Great White Shark
Follow a female shark as she heads to warm waters for the sake of her young in a lyrical, fact-filled look at one of the ocean’s top predators.
The great white shark swims on. Her tail sways from side to side; her fins keep her balanced. She travels the fast lane where she can, cruising invisible seaways.
As she traverses her ocean home, the great white shark’s charcoal skin blends with the dark depths of the ocean, her white belly floating pale below. She carries seven pups in her belly, and her job is to give them the best possible chance at survival. Her journey will take her where she needs to go to stay nourished until she gives birth, far from shore. Set in a stunning underwater world, Claire Saxby's signature poetic prose, offset by running facts, and Cindy Lane's striking illustrations showcase the power and grace of one of the ocean’s most misunderstood creatures.
Creators
Claire Saxby writes award-winning fiction, non-fiction and poetry for young people. She writes about history, about nature and more. Her books include Nature Storybooks (Big Red Kangaroo, Emu, Koala, Dingo, Kookaburra, Great White Shark, Tasmanian Devil and Wedge-tailed Eagle) which celebrate Australian wildlife and the places they live. Her historical novel, The Wearing of the Green, explores early colonial Melbourne. Claire lives by the sea and believes our world is a place of many wonders. For further information visit www.clairesaxby.com
Cindy Lane is an award-winning artist and illustrator who loves the ocean. She was born and grew up by the sea in Sydney, lived by the Great Barrier Reef in FNQ, and now has her studio by the Indian Ocean in Perth.
Cindy loves to make her own paints with materials she finds in nature, and collects waters from all over the world to use in her paintings. Seawaters from across Australia were used in Great White Shark, her first picture book.
Reviews
The illustrations of the shark and the ocean are detailed and simply breathtaking. This book is very informative for those students interested in sharks, and the prose flows like water; with some beautiful vocabulary setting a slow and easy pace. This would be a great book to read to students and then extend by discussing the facts on each page. There is certainly plenty of detail in the illustrations. I actually read it as two different books, first the prose and then the facts. This is a beautiful book and we are so lucky to now have a copy in our library!
Angela Thompson, Library Lead Teacher, Remarkables School
