Slickety Quick: Poems About Sharks - a rhyming bookwrap

Unwrapping some fun quotes about sharks...

Unwrapping a charming rhyming book in honour of National Poetry Month...

Authored by Skila Brown

Illustrated by Bob Kolar




Unwrapping lots of illustrations for you to get the shark flavour of the book...

So what's it all about?

Kids love sharks!  They are fascinated by them.  When I was a school librarian I could not keep shark books on the shelves. They were even more in demand than dinosaur books.  

There are few poetry books regarding Sharks so that is why this particular book is such a treat.  Brown has playfully created shape poems and the illustrator has done an excellent job with his watery illustrations.  The colour pallet is vibrant and the pages are brimming with action.  Both elements make this book a winner.  

Brown's first poem, written with humour and wit, is about the great white shark and she frames it in the shape of that distinctive, infamous fin. She cleverly has included thirteen species in rhyme, along with some actual facts, which makes the book educational as well.

The poems are dramatic and delightful, so they are perfect read-alouds, especially the one about the hammerhead shark that requires two voices.  Each page unlocks new discoveries about sharks and readers will learn more about the species without even trying.  (I learned lots too!)  

I know your child will love this collection and go back again and again to read in rhyme and dive into those illustrations.

About the author...

Skila Brown is the author of verse novels Caminar and To Stay Alive, as well as the picture book Slickety Quick: Poems About Sharks, all with Candlewick Press. She received an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She grew up in Kentucky and Tennessee and now lives in Indiana where she writes books for readers of all ages.

Ten fun facts about Skila:

1. Her first job ever was selling hot dogs from the window of a train’s caboose.
2. The best job she ever had was working in a church nursery. She got paid money to play with toddlers, plus all the graham crackers and apple juice she could consume.
3. She used to teach third grade. Then she taught kindergarten. Later she went to work in a bank teaching adults. (Which felt exactly like teaching kindergarten except she never had to tie anyone’s shoes.)
4. She’s lived in four different states and three different countries.
5. She likes to eat chocolate, make quilts and read in bed. She loves fireworks, banjo music, and reading in the shade. (She really, really likes to read.)
6. She never learned to ride a bike.
7. She has always liked making up stories. In third grade, she won a writing contest for a retelling of 101 Dalmatians. In fifth grade, she won a writing contest for an essay based on a Huey Lewis song. She didn’t win any writing contests in high school, but she was still making up stories. Her dad called this “lying about her whereabouts.”
8. She has three sons and a husband, so she lives surrounded by boys.
9. Her favorite thing in her wallet is her library card.
10. She is terrified of frogs and hates being tickled.

Wondering how to say her name? It’s a long i sound. Like Sky-luh. 

About the illustrator...

Hello, I'm Bob. My job is to make fun stuff for kids. I start out with stories and they usually turn into books, sometimes toys, occasionally a TV show.  I grew up in a little town outside of Cleveland called Grafton, Ohio.  I studied at Columbus College of Art & Design and Syracuse University.  I came to Missouri to work at Hallmark Cards.  I had a great time and a wonderful career at Hallmark, but the time came for me to have another adventure. 

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It's a wrap.