Review of Mudshark by Gary Paulson

Mudshark by Gary Paulsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finished reading aloud Mudshark to my fourth graders today. This book is on the Texas Bluebonnet list. It's interesting, but I find that my tongue had a tendency to trip over the many long sentences. I love Gary Paulson as a writer, but this book is a bit different from his usual voice and style.

Mudshark is one smart dude. He is extremely observant and highly intelligent. It's nice to have a super-sharp boy -who is not only smart, but totally cool, as the hero of the story. Mudshark makes reading, observing, and thinking a cool thing to do. There are plenty of boys out there who are gifted and talented, but rarely is a book written about a smart boy on this level. I give the book extra credit for this alone.

The book is quite humorous and a little bit wacky. The class verdict was split. Half of my students gave the book a five and the other half gave it a three. We are compromising with a 4 out 5 start rating. It's certainly a book worthy of keeping around. My copy is in my reading center. I'm not likely to read it aloud again to future classes, but I think some of the quirky humor and an intelligent boy hero makes it worth recommending as a "just right" book for certain kiddos.