Shark Girl

by Kate Beaton

A laugh-out-loud picture book with a feel-good message from bestselling comics creator Kate Beaton about a half-human-half-shark bent on revenge after a greedy fishing captain messes with her waters – perfect for fans of We Don’t Eat Our Classmates and The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors.

When Shark Girl is captured by an evil fishing captain's net, she makes a vow... for REVENGE!

With the sea witch's help, Shark Girl becomes a human sailor and launches a plan... for MUTINY!

But Shark Girl needs the help of her crew mates before she can enact her plan. Will Shark girl SINK... or SWIM?

Bestselling creator Kate Beaton has created a subversive and hilarious spin on the classic little mermaid fairytale that will inspire little readers to seek their own revenge on behalf of justice!

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Canada, Conservation

48 pages, Hardcover

First published February 25, 2025

About the author

Kate Beaton was born in Nova Scotia, took a history degree in New Brunswick, paid it off in Alberta, worked in a museum in British Columbia, then came to Ontario for a while to draw pictures, then Halifax, and then New York, and then back to Toronto.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shark Girl is the activist version of Ariel the Little Mermaid. Instead of chasing a handsome prince, Shark Girl gets some legs from a sea witch in order to foment mutiny on a fishing trawler with a captain who has no interest in responsible fishing or human rights.

A good message is muddled by the silly storytelling and a pro-biting promotion of violence as justifying the means to an end.

If you are interested in fishing industry abuses, I recommend The Dead Eye and the Deep Blue Sea: A Graphic Memoir of Modern Slavery.

[Isa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute and the artwork was delightful!

[Shawn Mooney (Shawn Breathes Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no business reading children's picture books. OR, this one was particularly awful. I can't decide.

[MusingsofRu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most exciting book mail. The huge bubble mailer was bright blue with the cover on the front. Shark Girl is captured and she seeks revenge for her fellow ocean animals that are captured. My family enjoyed that the photos are bright and colorful. It helps show children that even if they are little they can create big change even if they aren’t part shark. This picture book has lots of words that might be bigger for early readers, so make sure to have a parent around.

“Sea witches are half human themselves - they live for drama.”

Thank you Mackids for the advanced reader copy.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Beaton uses "The Little Mermaid" as a jumping off point to tell a story about a Shark Girl who decides to deal with a greedy fishing boat captain by transforming into a human. She learns how things work on board, and tries to stop his greedy practices.

The artwork is full of humour and energy, and though the story is simple, it still shows how over-fishing can hurt the creatures in the ocean. The environmental message comes through, with kids learning that it is possible to continue to interact with the natural world, in this case fishing, in an ethical manner.

[Duncan White · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids have asked for Shark Girl several nights in a row. It's nice when that happens with a book I want to read.

I like Kate Beaton's handling of the environmental message at the center - humanity isn't vilified and there's recognition that simply staying out of nature isn't really a tenable suggestion.

I also liked Shark Girl's face when she's sleeping with her eyes open. It's up there with Henson doing squats on the North Pole in terms of Kate Beaton faces for me.

[Julia Pika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to MacKids for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Yay, a new Beaton book! This one is as full of charm and sass as her other titles, so it fits right in. Very cute and weirdly cozy.

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

very cute, and a little dark.

[Carolyn Whitzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ethical fishing for the win! Kate Beaton shows us the way forward with Shark Girl, a beautifully illustrated homage to righteous anger, hard work and good taste.

[Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a delight, and the illustrations and their formats are unique and captivating. The book touches on ocean conservation, friendship, and how our unique differences are our biggest strengths.

But mainly, my daughter really just likes when Shark Girl chomps the bad guy and releases him for tasting bad.

