Shark in the Park - Nick Sharratt

Shark in the Park by Nick Sharratt is the story of a young boy, Timothy Pope, who goes to the park with his telescope (which obviously rhymes with his name). Each time he looks through the telescope, he sees something that looks like the black fin of a shark, so he shouts out 'There's a shark in the park!' This is repeated several times throughout the book, and the children I read aloud to know when it's coming and love to shout the phrase out themselves ...
...fact see a big black shark swimming on a blue background. There is another one right at the end, leaving you with the feeling that there really was a shark in the tiny duck pond. The cover is a vivid combination of green and red concentric circles that would stand out a mile in a bookshop. The rest of the book is filled with colourful illustrations of children playing in the park, except for the right-hand pages where Timothy is looking through his ... more

Shark in the Park by Nick Sharratt is the story of a young boy, Timothy Pope, who goes to the park with his telescope (which obviously rhymes with his name). Each time he looks through the telescope, he sees something that looks like the black fin of a shark, so he shouts out 'There's a shark in the park!' This is repeated several times throughout the book, and the children I read aloud to know when it's coming and love to shout the phrase out themselves each time. Of course what Timothy sees is not a shark; the first time it's a cat's ear, the second time it's a crow's wing, and the third it's his father's enormous quiff. Great amusement. As his father finally decides to take him home, they turn their backs on the park and there in the duck pond appears an ominous black fin. The repetition and the humour both make this a popular story.

The front cover and most of the right-hand pages have a circle cut out through which you see the black shape that resembles a shark's fin. When you first open the book, you do in fact see a big black shark swimming on a blue background. There is another one right at the end, leaving you with the feeling that there really was a shark in the tiny duck pond. The cover is a vivid combination of green and red concentric circles that would stand out a mile in a bookshop. The rest of the book is filled with colourful illustrations of children playing in the park, except for the right-hand pages where Timothy is looking through his telescope and shouting 'There's a shark in the park!' These pages have black text in a large font on a black background.

This is a picture book for very young children, but the repetition of text would also make it ideal for emergent readers. Most of the story is written in the form of a rhyme. Each time Timothy looks through his telescope, he looks left, then right, then up at the sky, then down at the ground. Young children don't usually find it easy to distinguish between left and right, so this is a fun way of teaching them to do so.

The first time the book is read, there is of course an excellent element of surprise as the shark's fin initially turns out to be nothing more than a black cat's ear. Children might then want to try guessing what the fin will be the second and third time. The sequence can then be used as a very simple memory game: either the children can tell you the three things that the fin turned out to be in the right order as soon as you finish reading, or you can pick up the book again several days later and see what they can remember. They do still seem to enjoy the story again, even though there is no longer an element of surprise after the first reading.

This is a very short book, but that does not necessarily matter for very young children. It is cleverly designed and thought out, fun and attractive. I would definitely recommend borrowing it from the library, and would also suggest that it could make a good present for two- to four-year-olds.

Shark in the Park
by Nick Sharratt
Corgi Children's
Paperback, 24 pages
ISBN 055249770
Price £4.99 (Amazon £4.49)

This is a printed book, not an audio book. 

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