adventures of the Smalls by Helen Stephens

It was an especially special night. It was the night the Smalls hold a grand ball. Everyone was very busy getting ready.

But the only thing Paul and Sally Small were getting ready for... was bed.

Their splendid rococo mansion is spotless, their long banquet dining table is splendid with the finest china and sterling silver, and their parents are resplendent in tuxedo and ballgown, their servants nervously prepping the fancy food on shiny serving salvers for a polished presentation.

Banished to their nursery far upstairs, Paul and Sally are not sleepy. They just have to have a glimpse og these grand festivities. With Sally leading the way and Paul clutching his favorite teddy, Mr. Puddles, they tiptoe partway down the grand staircase for a peek. But as Paul hangs over the banister for a look at the glittering guests, Mr. Puddles slips from his grasp! Paul and Sally watch in horror as he lands on a huge serving plate upon which a waiter soon slaps a domed cover without seeing the hidden surprise underneath.

The kids have to retrieve Teddy right away, before he gets served up to the diners, or they are in BIG trouble.

So begins The Big Adventure of the Smalls (Aladdin, 2012) by Helen Stephens. Kids will cackle with glee as, with their tagalong pooch along for the fun, the Smalls hoodwink their parents and guests, concealing themselves beneath the banquet table, among the legs of the guests, until they get a chance to snatch Teddy from the server, swinging over the feast on a handy and helpfully ornate chandelier. Making use of drapes, convenient suits of armor, sliding panels, trapdoors to secret passageways, and a co-conspirator of a cook, they manage to avoid detection, or at least identification by their parents, and final]y return themselves and Mr. Puddles to their home base, just in time for the expected bed check.

"Phew!" said Sally. "We got him back...and nobody even saw!"

It's a classic chase tale, every kid's fantasy of spying on the grownups' shindig incognito. Stephens' ornate and stylish illustrative style evokes that of several classic illustrators--Bemelmans, Waber, Ardizone, for example--and extend this stylish text perfectly. Says Publishers Weekly, "Stephens's story casts that rare spell—the feeling of finding a lost childhood favorite."

Beyond Jaws: Sharks: Biggest! Littlest! by Sandra Markle

Oh, Jaws is here, all right. After all, a book about the biggest and littlest sharks has to include one of the ocean's largest predators, the Great White, who, with their 100 two-inch teeth, can polish off a seal (or movie actress) before breakfast.

But Sandra Markle's new shark saga, Sharks: Biggest! Littlest!, gives only a passing nod to the Great White, even dissing him a bit, reminding us that he's the puny descendant of the REAL bad boy of the ancient seas, the Megatooth Shark. The rest of her book describes some of the lesser-known and weirder members of the shark family.

Markle begins with those "toothless" giant sharks, the Whale Sharks and Basking Sharks, who cruise around taking in tiny fish and plankton to fortify their huge appetites. Then she turns to some of the most fascinating of sharks, Spined Pygmy Sharks, which fit into a hand like minnows, and the Ornate Wobbegong, whose flubbery head with its protruding skin flaps trailing like seaweed help to camouflage the shark as it rests on the ocean floor and waits for prey.

But perhaps the most curious of predatory styles is that of the Cookie-Cutter Shark:

The Cookie-cutter's eyes are positioned to let the shark look down and keep watch.

When it sees a predator come close, it twists around and bites.

Now the predator is the prey.

The shark's fleshy lips lock on and its long, sharp lower teeth dig in.

The predator's forward motion makes the Cookie-Cutter Shark spin around.

This way, its teeth slice out a cookie-shaped plug of flesh. Then it lets go and swims away fast.

Markle also describes the feeding behavior of some other oddities--the Thresher Shark, who uses his oversized tail to herd and stun his prey; the Longnose Sawshark who uses long whisker-like projections from his extended saw-toothed jaw to feel for small fish hiding on the sandy bottom; and the Swell Shark which discourages predators by inhaling water and blowing up to twice his size. Also featured are the Hammerhead, Horned Shark, and Lemon Shark, in which Markle describes how size and other anatomical characteristics represent the animal's adaptations for finding food in its environment. The author skillfully works in important information about how the shark's skin with its denticles, its continuous replacement of teeth, and its body shape and fins allow for successful predation over its life cycle.

Full-page and smaller color photos, sharp and detailed, extend the text perfectly, making all of the featured sharks memorable to the reader. The basic text is written at a primary level, and, although technical terms (such as denticle and predator) boost the overall reading level to 4.5, these are also defined in the appended glossary. Back matter also includes a full-page world map showing where the featured sharks live, a bibliography, and useful web sites which offer informational photo galleries, videos, slide shows, games, and tips for protecting endangered sharks. This title is equally appealing to elementary readers for browsing or as a source for science reports.

Other excellent illustrated animal books, including more sharks, by Sandra Markle can be found here.

Nonfiction That Makes the Grade: Tough, Toothy Baby Sharks by Sandra Markle

As award-winning Sandra Markle's notes for this book says, a snorkeling trip which turned into a swim with the sharks began her fascination with this best-known ocean predator. Tough, Toothy Baby Sharks is a fascinating look at the life cycle of sharks, especially the birth and "nursery" period of their young.

Illustrated with intimate photographs and information about shark eggs and shark gestation, Markle, especially in her chapter "Taking Care of Baby," points up the maternal side of sharks. For example, who knew that Draftboard Swell Shark mothers lay their eggs, which are equipped with long, threadlike tendrils, protectively close to coral or seaweed to which the eggs attach themselves immediately, or that Port Jackson shark mothers gently take their newly laid eggs in their mouths and place them into crevices to shelter them from predators? On the other hand, who knew the grim reality that some live-born shark pups feed on their smaller siblings and unfertilized eggs in their mothers' uteri? Still, the Lemon Shark dutifully bear their young in shallow mangrove lagoons which shelter them until they grow big enough to venture out into the open sea.

Endlessly fascinating, sharks are among the most popular subjects for young science readers, and Sandra Markle thoroughly covers the story of how baby sharks survive in their own challenging habitats. Backmatter includes a world map showing where the featured sharks live, an "S.O.S." (Save Our Sharks) section discussing how shark conservation is essential to ocean life, a "Sharks Are Cool" section with fascinating facts, and a glossary/index to significant terms introduced in the book.

Other notable books by Markle in this series include Slippery, Slimy Baby Frogs and Creepy, Crawly Baby Bugs. For more fascinating shark lore, see also Sandra Markle's beautifully illustrated Great White Sharks (Animal Predators) and Outside And Inside Sharks.