[Kariana Reads Kids' Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Temple Grandin would like this

[Allenhuss · Rating 5 out of 5]

"For the first time ever, she had ... a truly HUMAN feeling. It was a feeling for REVENGE." 🩶🦈🩶

I loved this book!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shark girl is the story of a shark mermaid who notices that the area she is living in is being overfished by greedy men who don’t care that they are picking up fish they won’t eat when they gather the fish they do want to eat.


So, like the little mermaid, she goes to the sea witch to ask to have legs. And the sea witch agrees, because, as the story goes, she lives for drama.


So, shark girl seeks to get revenge. She thinks that by joining the crew and telling the them that they should mutiny that they will do it, but then realizes that isn’t how it works.


Fun story, great pictures, well researched. In fact, on Patron, Kate shows off how she looked up the type of fish that would be accidentally caught when the fishermen were trolling for fish.


As with all good picture books, there is a message, but it might not be what you expect, which is also the sign of a good picture book as well.


Of course, I would read anything Kate Beaton writes, but this one was also quite good. She is soo wonderful the way she draws expressions, and even if you don’t read the words, you can enjoy the picture.


This book came out in the last week of February, and is available anywhere you get books.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This lively picture book offers a fun and energetic way to introduce young readers to the important issue of overfishing. The bold characters and fast pace keep things engaging, but the story can feel a bit scattered at times—there’s a lot happening, and it’s not always clear why Shark Girl believes the captain has to go. A little more focus on that motivation and less on the mutiny might have made the message clearer. Still, it’s a spirited read with a strong environmental theme.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

For all her good intentions, Shark Girl spends a lot of time practicing the bad habits of humans like the captain. Are there better ways to promote ethical fishing and environmental sustainability than infiltrating the human realm to perpetrate her revenge plot? How about using her superpowers to lead the fish away from the nets or scramble the sonar system? Creepy illustrations seem to undermine the message about environmental stewardship.

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars (I liked it)

So I think the concept of ethical fishing is great and I appreciate the message of the book. The story has some good elements but the pacing felt so off for me. I don't really know how to put it into words but this book would have been a 2 star rating for me if it wasn't for the conservation message.

[Cathlina Bergman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all know the story of the little mermaid but may I introduce to you a much braver girl that lives in the sea.

Shark Girl loves the ocean, she is part human and part shark after all. After accidentally getting caught in a fisherman’s net, Shark Girl is terrified of her fate. For the captain of this fishing vessel is ruthless: without care for the ocean or for its animals. His overfishing and carelessness must end, Shark Girl declares.
Thus starts her plan of revenge. She changes her form and decides to join the crew with the goal of overthrowing the Captain. While her patience and hard work starts to gain her friendships amongst the crew, it does not get her any closer to her goal. On the contrary, she sees just how ruthless Captain Barrett can be.

A new tactic is formed and Shark Girl lets her shark side show and then escapes into the sea. Little does she know, she made a bigger impact on the crew that she realized and the Captain is over thrown.

A fun new tale of standing up and fighting for what's right. Shark Girl is my new favorite hero! I hope this isn’t the last of her adventures, she is a prime example of fighting for whats right that we all need.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Beaton's best picture book yet, and certainly her most Nova Scotian one. It's basically the shark equivalent of Little Mermaid, where a sea witch (who lives for drama) gives shark girl human legs so she can get revenge on a greedy sea captain who trapped her in his net.

There are some good jokes for adults here, like the sign hung in the evil captain's ship, that reads "we're all family here". I also notice Beaton slyly drops a few nuggets of marine science throughout her book, without overly encumbering the plot (sharks are cold blooded, they don't generally like to eat people, there is a lot of unethical waste in commercial fishing, etc).

I don't necessarily agree with the bookjacket which touts the book as "perfect for fans of We Don’t Eat Our Classmates and The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors." Shark Girl to me, comes freighted with a lot of adult humour and social commentary that the aforementioned titles don't even attempt. I can't decide if that makes the book better or worse yet--I want to test drive the story during our library's Ocean Day program in June, and see how it goes over.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

After becoming a victim of bycatch by a notorious fishing vessel, a shark mermaid plots revenge upon the captain.

