Sharks. The very word conjures up images of terror in many of us. Even though the chances of a shark actually attacking a person are something like 1 in a bajillion they still scare us. Thanks mostly to movies like Jaws, Open Water (as a former scuba diver that one scared me the most), Deep Blue Sea and The Reef. Not so much movies like Sharknado. Now, I scuba dived with sharks (Caribbean Reef Sharks to be exact) so I’m not really afraid of them anymore. Mostly I just wish I had the single picture in existence of me swimming with them.
In reality, sharks have way more to fear from people. Between pollution and overfishing (and not just the horrible shark fin soup trade), sharks are in real danger from humans and that is bad news. Sharks are extremely important in the ocean ecosystem so we must do what we can to help protect them. And that means nurturing an interest in and love for sharks. And that is what brings us here today.
National Geographic Sharkfest is underway and in conjunction with that we have received several books from National Geographic Kids Books. Now I must confess that even though these are books geared towards kids, two of them have ended up on my bookshelf because I kind of swiped them from my daughter. And if I actually had a coffee table to put a coffee table book on, one of those, The Ultimate Book of Sharks by Brian Skerry would be proudly displayed on it. So, if you want to help your kids learn more about sharks (did you know they’ve been around since before the dinosaurs?) then check out one of these great books below. Or better yet, check us out on Facebook for a chance to win all five books for yourself.
The Ultimate Book of Sharks (National Geographic Kids)
National Geographic Readers: Sharks! (Science Reader Level 2)
Extreme Ocean: Amazing Animals, High-Tech Gear, Record-Breaking Depths, and More
