Clark the Shark" has brightly colored watercolor illustrations that depict a shark's struggle with being himself while at school. Clark even says, "Loved everything too much...too much shark." When his teacher realized Clark was upset, she approached him and reminded him, "There's a time and place for everything.....the rule is to stay cool." Once Clark realized that rhymes might help him remember the rules for school, "Maybe if I make a rhyme, I will remember every time." After Clark worked on several different rhymes for the rules, he remembered them all fairly well. Things were getting better and then everyone was afraid of the new kid, Sid the squid. Clark made sure that the other students welcomed him, "He just wants to play. Let's find a way!" Clark makes up a new game and the Sid settles down. Clark reminds him, "If you want to come to school, you've got to stay cool." Clark learns to calm his own excitement enough to be able to help the new student. He is happy to have helped and continues to remember his rhymes to keep him cool all the time. As well as classroom rules and feelings, a teacher upon reading this book, might what to pause to pose questions about characterisation, illustrations and other elements key to their learning such as whether Clark was being a good friend? How did he try to behave himself eventually? As Clark tried to control himself using rhyme, this could lead pupils onto the identification of rhymes throughout the story:

Henry Newman from Clore Tikva Primary School, in Ilford, co-wrote ‘Lark the Shark’ with his mum Natalie, after being inspired by his school homework about pollution. Self control isn't an easy concept for children to learn. For Clark the Shark he has a real problem with boundaries and knowing when to curb his enthusiasm a bit. The nice part about this book is it doesn't take the stance you have to always suppress your excitement. We're shown there's a definite time and place for this kind of wild emotion. But being able to keep your cool during certain times is a valuable skill and one everyone around you appreciate. Clark the Shark is nervous to be sleeping outside for his first sleepover with his friends. His rhyme helps him stay cool: “Take heart, be smart, sharks aren’t afraid of the dark.” But while telling scary stories his friends make a revelation of their own. Does sharing your fears help? Clark the Shark makes a plan to have his first sleepover outside with friends. However, he is afraid to sleep in the dark. When he honestly accepts his fear and confesses the fact that he is afraid of the dark, his friends agree with him and support each other. Clark the Shark is such a catchy name! My nephew started saying it just looking at the cover. The illustrations were perfect for the story and well framed. We easily found a spread for my nephew to draw (the one where they are laying out in their sleeping bags). I didn't like the type face used inside the book - it was hard to read and didn't fit the style pf the art. In fact it ruined the art at times...I used this book in preschool story time, and the kids loved it. They loved guessing what would happen next, and sharing their own stories about sleepovers and how to overcome fears. Clark the Shark was a VERY enthusiastic pupil at Theodore Roosterfish Elementary School. In fact, he was the most enthusiastic pupil in Mrs. Inkydink's class. Unfortunately, although he always meant well, his hyperactivity and thoughtlessness often resulted in the other pupils avoiding him at lunchtime and recess. His teacher knew not to give up on him, however, and slowly Clark learned to control himself enough that others wanted to be around him. This one is cute, but nothing spectacular. Clark is still a very relatable character for bouncy younger children. Here he runs the emotional gamut from excitement about his sleepover to fear of the dark. The pictures are still fun, with silly little jokes hidden in. Clark is a shark with zing, bang, and BOOM. Clark zooms into school, crashes through the classroom, and is rowdy at recess. Clark loves life and always means well—but when his enthusiasm is too much for his friends, Clark's teacher, Mrs. Inkydink, helps him figure out a way to tone it down.

An eco-minded Redbridge school student who published a book about a friendly litter clearing shark is hoping his story will inspire people to start the New Year by joining green initiatives in the borough.This book made me smile as I read it because I can relate Clark to many kids I know. They have good intentions, but it can often be hard for some children to stay on task and do what is expected of them. Clark is a very happy character, and his efforts to do the right thing are uplifting and inspiring. Get tips and advice on reducing, re-using and recycling to help protect the environment: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/our-streets/ When Clark the Shark discovers that rhymes help him "Stay cool", he gives many examples like "When teacher's talking, don't go walking" and "Only munch your own lunch". These fun little sayings could be used to teach students about rhyming and help them come up with their own rhymes! Clark the Shark is throwing his first slumber party. There's just one problem--he's afraid of the dark! Clark makes a rhyme to help him through the night. When he realizes all of his friends are scared, too, they make up a song to help them feel better.

The character Clark is having his first sleepover, and him and all his friends are going to sleep outside in the dark. Clark is afraid of the dark, but to help him face his fear he creates a rhyme for himself- "Take heart, be smart, sharks aren't afraid of the dark". Clark and his friends realize that it's okay to have fears, and they get through their fears through creating a rhyme together. Clark the Shark is a great read-aloud picture book, with fun rhythm and rhyme, from the ever-popular Bruce Hale and Guy Francis. This is a book about inclusion and exclusion wherever outsiders are disdained (T.A. Terrell, p 231). A serious book addict, Bruce wanted to be a children's book author since he was in 4th grade (right after he got over wanting to be a pirate, Tarzan, and Daniel Boone). Today he's the author-illustrator of over 70 seriously funny books for kids, so some dreams do come true.Clark the Shark" by Bruce Hale is about a young shark who LOVES school. He gets so excited in class jumps up and down in his seat, he smells all the good food at lunch and ends up eating it all at once, and he plays so hard at recess that he sometimes breaks toys. After a while, Clark's friends don't want to sit near him, eat lunch with him, or even play with him. When a discouraged Clark asks his teacher what to do, Mrs. Inkydink says that "There's a time and place for everything" and that Clark needs to remember to "Stay cool". Clark eventually figures out different rhymes that help him calm down while at school. At the end of the day, a new student comes to class. This student is even bigger than Clark and plays even harder. Clark plays with the new student as hard as he can and then teaches him how to "Stay cool". The main themes of this book are self control, friendship, and good behavior. Clark has some impulse control issues, but with the help of his teacher, he is able to reign his energy in and become a better student and friend to his classmates. Okey dokey. I must confess that I actually watched this as a video on YouTube, mainly because Chris Pine was reading it! :D (Chris Pine is one of my favourite actors.) I did actually enjoy this story, which was about a shark who's very rowdy and over-enthusiastic in his school-classes. The moral of the story is, that you can enjoy things but you must show consideration towards others and their feelings. (I think a lot of people, adults included, could learn a lot from this tale to be honest, hehe.) The dynamic duo, Natalie Newman and her son Henry Newman have made waves in the children's book industry with their delightful and engaging " Lark the Shark" series. The books have been featured on the popular BBC News children's program, Newsround. The feature highlighted the Newman duo's passion for writing and the inspiration behind their lovable protagonist, Lark the Shark. Read the full feature here.

There's also some great word play with nonsense words like "upsy-downsy", "spinna-ma-jig" and "tail-whump-a-lumpus". These words are very exciting for kids and encourage word-play that can be very good for language development.

The book tells the tale of a friendly shark who cleans up litter from the sea and promotes environmental awareness.