Children's book cover titled 'Shawn Loves Sharks' shows a boy holding a book with a shark on it, surrounded by three illustrated sharks, with the author Curtis Manley and illustrator Tracy Subisak credited.

Written by Curtis Manley & Illustrated by Tracy Subisak

Shawn Loves Sharks

Washington State Book Award for 2018 (picture book category)

2019 Washington State Children’s Choice Picture Book Award FINALIST

Bank Street College of Education Best Books list for 2018 (“Under Five” category)

A Junior Library Guild Selection

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About this book

Shawn loves sharks.

He loves their dark, blank eyes.
He loves their big mouths full of sharp teeth.
And he loves pretending to be a shark and chasing Stacy around the playground.

Shawn loves sharks more than anything else in the world. But Predator Day at school is on Monday and Great White Shark isn't assigned to Shawn.

It's assigned to...Stacy.

The details

RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2017

AGES: 4-8

PAGES: 32

FORMAT: Hardcover

PUBLISHER: Roaring Brook Press

ISBN-13: 9781250163165

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Praise

  • “Manley's spare text is an excellent conductor for the dynamic energy built in Subisak's clean, open spreads as Shawn's passion for sharks spills onto the page. And as Shawn's fascination (and research skills) expands to embrace leopard seals, his exuberance for predators makes a surprisingly strong foundation for a new friendship. Fun, quirky obsessions nurtured and celebrated."

    — Kirkus, starred review

  • "Subisak’s vibrant, action-packed scenes feature a diverse cast of animated characters, lots of comical references to sharks hidden in the illustrations, and one over-the-top cat, which often gets caught up in Shawn’s shark games. The playful combination of thought-provoking narrative and dynamic artwork makes this a great icebreaker for conversations about bullying and friendship building."

    — Booklist

  • “In their sweetly relatable Shawn Loves Sharks, Curtis Manley and Tracy Subisak use a ferocious medium to gently explore childhood obsessions and bullying. Subisak’s appealing and dynamic artwork, in particular the expressive faces of the characters, pops on a clean white background, perfectly suited—visually and plot-wise—to Manley’s economical and funny text. Readers will chomp-chomp this one up.”

    — Shelf Awareness

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Tracy Subisak standing outdoors on a grassy area, smiling, holding books and papers, with a bridge, trees, and mountains in the background.

About Tracy

Tracy Subisak is the mixed-Taiwanese American author and illustrator of Sorry, Snail and award-winning Jenny Mei Is Sad. She has also illustrated many picture books including The Inactivity Book, written by Kyo Maclear and Amah Faraway, written by Margaret Chiu Greanias. Her books have been featured in publications such as the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and PBS Books. Tracy currently resides in Portland, Oregon with her family and copious amounts of plants.

MORE ABOUT TRACY