SLICKETY QUICK: POEMS ABOUT SHARKS

SLICKETY QUICK: POEMS ABOUT SHARKS

by Skila Brown

Illustrated by Bob Kolar

Image credit: www.candlewick.com

Bibliography

Brown, Skila. 2016. Slickety Quick: Poems about Sharks. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763665432 

Critical Analysis and Review

Skila Brown's debut picture book is a topical collection all about the ocean's most infamous predator.  With fourteen poems each describing a different type of shark, an ocean lover would surely be entertained with this selection.  There is a poem about well-known shark species including the great white shark, tiger shark, and mako shark, and there are also poems about lesser-known sharks like the wobbegong and frilled shark.  In addition to the poem, each page has a brief paragraph explaining additional facts about the diet and habits of that type of shark.

Bob Kolar's illustrations are digitally created using a beautiful palette of blues and blue-greens.  Each full-bleed illustration is a double-page spread depicting the shark in its habitat.  The poems are clearly visible in over-sized text.  Kolar's artistry simultaneously captures the dreamy darkness of the ocean and the eeriness of the sharks with their hollow eyes and razor-sharp teeth. A highlight is the amazing whale shark that stretches across both pages dwarfing the nearby scuba diver while showing off its speckled gray spots. 

Brown utilizes several poetic devices including rhyme, repetition, and metaphor to enliven her words.

Using advanced language, Brown is enriching readers' vocabulary like in the opening line of "Bull Shark" that says "Tenacious, aggressive, and stocky, / you ambush your prey at the shore."  Brown uses metaphor to describe the mako shark as an "underwater cheetah" and a "muscle torpedo."  Alliteration is an effective tool in "Wobbegong" as the poem begins "Wibbly, wobbly, wobbegong" describing its sluggish nature.  The poems vary in form with some free verse, several concrete, and one "poem for two voices."  Since many students are enthralled with sharks, this collection of poetry just might inspire them to write their own shark poems. 

Spotlight Poem

MEGAMOUTH SHARK

by Skila Brown

Deep down in the ocean, in the belly of the dark, 

are the rubbery lips of the megamouth shark,

swishing on the plankton that he swallows all day

from his home at the bottom, where he swims in the gray.

His monster of a mouth opens wide in a roar

that's a lonely whisper from the ocean floor.

At the bottom of the sea, in the belly of the dark,

in the cold and quiet, lives the megamouth shark.

In the book, this poem appears as a concrete poem as it is printed in the oval shape of a megamouth shark's mouth.  The repetition and rhyme in this poem are consistent with the style of Brown's poetry.  Like all the poems in this collection, this poem uses a few lines and provides numerous facts about the shark species.  In "Megamouth Shark," the reader learns that a megamouth eats plankton, swims at the bottom of the ocean, and has a large "monster of a mouth".

I would use this poem as a poetry break to introduce a science lesson.  As a class, it would be fun to read this poem chorally in our best "megamouth shark" voice -- very deep since it lives in deep water.  Then, we would read it again in a whisper since it is so quiet when the megamouth creeps along the ocean floor.