Super Sharks to the Rescue!

April 15, 2016
Sand shark twins Flip and Fin return as supersharks.Watching their favorite TV cartoon heroes, Sammy Saw Shark and Harry Hammerhead, saucer-eyed shark siblings Flip and Fin decide they want to be superheroes too and set out to find someone to help. As they zip along through the sea, they find their friends Swimmy the jellyfish and Molly the anglerfish (unlikely eyelashes reinforce her femininity). They all decide to be super together. Fin zips through the waves at the surface. Flip flips out of the water and lands on something strange and bouncy. They don't know what it is, but they know it belongs to the human people and decide they will be heroes if they return it to the beach. However, when they arrive at the beach, all the humans run screaming. They are afraid of the sharks, of course, but Flip and Fin think they are afraid of the ball, so they bite it and end up heroes (in their minds at least). Gill's second Flip & Fin tale (mostly free of the bad jokes that peppered the first) is not as clever as it intends to be. The fishy foursome doesn't know what they've found at first but then spontaneously start calling it a "ball." Numberman's cartoon watercolor illustrations out-goof the tale they help tell.A passable tale for the shark-obsessed, but there are funnier fish in the sea. (Picture book. 3-7)

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 1-Flip and Fin are twin sand sharks. After watching their favorite cartoon, in which Sammy Saw Shark and Harry Hammerhead catch bad guys and save the day, Flip and Fin decide to become superheroes and find someone to help. As they zip and flip through the waters with their friends, an octopus and an anglerfish, they suddenly discover a beach ball that belongs to humans. This is their opportunity to become heroes by returning the ball. However, as they approach the resort, the onlookers panic and dash for the beach. Flip and Fin think the humans are afraid of the ball and pop it, sending it far out to sea. As the friends leave, the humans cheer. Flip and Fin are convinced that they have saved the day. "Faster than a sailfish! Tougher than a clamshell! Super Sharks to the rescue!" Cartoon-style watercolor illustrations and witty text will engage readers and have them rooting for the heroes. Gill has also appended a handy "Did You Know..." page about sand sharks. VERDICT The good-natured, goofy humor mixed with the bright watercolors will have young ones giggling. Perfect for seasonal storytimes and superhero fans.-Paula Huddy, The Blake School-Highcroft Campus, Wayzata, MN

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Inspired by TV superheroes, sand shark twins Flip and Fin decide to heroically return a beach ball to the shore--where they don't get quite the reception they expect. Eventually they decide it's the ball people are afraid of, not them. A general goodhearted goofiness pervades both the story and the action-packed cartoon illustrations in Flip and Fin's second book. Sand shark facts are appended.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)