Please Be Nice to Sharks: Fascinating Facts About the Ocean’s Most Misunderstood Creatures

This modest overview of 15 types of sharks (including a manta ray “cousin”) suggests that the creatures aren’t as scary and ferocious as people might think. In a serious-minded introduction, Weiss points out that shark populations are rapidly declining, in part because of human hunting. The rest of the book strikes a more casual tone as the various sharks introduce themselves in friendly-as-can-be first-person narratives (“What’s up? I’m a scalloped hammerhead shark. I’m named for my funky-shaped head that also gives me incredible 360-degree vision to find my food”). The clear, full-color photographs and chatty narration provide just enough details to hook younger readers, though the recurring pleas to “please be nice to us!” start to get repetitive. Ages 6–10. (June)