Sea Creatures from the Sky

By Ricardo Cortés
Published in 2018

Why we chose this book:
The cover caught my eye, and when I read the synopsis, I was intrigued. I contacted Akashic Books (the publisher), and they sent me a copy for review.

Mom's Review

A shark is stunned when scientists pull it from the sea.

It is easy to see why Cortés is a #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator. The pictures in this book are breathtaking. It was the cover that first drew my eye, and the beauty continues inside. The story is thought-provoking — an implicit questioning of humans' effect on wildlife. Written mostly in rhyme, a shark narrates its experience with scientists. I want to be clear that this is not a talking shark who acts like a human, but rather a description of what a shark might think and feel when it is examined by scientists. I could feel the shark's confusion and terror at being captured, and finally relief at being released. I've always thought it amazing that scientists can track animals, and I've wondered how the scientists do it, and if the animals are okay with it. I won't be tagging animals, and I don't know if T ever will, but the book's message translates to any human-wildlife interaction.

I'd recommend it for the illustrations or the story. Together, they make it well worth reading.

Son's Review
(age 3)

T, his dad, and I read this together and talked about it. When we asked T what he would do if he were the shark, he started to cry, saying, "I'm not a shark. I'm T." We've read it a few times since then, and now T and I are sitting down to do our "official" review over lunch.

Mom: What do you want to say about Sea Creatures from the Sky?

Son: I liked it.

Mom: What was your favorite part?

Son: How they caught him.

Mom: Did you feel scared at all when we read this?

Son: No.

Mom: How did the shark feel?

Son: Maybe sad.

Mom: What do you think the shark wanted when he was on the boat, when the people had him?

Son: I thought he wanted to be free.

Mom: Would you want to be a scientist like that? Why? What would you want to learn?

Son: Yeah. I want to learn about butterflies.

Mom: It kind of reminds me of Shark Lady, but from the opposite perspective.

Son: Why?

Mom: Because instead of a person examining sharks, its a shark being examined by a person. So it's like from the opposite side. From the other perspective.

Mom: Now, I have two more questions for you: When might it be good to read this book? And who might like this book?

Son: Hmmm. When you feel scared because it's a scary book...the shark is scared. G because the ocean is blue and Thomas is blue.
(G likes Thomas.)