Book Review: Norman the Nurse Shark

Published 10 years agoon July 29, 2016

When Norman the Nurse Shark arrived on our doorstep, we were already looking forward to reading it. OK, it is for kids, but there is nothing wrong with us bigger kids enjoying it too. The first thing that strikes you are the wonderful illustrations. Norman, the Nurse Shark, and his friends Patrik the Eagle Ray and Jonah the Tiger Shark, were illustrated by Sean Branigan and before you read a word, you are already grinning at his wonderful depictions of these well-loved characters. The book has been written by Sharks4Kids founder Jillian Morris, who has a passion for all things marine, but especially for sharks. Okay, we may be a little biased as the UK ambassadors for this wonderful charity.

The story sees the young, and somewhat impulsive Nurse Shark, Norman, wander away from his family. As we turn the pages, we join him on his adventure through the Bahamas in the search to find his family and discover his true identity. Along the way he meets swimming pigs, explores a shipwreck, gets into some scrapes and makes some great friends.

At the back of the book, there is a shark education section, with stacks of information about nurse sharks and their biology, along with some great images by Duncan Brake. So not only do you get a great yarn to read, there are plenty of jawsome facts too. The proceeds from the book will be used to support Sharks4Kids outreach and education programmes around the world.

The quality of the book is excellent, from the design & illustration to the final product. The three main characters in the book have lovely expressive faces that kids are going to love. We gave it to our grandkids and they would not put it down. We cannot come up with a better recommendation than that.

The book is available as both a hardback and paperback. It is well priced at $18.99 for the hardback and $14.99 for the paperback. The paperback, including shipping to the UK will cost you under £20. For this, you will get a wonderful story to share with the youngsters in your family, you will be educating them to the fact that sharks are not wanton killers, and you will also be assisting a charity that brings shark education to kids all around the world. What’s not to like?

You can order the book here: www.fintasticbooks.com

Find out more about Sharks4Kids at sharks4kids.com.

Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown

Nick and Caroline (Frogfish Photography) are a married couple of conservation driven underwater photo-journalists and authors. Both have honours degrees from Manchester University, in Environmental Biology and Biology respectively, with Nick being a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, a former high school science teacher with a DipEd in Teaching Studies. Caroline has an MSc in Animal Behaviour specializing in Caribbean Ecology. They are multiple award-winning photographers and along with 4 published books, feature regularly in the diving, wildlife and international press They are the Underwater Photography and Deputy Editors at Scubaverse and Dive Travel Adventures. Winners of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Photo-journalist of the Year for a feature on Shark Diving in The Bahamas, and they have been placed in every year they have entered. Nick and Caroline regularly use their free time to visit schools, both in the UK and on their travels, to discuss the important issues of marine conservation, sharks and plastic pollution. They are ambassadors for Sharks4Kids and founders of SeaStraw. They are Dive Ambassadors for The Islands of The Bahamas and are supported by Mares, Paralenz, Nauticam and Olympus. To find out more visit www.frogfishphotography.com