This story addresses the threat of bycatch and unsustainable fishing practices to ocean ecosystems. Bycatch is unintentionally caught non-target fish and other marine animals (such as sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, and sea birds) that fisherman do not want, cannot sell, or not allowed to keep, which are then discarded overboard and most often die as a result. The commercial fishing industry downplays bycatch as unfortunate but unpreventable collateral damage. However, bycatch is the cause of the decline in the total number of marine animals, species extinction, habitat destruction, and irreversible damage to ocean ecosystems.

Faux newspaper articles on the back endpapers hint at how a change in fishing practices (such as gear modification, change of depth, and avoidance of areas with high rates of non-target species) can reduce the amount of bycatch and mitigate the risk of bycatch.

I found it interesting that the shark mermaid described "revenge" as the first truly human emotion she has experienced. That says a lot about humanity.

The illustrations were done digitally in Procreate.

[Jeimy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Beaton’s Shark Girl is a clever, subversive spin on the classic revenge tale with a sharp ecological conscience and a whole lot of heart. From the moment the trawling net swoops in—an image that genuinely raised my blood pressure—Beaton makes it clear that this book isn’t afraid to grapple with big themes, even in picture book form.

Shark Girl’s journey is equal parts heartbreaking and hilarious, with moments that range from touching to downright alarming. And just when I feared the narrative might veer into darker waters—imagining a turn toward man-eating vengeance—Beaton surprised me with a nuanced, almost scientific portrayal of how sharks react to biting humans. It mirrored what I often teach my students, just rendered in a delightfully exaggerated, Beaton-esque way.

Through it all, Beaton’s humor and signature storytelling style shine, delivering a tale that entertains while gently prodding readers to think more critically about environmental justice. Shark Girl swims beautifully in the space between absurdity and purpose, and it left me both laughing and cheering her on.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shark Girl, our main character is a girl that is part shark and part human. But she spends her days in the ocean and has always lived under the sea. Up until the day she is caught in a fishing net with other fish. She knows that some fish are caught and eaten and she seems OK with that. But when she is trapped in the net, she also learns that other fish that are not being caught for food will just die. And that make her angry. So angry she breaks free and plots to take revenge on the evil captain of the good ship Jellyfish for recklessly and needlessly slaughtering fish. She enlists the aid of the local sea witch (who turns out to be a lot friendlier and more helpful than Ursula) and then joins the crew of the Jellyfish to help educate the human world on proper conservation. And get rid of the greedy captain. Along the way she learns that not all humans are evil and they can, in fact, agree with her view of the world.

A different spin on the need for ocean conservation. And a bit of a fractured retelling of The Little Mermaid.

[Ali Ives · Rating 5 out of 5]

As utterly delightful as I expected it to be.
I'm a huge Kate Beaton fan, so when I found out that her new children's book was going to be about a SHARK MERMAID, I couldn't be more excited. I was obsessed with sharks as a child (and remain so as an adult). Seeing her dedication at the beginning to 'all the shark kids' felt like a warm hug to my child self.
As is par for the course with Kate Beaton's work, the art in Shark Girl is wonderfully fun. She has a way of drawing expressions and little visual jokes that seems so effortlessly funny ('seems' being an operative word here, since I know how much skill that can require). Every page is a delight to look at.
The story, too, is great. It's the sort of picture book that kids can really enjoy because of the humour, but also includes a good message about responsible fishing, sticking up for your friends and standing up against cruelty.
Just wonderful!

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wildly creative and vibrant take on "The Little Mermaid" is a lot of fun! It's also the first kid's fiction book that takes on the issue of bycatch--the netting and killing of sea animals who have no commercial value to fishermen--and the toll on the ocean that this takes. This is done in a kid-friendly, non-overwhelming way that is empowering rather than depressing.

