How to avoid being eaten by sharks and other advice by John Larkin. Illus. by Chrissie Krebs

What is the best way to avoid being eaten by a shark?  Is the Earth really flat? How to translate Parent speak, How to pass a creative writing test, and How to avoid being abducted by aliens are the five chapters of this nonfiction book by John Larkin.  The important questions and mysteries of life are presented as a narrative woven with facts in this amusing book. Each chapter presents the facts and figures of each topic with handy hints, advice and trivia, all combined with some full page black and white, comic style illustrations and smaller sketches across the page.

Larkin also uses examples from his childhood to bring to life the chapter about Parent speak and uses examples from his writing life which will interest many young aspiring writers.  The language used is more suited to more advanced readers, as is the style of the book which is more like a wordy novel than many of the more recent nonfiction offerings that contain more illustration and fact bubbles/boxes to engage reluctant readers. The page about Idioms at the back of the book will be a valuable discussion starter for many classrooms. I felt the chapter about creative writing seemed an odd inclusion, especially in the middle section of the book.  It will be useful as a tool to teach some creative writing in classrooms and give children a helpful guide to story writing, but could well have formed the basis for a book all on its own.

Themes: General knowledge, Sharks, Unexplained phenomena, Aliens.

Gabrielle Anderson