Review Detail

Harvey Hammer - New Shark in Town is an excellent introduction to a chapter book. The book has short chapters, a table of contents, a character list, and a glossary of words that a child may not know. The inclusion of these items can help the reader follow the story more easily.

Harvey, a hammerhead shark, is a bit nervous about starting school. Harvey experiences problems on his first day of school, ranging from his brother throwing up on him to being embarrassed in front of his entire class while playing "finball". In this book, we meet many characters, including Harvey's family members, classmates, and teachers. The list of characters at the beginning of the book helped me keep track of them. One character that was easy to keep track of was Spike. He is Harvey's enemy, but in the end, they bond over something they have in common. It's a great lesson in learning to find common interests even with people you don't like.

This is a fun read perfect for emerging chapter book readers.