Sharks

STEM Tuesday– SHARKS!– Interview with Author Lisa Bullard

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview & Book Giveaway, a repeating feature for the fourth Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!

Today we’re interviewing Lisa Bullard, author of We Need Sharks (The Animals Files). It’s a fascinating look into the mysterious life of sharks, the important role they play in Earth’s ecosystem and the conservation efforts underway to prevent their extinction.

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Christine Taylor-Butler: Lisa, you are the prolific author of more than 100 books for children. In your bio, you suggest you found your calling when, as a 5th grade student, you sent a letter to the local  newspaper about the plight of baby seals. What concerned you about the seals and how did it feel to see your name in print for the first time?

Lisa Bullard: Thanks so much for asking me to share my “origin story” as a published writer! The day that letter was published really was a life-changing day for me. Looking back, I don’t remember any of the details about why I wrote it—maybe it was a school assignment, or a suggestion from my mom, who was a huge animal lover? But what I do clearly remember is the huge feeling of pride that came with seeing my name in print and knowing that people all over town would read the words I’d written. I decided that day that I wanted to be an author when I grew up. I’d been writing since I could first sort the letters of the alphabet into actual words—I wrote stories, poems, songs, comic strips; I even attempted a mystery novel. But what changed for me with that 5th-grade publication was the understanding that writing isn’t just something we do to entertain ourselves. Writers also have readers! And writing as a career choice means we get to use words to persuade people to take action, or to learn something new, or to enjoy a good story.

As soon as I got home from school that day, I decided to practice being a “real” writer. In my 5th-grade brain, that translated to me deciding I needed a glorious signature full of swoops and swirls and curlicues. I was sure that when I became famous, I’d need a very distinct autograph. But as I now tell kids during my school visits, if your plan is to someday sign your name over and over, don’t make it complicated: instead, make it as simple as possible! It always takes me longer than it should to sign my books at events because my signature is way too fancy. Of course, as a grownup writer of very modest name recognition, I also find it funny that rather than practicing my story-writing to prepare for my writing career, my 5th-grade self instead decided to practice “being famous.”

CTB: You started your career as Marketing Director in publishing. Was it a tough transition to switch to the other side of the aisle and become a full-time author?

Lisa: A lot of what happens during the publishing process is mysterious to authors. I’ve also discovered that many writers are daunted by having to market their books. So I feel really fortunate to have an insider’s perspective on those things from my publishing career. There was an adjustment period, however. I was still working in publishing while my first couple of books were going through the publishing process (at a different publisher). Some authors are very demanding (just like there are demanding people in every profession, I’m sure). So when I first shared the news that I was going to have a book published, some of my coworkers looked a bit horrified, warning me not to become a “diva.” Hopefully I succeeded in avoiding that when I transitioned over to writing full-time.

CTB: So let’s talk sharks! My first introduction to them was in the movie, Jaws. After that I was scared to go back into the ocean. But your book, We Need Sharks, shows their importance to Earth’s ecosystem. What lead you to write about them?

Lisa: My books have come about in different ways. In some cases, I’ve dreamed up a concept, written a manuscript based on that, and been fortunate enough to sell it to a publisher. As an example, that’s how my mystery novel Turn Left at the Cow came about. But in the case of many of my nonfiction books, including We Need Sharks, the process has been different: they were work-for-hire projects assigned by educational publishers. That means that I have a working relationship as a freelance writer with publishers or packagers who focus on the kinds of books that are especially popular in school libraries. They identify a need in their marketplace, and then approach writers with a concept for a book or series based on that need. If I agree to take on the project, then my job is to write the book based on their guidelines, which specify details such as the key idea, reading level, word count, back matter, and kind of research expected. The process is different than when I come up with the concept myself, but I’ve discovered it can be really satisfying. It’s almost like putting a puzzle together, having to figure out how to meet all the guideline demands while still creating a book I hope kids will love to read.

