cover image Clark the Toothless Shark

Clark the Toothless Shark

Golden Books, Corinne Mellor. Golden Books, $12.95 (20pp) ISBN 978-0-307-17606-6

Paper engineering lends bite to this lighthearted outing. Toothless and sweet-natured, Clark doesn't fit in with his shark peers: a rotating paper wheel shows the dismayed and fangless fish looking on as his friends swim in enviably menacing circles around one another. Leaving home in search of teeth, Clark gains a friend when he saves Sid the Squid from a predatory stingray--a pull-tab catapults the cephalopod into the sanctuary of the shark's maw. Grateful Sid introduces Clark to a trio of hair-brushing, deep-sea-fishing mermaids who use buried treasure to fashion Clark a magnificent set of spiky dentures. The final spread features a foldout panel that opens to reveal Clark flashing a fine set of gold foil fangs and this shark tale's happy ending: ``and he lived ferociously ever after!'' Ages 3-6. (Apr.)