To Market, To Market! Clark The Shark Lost And Found by Bruce Hale

"Today is our field trip to the Farmers' Market," announced Mrs. Inkydink to the class.

"WOOHOO!" shouted Clark the Shark. "I've never seen a farmers' market!"

It's field trip time, and all the ebullient Clark can think about is the fun he's going to have with his friend Joey Mackerel.

Mrs. Inkydink, on the other hand, knows all the things that can go wrong on a field trip with her class of little golliwogs, so she launches into her Rules for A Field Trip lecture.

1. Hold hands with your partner!
2. Follow all directions!
3. Keep to your inside voices!

Of course, Clark the Shark is not listening. In fact he's busy telling Joey that a field trip means It's Playtime!

Right off the bus, Clark charges forward, with Joey at his tailfin, trying to keep up, as they swim toward the food vendors.

"LOOK at the food! YUM!"

The farmers' market is like a great big theme park to Clark and he dashes into the action, stuffing his toothy face, juggling goodies, dancing his funky shark dance, and swimming too fast for even the loyal Joey to keep up. It's a fine and fishy fun field trip. Until... Clark stops to look around.

Their class was out of sight!

He can't even see Joey! Clark The Shark is lost! Now he wishes he'd been listening to Mrs. Inkydink.

Is Clark the Shark lost at sea? In Bruce Hale's Clark the Shark: Lost and Found (I Can Read Level 1) (Harper, 2016), young readers will giggle at Clark's attempts to dredge his teacher's words out of his easily-distracted brain. Luckily, Mrs. Inkydink is on the job and all's well, with Clark (perhaps) learning his lesson for the day.

Author Hale handles his hyper Clark The Shark well by this point in the series, and perhaps young readers will get the message that there are times when it's really important to pay attention to the instructions. Illustrator Guy Frances adds plenty of underwater humor to the setting, and the two creators even add an appendix to this Level One I-Can-Read title, "Clark The Shark's Bite-Sized Facts" about (what else?) sharks!

School Days: Clark the Shark and the Big Book Report by Bruce Hale

"Tomorrow is Book Report Day!" said Mrs. Inkydink. "Is everybody ready?"

Only a few flippers went up.

Many of Clark the Shark's classmates are intimidated by having to speak in front of the whole group. Benny Blowfish admits he's nervous, and Ella Jellyfish confesses that she's scared, too. Only Clark the Shark seems unafraid.

Mrs. Inkydink bucks up their courage with a pep talk.

"Be bold. Be smart. Speak from the heart!"

"I can't wait," says Clark, with a toothy grin.

The looks on the faces of his classmates seem to say that's easier said than done. But Clark is a sharp student (in more ways than one), and he's sure he's got this book report thing under control.

He really likes his book, The Frog Prince. At home he creates what he thinks is a killer poster, advertising the book. He practices speaking in front of his family, and takes their advice to heart.

The next day he heads off to school, sure that his book report will be the best ever.

His best friend, Joey Mackerel, is not so confident.

"Aren't you nervous about talking in front of the class?" he asks.

"I know my book like the back of my flipper," boasts Clark.

Sure that his book report will be perfect, the self-confident Clark, waves his fin high in the air to go first. He even warms up his cold-blooded audience with a scale-tickling riddle:

"What do Frog Princes eat with their hamburgers?

FRENCH FLIES!"

But when Clark opens his jaws to launch into his actual report, his mind goes completely blank.

It's a classic case of stage fright for Clark the Shark, in Bruce Hale's beginning reader, Clark the Shark and the Big Book Report (I Can Read Level 1) (Harper, 2017), as the go-getter Clark learns a needed lesson about modesty, along with a lesson for the whole class in self-confidence. Bruce Hale's character, Clark the Shark, is a good example even when he's being a bad example for his classmates by learning to curb his braggadocio, paving the way for Joey, Ella, Benny, and the other Nervous Jellies in the class to take their turns courageously. Hale's illustrator, Guy Frances, comes through as usual with comic portrayals of his sub-marine students in this message to beginning readers.

"Cheerful, expressive illustrations provide contextual clues as they depict a classroom of friendly, supportive students. VERDICT A winning addition to the series," says School Library Journal.