“Walking Catfish”
Image by: Pam Fuller, USGS

The good news is that this process feeds my personally inspired book projects as well. I always learn so many fascinating things about the subjects I write about, and those facts often lead to new writing projects! In fact, a big inspiration for Turn Left at the Cow was an animal called the walking catfish. I stumbled across it while researching a nonfiction series. This strange creature manages to survive out of water, and it provided a fantastic metaphor for my fictional character, a kid who feels very much like a “fish out of water.”

CTB: Was there anything that surprised you while researching your book?

Lisa: Probably the biggest surprise for me in writing We Need Sharks was something I hadn’t thought about prior to writing this book, and that’s how tough it is for scientists to research ocean animals. They’re difficult to study for reasons that are now obvious to me. That’s why oceans remain a frontier of science.

Image by Terry Goss / CC BY-SA

CTB: You suggest that some shark species are “top predators” which means other animals don’t hunt them. The exception is human beings, is that right?

Lisa: Even great white sharks, the fearsome creature that epitomizes sharks for many people, are sometimes preyed upon by orcas. But generally, yes, sharks are much more likely to be the predator than the prey—with the notable exception of their interactions with humans, when sharks are much more often the prey.

CTB: Now the United Nations is working with countries to create shark sanctuaries to protect them from extinction. Are those measures working?

Excerpt from We Need Sharks

Lisa: Shark sanctuaries are just one of the measures people are taking to protect sharks. For example, there has also been important progress in educating people about and regulating against the practice of shark finning. But as I mentioned above, ocean animals are difficult to study in the wild, and that makes it hard for scientists to measure current shark populations—which means we don’t know the whole story about whether preservation measures are working.

CTB: Were you able to consult with experts when researching the book?

Lisa: Talking to subject experts has provided some of my most interesting research moments over the years. For example, I was able to talk with a crane operator when I was researching a book about construction cranes, and he gave me the best quote ever: he said that the crane operator is known to the rest of the construction workers as the “king of the sandbox.”

But as was the case with We Need Sharks, work-for-hire deadlines are often very tight, and there’s simply not enough time built into the process to track down interview subjects and conduct interviews. In those cases I make sure that the research materials I use are sources created by experts, such as museums, universities, and research institutions. Fortunately in some cases, editors have subject experts review my manuscripts to make sure that I’ve gotten the facts right. I’m always grateful when that’s the case, as it was for We Need Sharks.

CTB: I often tell students that our jobs as writers are very similar to their work on homework assignments. You open the book with such a  powerful paragraph to pull the reader in. What would you like children/students to know about writing engaging nonfiction?

Excerpt: We Need Sharks

Lisa: Because the books I write are often for very young readers, many of them are also very short. That means that there just isn’t room for me to fit in all of the facts I learn through my research about the topic. So I’ve come up with two basic rules to determine what information to include. First, I figure out what I think a reader must know to gain a true basic understanding of the topic. Then I decide on a couple of “fun facts” to include—the kind of things that aren’t the most critical pieces of information, but that are real attention-grabbers. These high-interest facts move readers into “discovery mode,” where they’re excited to learn. I hope that combination helps readers absorb all the information I’m presenting and be motivated to learn even more. So for all the student authors out there, I believe our job as writers is to inspire readers to actively wonder about the world!

This also means that my friends and family are used to me testing random facts in the middle of dinner to see if those facts are, indeed, attention-grabbing; like “Did you know stock car drivers have to climb in through the window because there are no doors?” Or, “Did you know that scorpions glow a neon-aqua color under ultraviolet light?”

CTB: What’s up next for you? Any books on the horizon we should be looking out for?

Lisa: Thanks for asking! I know that in some cases my publishers have had to delay titles because of COVID-19, but I believe Saving Mountain Gorillas will come out within the next few months, and that’s for the same age group as We Need Sharks. I also have some books for beginning nonfiction readers slated to come out this summer: Crayola ® Desert Colors, Crayola ® Woodland Colors, and Crayola ® Tundra Colors.

CTB: Lisa, thanks for being such a great guest on STEM Tuesday and for providing pearls of wisdom for writers of all ages wanting to peek behind the curtain of our industry.

Thanks for talking with me, Christine, and thanks, everyone, for sharing today’s Writing Road Trip with me! I hope that you’ll be inspired to keep reading, keep writing, and keep wondering!

