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Eye of the Shoal Book Review

 

By Ankita 


If you ask someone to think of a cute animal, chances are that it won't be a fish. Read about creatures that need saving, and you'll see pandas, lions, even dolphins. Most animal cruelty laws exclude fish. Why is it that humans don't like fish?

The book Eye of the Shoal, by Helen Scales is an amazing book for finding out everything about fish, including their history, food, toxicity and intelligence, as well as many myths that star fish. If you're not interested in a long-winded, technical book about fish, the book is full of interesting facts and stories that are sure to keep even the most disinterested reader entertained. The illustrations don't hurt either- interspersed between every chapter are beautifully done drawings of fish.

Each of the sections in this book deal with a different topic- color, toxins, uses, intelligence, to name a few, but the author approaches each one the same way, providing snapshots of just a few of the many fish of the world. The book is also one of the very few books about the natural world that I've read that did not have a dedicated section on how the natural world is slowly being destroyed by the advance of humans, which was refreshing. This book didn't need a section on saving the natural world- by the time you're done with the book, you'll want to save the fish yourself.

I first read this book about two years ago, and despite rereading it many times, it still holds my interest every time I pick it up. The other books by the same author, one on shells and one on seahorse, are also quite good and I would recommend those as well, although they are a bit more specific than this book.


Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in science, and anyone who needs to learn more about fish.



Comments

  1. Sophie AndersonFebruary 1, 2021 at 1:00 PM

    Great post! I have never read about fish before (haven't really been interested in reading them, but this book sounds like a great read. It would be refreshing to be able to read a recent book on nature that doesn't talk so much about humans. It gets pretty disheartening to be constantly reading about all of the problems humans have caused. Can't wait to start reading it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Faisal A.February 4, 2021 at 3:31 PM

    The book seems to be very interesting! I enjoyed reading your post, and I will definitely check it out since I'm a person who's really interested in these topics. Great Job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maya ViswanathanFebruary 5, 2021 at 12:16 PM

    This book seems really interesting! I do not read much nonfiction and I would be interested in trying this book. I do not know much about fish and I would like to learn more. I like how you mentioned that the book makes you want to save the fish without explicitly saying it. I agree that it is nice to read a book that does not focus on the ways humans have harmed nature. Good job!

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