SHARK IN THE DARK

The smaller sea creatures live in fear of the hungry shark..until they come up with a plan. In bouncy verse, Bently describes the ongoing pursuit of the turtles, shellfish, flounders et al., by the sharp-toothed predator: “All of the fishes were flustered and bumbling— / ‘Here comes the Shark and his tummy is rumbling!’ ” Racing away, the fish find a shrewd squid hiding in the wreckage of a sunken ship and explain their predicament. Squid has an idea...Cut to the shark, who spies a small, appetizing fish in the distance. The closer the shark gets, though, the larger the fish seems. It’s a …WHALE!—and many times larger than the shark, who swims away for his life. The final two-page spread shows the story’s surprise twist (imagine Swimmy) and shares its tidy lesson: “when we all got together, / We taught him a thing he’ll remember forever.” Bently’s appealing text stumbles in its scansion more than once and gets little help from Cort’s pedestrian, seemingly movie-inspired illustrations. Forgettable, despite its child-magnet subject. (Picture book. 3-6)