Sharks are great for a summer theme, whether it’s before, during, or after Shark Week! Here are some of our favorite books from our shark unit.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).
Just choose books based on your child’s age and what you think will engage your child’s interest. I recommend checking out the “Read Sample” feature on Amazon and reading reviews there. Another place to learn about a book is on YouTube. You can typically see the entire book there.
Montessori-friendly books use photos or realistic illustrations. They don’t have talking animals or a lot of fantasy. But many books that have fantasy and talking animals are wonderful books, and I love sharing them with children who understand the difference between fantasy and reality.
For toddlers and preschoolers, about ¾ of the books I use are typically Montessori friendly (focusing on reality without smiling or talking animals or smiling or talking vehicles).
Books for a Shark Theme
Here’s a fun Instagram reel:
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I’m featuring books here for a shark theme mainly for preschool through elementary-age kids.
Top Shelf of Forward -Facing Display:
- Ocean Anatomy
- The Big Book of the Blue (I love this series and have many of the books!)
- Ocean: A Visual Encyclopedia (Gorgeous book!)
2nd Shelf:
- Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs
- Animal Classifications: Fish
- DK’s Super Shark Encyclopedia: And Other Creatures of the Deep
3rd Shelf:
- National Geographic Kids Can’t Get Enough Shark Stuff: Fun Facts, Awesome Info, Cool Games, Silly Jokes, and More is recommended for ages 7-10. It has lots of beautiful photos, fascinating facts, and fun games and activities.
- The Ultimate Shark Field Guide with detailed watercolor illustrations
- My First Book of Sharks: All About the Largest Fish in the Sea for Kids with vivid shark photos and lots of easy-to-understand information.
4th Shelf:
- So Cool! Sharks (both fun and informative!)
- Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist (This award-winning tells the story of Eugenie Clark who spent her life studying zoology and working to prove that sharks weren’t mindless killers but beautiful animals that should be appreciated and protected. Recommended for ages 4-8.)
- How to Spy on a Shark (a fun way to learn how scientists track mako sharks)
Bottom Shelf
- I Am the Shark (Both fun and informative!)
- Clark the Shark: Tooth Trouble
- American Museum of Natural History Sharks Board Book (gorgeous book for toddlers and preschoolers with interesting facts, stunning photographs, and cutout pages showing the relative sizes of the various types of sharks)
Some other animal and fish books from other units I have available in a book basket:
- Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth
- DK Smithsonian Animal Book
- National Geographic Kids Little Kids First Big Book of Animals
- The Animal Book: A Visual Encyclopedia of Life on Earth is great for plant and animal classification as well as animal themes.
- DK Smithsonian Animal Book
- Animalium: Welcome to the Museum
- Nature Anatomy
- Ocean: A Photicular Book was a New York Times bestseller. It’s a super-fun book for multiple ages to look at with images that use Photicular technology to make each image like a 3-D movie on the page. It also tells about each ocean animal, including vital statistics such as size, habitat, range, diet, life span in the wild, and threats.
- National Geographic Kids Ocean Animals: Whos Who in the Deep Blue Sea
- Fish Everywhere. This isn’t one of Britta Teckentrup’s peek-through picture books, but it’s awesome anyway!
- Fantastic Fish (This series (I have and recommend the whole set) is great for young readers and preschoolers who are learning about animal classifications!)
- About Fish: A Guide for Children
- Hungry Hungry Sharks (We still had this from when my now-adult kids were homeschooled.)
- Shark pages from the gorgeous DK Smithsonian Picturepedia
- Shark pages from National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia
- Shark pages from DK Animal Atlas
- Books from my Best Ocean Books for Kids post
- Books from my Favorite Books for a Fish Theme
You can see many shark books here: Shark Books for Kids (including books as they’re published)
More Shark-Related Resources:
Montessori-Inspired Shark Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Montessori-Inspired Fish Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Montessori-Inspired Ocean Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my newsletter to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Free Shark Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Shark Unit
Free Fish Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fish Activities
Favorite Books for a Fish Theme
Free Fish Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
The Ultimate Montessori-Inspired Shark Unit
- August Themed Activities for Kids
- Non-Scary and Montessori-Friendly Resources for a Shark Tooth Dig
- How to Make a Simple Ocean Animal Water Table or Sensory Bin Featuring Sharks
- Shark Water-Bead Number or Letter Sensory Bin
- Free Shark Printables and Montessori-Inspired Shark Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Ocean Unit
- Montessori-Inspired Resources for World Oceans Day
Montessori-Inspired Ocean Math Activities - Shells and Starfish Activities + Free Printable from Montessori By Mom
- Farm, Zoo, & Ocean Animal Sensory Bottles for Babies and Toddlers
- Coral Reef Kit and Sensory Bin
- DIY Coral Reef Water Table with Practical Life Activities
- Free Ocean Printables and Montessori-Inspired Ocean Activities
- Free Ocean Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Guided Ocean Meditations for Kids {Mindfulness Resources}
- Free Guided Ocean Meditations {Mindfulness Resources for Teens and Adults}
- Free Ocean Animal Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- The Best Ocean Books for Kids
- How to Make a Simple Ocean Animal Water Table or Sensory Bin Featuring Sharks
- Ocean-themed, Editable Name and Word Tracing Pack in Print or Cursive
Helpful Animal Classification Posts
- Living and Non-Living
- Plant and Animal Sorting
- Montessori Animal Classification
- Free Zoo Printables and Montessori-Inspired Zoo Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Animal Units
- Montessori Vertebrate Resources for Preschool Through Elementary
- Free Amphibian Printables and Montessori-Inspired Amphibian Activities
- Free Reptile Printables and Montessori-Inspired Reptile Activities
- Free Fish Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fish Activities
- Free Bird Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bird Activities post
- Free Mammal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Mammal Activities post
- Montessori Invertebrate Resources for Preschool Through Elementary
Have fun learning about sharks!
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