Win a FREE copy of We Need Sharks

Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment below. The randomly-chosen winner will be contacted via email and asked to provide a mailing address (within the U.S. only) to receive the book.
Good luck!

Photo credit: Katherine Warde

Lisa Bullard is the author of more than 100 books for children including nonfiction, fiction, and writing guides. Recent books include We Need Bees, Tides, and the Go Green series. Her book Turn Left at the Cow was nominated for a number of state reader awards and was chosen as a Junior Library Guild selection. To learn more visit Lisa at https://www.lisabullard.com and follow her on Facebook.

 

Christine Taylor-Butler

Your host is Christine Taylor-Butler, MIT nerd and author of Bathroom Science, Sacred Mountain: Everest, Genetics, and many other nonfiction books for kids. She is also the author of the STEM inspired middle grade sci-fi series The Lost Tribes. Follow @ChristineTB on Twitter and/or @ChristineTaylorButler on Instagram

STEM Tuesday– SHARKS! — Writing Tips & Resources

Write Like a Shark

It’s Summer 2020.  Sorry, just a plain and simple statement that it is indeed the summer of 2020. None of the traditional exclamation points to celebrate this time of the year. The COVID-19 pandemic, the problem of ingrained and institutional racism, and lives that have been completely turned on edge are just a few of the problems we deal with every day. Besides community involvement, raising our voices, and giving of our time, talent, and treasure, another good way to navigate good or bad times is through writing. 

Writing provides an outlet. Whether you are a middle-grade student on summer break trying to make sense of the world or a seasoned adult trying to make sense of the world, writing can help navigate life. Writing can be personal and kept under lock and key or it can be shared. Writing is yours. Every word is yours. As the words are placed on paper or screen one after the other, your thoughts and ideas become more real and tangible.

The two things at the core of the From the Mixed-Files…of Middle-Grade Authors blog are reading and writing. For the STEM Tuesday group, those two core activities also hold true except we adjust the focus to STEM nonfiction. Today, I suggest a STEM nonfiction slant to assist you as you embark on your 2020 writing adventures?

Want to write but don’t exactly know how to take the first steps? First and foremost, just write. Begin the physical process with one word and keep adding another word until you give the thoughts in your head a life. Next, take a few pointers from the star of STEM Tuesday, June 2020, the magnificent shark!!! (Now there’s a sentence deserving of exclamation points.)

Writing advice from a shark?

Absolutely!

I know a shark can’t actually write. A shark can’t hold a pencil. A shark’s journal would merely become a soggy mess in the ocean. A shark may have plenty of bite, but none of that bite leans toward the literary. Allow me to explain how the fabulous members of the Selachii superorder can get you circling the waters to write like a shark.

Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) by I, Luc Viatour / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

1. Design

The basic biological design of a shark has been relatively unchanged since it originally appeared 350-400 million years ago during the Devonian Period. When something works in nature, it usually sticks around and is passed on to the next generation. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  In simpler terms, the structure and basic plan of a shark work well. In writer terms, we could learn a lot from the shark’s basic evolutionary outline. 

The shark has a plan. A built-in plan that has withstood the test of time and shifting conditions. As a writer, follow the shark’s example and develop a design plan that works for you. Find structures and experiment with them. A few basics to think about are: 

  • Time dedicated to writing. 
  • Materials (journals, notebooks, pens, pencils, or electronics.) 
  • Space (both physical space and headspace.) to work in. 
  • Ideas and capturing them. 

Design your physical writing life and hone it until you are as effective as our favorite ocean predator has been for millennia. Piece together a plan in your head and use either a simple or a complex—or something in-between—outline to give your writing good bones (maybe that should be cartilage?) to build upon. 

Erik Zachte at the English language Wikipedia / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

2. The Blank Page

Unfortunately, one of the biggest mountains to climb with writing lies at the very beginning of the process. The blank page. The idea. The “AAARRGGHHHH I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO WRITE DOWN WITH THIS TWENTY DOLLAR PEN I JUST BOUGHT MY WRITER-SELF” problem. Every writer ever has felt the dread of the blank page at one time or another. 

