Fascinating text, diagrams, and stunning color photographs combine to offer the latest facts about these ancient creatures. A high interest subject comes alive. Ind.

Gr 3-6-- A sensationalist survey of the species, Shark concentrates on the unusual, the strange, the odd, and the frightening with minimal text and clear, bright illustrations. Although MacQuity places the risk of shark attack in its proper perspective (people are more likely to die in car accidents), the photographs and sections of such protective measures as mesh nets, repellents, electric - current barriers, etc., continue to promote the image of sharks as wanton killers. Every page is littered with full-color illustrations, all sizes of photographs, cut-outs from larger photographs, reproductions, drawings, cartoons, maps, and more. The text is scattered all over the page to accompany the illustrations, but not necessarily to explain them. A small classification chart shows tiny drawings of all the sharks, and the common characteristic that links them is mentioned in a sentence but not explained . The drawings of the internal organs are good, but the labels merely name, not define a scroll valve in an intestine, the stomach's ascending limb, and the intestines' spiral and/or ring valves. The quality and diversity of the photographs is undeniable (there's even a photograph of a pair of mating sharks), but even with an index, this is clearly a book for dipping in and out of, and not for solid information. --Frances E. Millhouser, Reston Regional Library, VA