SUNNY THE SHARK

A bit of floating trash turns a young oceanic whitetip shark’s life into a losing struggle to survive.

The loop of plastic that pins down one of her fins makes it so hard for Sunny to catch prey that even a school of hero-worshiping pilot fish that had been following to snatch up leftovers swims away. In cleanly drawn sequential panels and larger scenes, Lai depicts her “fearsome predator” as more of a victim, with stubby, rounded teeth and droopy fins—unable not only to chase down a taunting ray, but even to keep up with a school of pilot whales on the prowl for squid and eventually, after nearly being hooked by a fishing boat, sinking down to the bottom in exhaustion. As in the actual encounter on which this is based, Sunny is set free at last by marine biologists who clip off the loop—though the author’s admission that the real shark was caught by fishermen a few months later rather spoils the happy ending. Still, Sunny’s suffering will be palpable to young readers and makes Lai’s closing plea to reduce the use of plastics that can entangle or be eaten by sea life all the more cogent.

A wrenching cautionary tale but buoyant enough to float its serious message.