Ideas. Are. Hard.

When the blank page spreads fear down your spine, remember how a shark hunts. It’s always on the lookout for a meal and when it finds one, it attacks. Value story ideas and attack them with the same frenzy as the shark attacks its prey. Be prepared to circle the waters to sustain the enthusiasm while being willing to keep working hard after enthusiasm wanes. 

There’s no such thing as a bad idea if that idea gets the writing process started. How selective is a shark come feeding time? If it’s food, it’s good enough. This is where I’m a firm believer in the power of nonfiction, especially STEM nonfiction, to help the writer juices flow. The curiosity about how the world works is always a great tool for writing. How do the things that surround us work, why they work, and how they affect us or make us feel?

No matter what life throws at you, write your way through it. Whether with difficulties, joys, failures, and/or accomplishments, use writing to help make sense of your world. Now, arm yourself with your favorite pen and notebook and then write. Remember to design a writing plan that works for you and always be on the hunt for ideas, just like a shark.

Best of luck in Summer 2020.

Stay safe.

Be healthy.

Be kind.

Write like a shark.

File:Hammerhead Shark (PSF).png

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal opportunity sports enthusiasts, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/training related topics at www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.comTwo of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101,  are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming around the Twitter-sphere under the guise of @coachhays64.

 


The O.O.L.F Files

This month on the Out Of Left Field (O.O.L.F.) Files we’re talking sharks. Everyone’s favorite marine predator. The world of sharks is fascinating. Enjoy the links below, hopefully, learn a thing or two, and have a great STEM Tuesday Shark Month!

Sea World All About Sharks & Rays

Shark Cam at The Monterey Bay Aquarium

Shark Week @ The Discovery Channel

Sharkfest 2020 from The National Geographic Channel

Jaws

  • The single greatest movie about marine predators ever made. It even scared the bejeezus out of a kid from Kansas when he first saw it at the theatre back in the 1970s.
  • As we all know too well from the first half of 2020…nobody EVER listens to the scientists & the experts!

Megalodon

  • Giant dino-sharks! Count me in!

Sharknado! The end of an era?

No shark list is complete with a mention of this SYFY network gem. Complete ridiculousness that somehow becomes entertaining by taking an unapologetic stab at the nature-apocalyptic film genre. Where does one even begin?

 

 


 

 

STEM Tuesday– SHARKS!– In The Classroom


I was so excited when I saw the theme for this month. In elementary school, my daughter fell in love with sharks. Through her, I learned to love sharks, too.

This month’s list of books is packed with great choices. I read a few as I thought about activities that would be great to pair with them.

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgThe Great Shark Rescue: Saving the Whale Sharks
by Sandra Markle

The whale shark is my personal favorite, so I had to read this one! It looks at dangers facing whale sharks. In doing so, it covers a lot of information about whale sharks and where and how they live.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

World’s Weirdest Sharks
by Paul Mason

This book introduces readers to many different sharks. While the title says they are weird, I would describe them as amazing.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgWe Need Sharks (The Animal Files)
by Lisa Bullard

This book looks at why sharks are important and why we should care about them. It looks at sharks in food chains and the important roles they play in ecosystems.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgSharks Are Awesome
by Patricia Hutchison

This book is a celebration of sharks. Sharks are everywhere and have been around a really long time. They come in all sizes, have 7 senses, inspire new ideas, and help balance ecosystems. Like the title says, Sharks are Awesome!

 

Here are some ideas for exploring sharks further and for (hopefully) shifting the way people think about them.

Create a Shark Super-Hero

Sharks are often portrayed as sinister, scary things. It’s easy to cast them as villains. Challenge readers to create a shark super-hero based on the sharks they read about. They could pick a specific shark or draw on characteristics all sharks share for inspiration.

Here are some additional questions that might help spark ideas when creating a shark super-character.

  • What are the special abilities the shark has? How would that make it an awesome super-hero?
  • Who would be the shark’s arch-nemesis (villain)? Think about things that endanger sharks and other ocean creatures. How might a super-shark save the day?
  • What if the super-hero was more like the X-Men or Batman? What would make that super-hero special and shark-like?

