Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916

Bibliographical citation:  Capuzzo, M.  (2003). Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916. Location: Publisher. 140 pages. ISBN: 9780375822313.

Awards: Best Fiction for Young Adults (2004)

Author's website: none

Annotation: The shark attacks that took place along the Jersey shore during the summer of 1916 forever changed people's perceptions of this elusive creature.  Michael Capuzzo chronicles the journey of this shark and helps readers to understand its actions and motivations.

Personal Reaction: Michael Capuzzo's story detailing the shark attacks of 1916 is both menacing and thrilling.  I felt a personal connection to this story having grown up vacationing along the Jersey shore my entire life and also seeing Peter Benchley's movie, Jaws, as a teenager.  It is possible that is why I was so intrigued with Capuzzo's tale that followed this shark.   How is it that a shark that typically lives in the ocean ends up in a small creek in Matawan?   Although the historical documents and newspaper articles explored in this narrative clearly show the alarm and panic this shark was causing to the public, the other aspect of the text works to illuminate the shark's way of thinking and puts readers into the mind of the shark. This helps to understand the creature's movements and behavior. For the shark, it is all about survival and survival means food. The newspaper clippings, photographs, and maps of the shorelines provide visual images to assist readers in understanding the shark's path as well as the destruction it caused.  This is a riveting and captivating story of a terrible time in history.

Front/Back Matter: Table of Contents, Epilogue, Sources and Acknowledgements, Photo Credits.

*Bibliographical citation information, award information, as well as image retrieved from www.bwibooks.com (Titletales)