Once readers have imagined a shark super-hero, challenge them to create a story where the shark-hero saves the day. For those who prefer creating graphic novels, there are some shark drawing and graphic novel resources below to help.

Showcase an Amazing Shark

With all the amazing sharks out there and in these books, at least one had to spark each reader’s interest. Challenge them to share what they found amazing with their friends, family, and/or fellow classmates. One way to do this is with a promotional poster.

I might title my poster “It’s a Whale of a Shark!” Pretty corny, I know. It’s tough coming up with a catchy slogan, but it’s fun to try.

Here are some other things that would be good to include:

  • A picture of the shark.
  • How big the shark gets, perhaps compared with something of similar size. For instance, in World’s Weirdest Sharks, whale sharks are described as being as long as a double-decker bus and as heavy as 5 rhinos.
  • Where the shark lives.
  • What, and how much, it eats.
  • Special abilities or features of the shark.

This could be converted into an aquarium-type classroom display, where different sharks are in “tanks” around the room. There are many ways to run with this idea.

Drawing Sharks

I promised some resources for drawing sharks or creating graphic novels. Here they are:

Author/illustrator Jarrett Lerner has tons of drawing and graphic novel resources on his website, including some that feature sharks. https://jarrettlerner.com/activities

Author and former art teacher Kathy Barbro has quite a few pages on drawing sharks on her website Art Projects for Kids:

https://artprojectsforkids.org/how-to-draw-a-cartoon-shark
https://artprojectsforkids.org/draw-a-megalodon-shark
https://artprojectsforkids.org/how-to-draw-a-shark

There are steps and a video for drawing a shark on Mocomi: https://mocomi.com/how-to-draw-a-shark

Author Lynn Plourde has a great graphic novel resource here: http://www.lynnplourde.com/uploads/31/Documents/2-CREATING-GRAPHIC-NOVEL-LINKS.pdf

Here is another blank template: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Free-Graphic-Novel-Comic-Book-Templates-598158

There are many more out there if you do a little searching.

Explore More Online

Several of the books talk about shark-tracking projects researchers use to gather information about different sharks. Some of these are available online for everyone to see. Check them out and see what kinds of sharks have been tracked closest to your home.

Ocearch – https://www.ocearch.org – Ocearch tracks many different species. Their main page shows animals they are tracking, with recent pings blinking. The different colored dots indicate different animals; sharks are blue. There are also yellow whales, green sea turtles, and more. Have fun exploring the different creatures and where they’ve been. Some of them travel truly astounding distances.

Conservation International has a whale shark tracker here: https://www.conservation.org/projects/whale-shark-tracker. There are lots of interesting videos and other things on their website, too, including a quiz to find out “What Kind of Shark Are You?” – https://www.conservation.org/quizzes/what-kind-of-shark-are-you.

Many aquariums also have lots of great information on their websites. Here are some of my favorites that feature sharks:

The Georgia Aquarium is (I believe) the only aquarium in the Western Hemisphere that has whale sharks. They’re amazing to see in person. They’ve got lots of info on their website, too. https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/animal/whale-shark

The National Aquarium in Baltimore has a web cam where you can try to see and identify sharks and other sea animals: https://aqua.org/Experience/live#btr. They have additional information about animals found there. Sharks in Shark Alley are listed here: https://aqua.org/Experience/Shark-Alley.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium also has a live shark cam: https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams/shark-cam. At the bottom of that page and around the site there are links to stories, animals, and more that are worth exploring.

The Shedd Aquarium also has lots of information about sharks on their website. The Wild Reef’s a good place to start, then see where your fancy takes you: https://www.sheddaquarium.org/exhibits/wild-reef.

 

I hope you have fun exploring sharks. Perhaps soon, you’ll even be writing a love poem to sharks!

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Janet Slingerland loves learning about science, history, nature, and (well) everything, which she then turns into a book. She regularly visits aquariums with her family and has even touched a shark or two – or in the case of this picture, a ray. She was able to write about whale sharks in her book 12 Epic Animal Adventures. To find out more about Janet and her books, check out her website: janetsbooks.com