Veg*n parents note: This one may cause some mixed feelings! On one hand, bycatch is an extremely important issue, whether one eats fish or not. On the other hand, the book concludes with the cognitive dissonance-filled line, "They still fish, but they never overfish, and they only catch what humans will eat. And they remember that other fish are living creatures, too." Presumably this includes the target fish species as well as the non-target ones, and unlike sharks, most human seafood consumers do so by choice rather than necessity.

[Ccaywood · Rating 4 out of 5]

If the idea of the Little Mermaid versus Captain Bligh appeals to you, this is your book. Shark Girl is much more a creature of the sea than Andersen’s martyred heroine. Unlike Bligh, Captain Barrett commands a fishing boat and his sin is indiscriminate trawling that kills unwanted sea life. When his net scoops up Shark Girl, she vows revenge. After getting legs from the Sea Witch, Shark Girl signs on as fishing crew and plots mutiny.
The text is short and the illustrations carry much of the story. There’s a visual emphasis on teeth that is both funny and creepy. The ecological message against trawling is effective and the story might be paired with The Lorax to prompt discussion. However, living in a Navy town, I am not sure Shark Girl's solution of mutiny will be well received.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to MacKids and SLJ Picture Book Palooza for the digital arc.

I'll read anything Kate Beaton writes, no matter what age group its geared towards. I was thrilled to see this digital ARC of her newest picture book.

Shark Girl is captured in a fishing net by a greedy sea captain who has no love for the sea nor its animals. So, Shark Girl takes matters into her own hands and plans a mutiny. However, a mutiny is rather difficult when you are more shark than girl. Will she be able to overthrow the captain and help save the ocean and her fish friends?

I loved the artwork and, of course, the biting.

[Degan Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

How could I not love a little mermaid-esque shark + sea conservation infiltration in an illustrated children’s book? I picked this up for my niece because it is full of awesome but perhaps there are too many elements that need more time? a mermaid who is half shark gets caught in a net and sees a sea witch to give her legs so that she can board the boat and convince the crew to mutiny so that they will only fish ethically. She does this but she is so good at fishing without bycatch that the evil, money-hungry captain locks her up so she can’t leave but the crew is sympathetic to her plea and rescues her then mutinies anyway. and she returns to
the sea. It could use some polish in terms of narration but I do love the gist of it.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this is a fun read!

Especially for younger readers learning about the importance of sharing or only taking what you need and/or starting to understand what conservation efforts are, this story offers a lot of avenues for discussion as you follow along with Shark Girl’s plans.

It’s a bit simplistic in some ways so I probably wouldn’t recommend it for young readers on the older side. For someone like me, I do wish there was just a *little* more about human nature and the practice of justice.

But, this book is still a good start.

Also, what a cool, unique reimagining of “The Little Mermaid”. I’m so down with her being half-shark and on a mission to improve her environment for everyone in her community rather than it being another princess story.

Definitely recommend~

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a story delightfully different than Little Mermaid, Shark Girl sets out to protect sealife by joining the crew of a fishing vessel. She wants a quick revenge but soon finds out that it takes a lot more to get a crew to mutiny even against an awful captain. But through hard work together, skill in fishing, and studying human nature, Shark Girl starts to make new connections. It is then that the captain has a plan that will keep Shark Girl in his boat forever. What’s a toothy girl to do? Beaton is a wonder, effortlessly moving between children’s picture books and award-winning adult graphic memoirs.

This book reads aloud beautifully telling a story of both ecology and girl power. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shark Girl nearly gets caught in a net by a fisherman and his crew. She escapes, but she wants to get even!
She makes a deal with a mischievous sea-witch to teach the evil fisherman a lesson by disguising herself as a sailor.
As she grows to understand the rest of the crew and realizes that not all fishermen are bad, shark girl learns her own lesson while simultaneously teaching the wicked captain a lesson.

A fun spin on challenging assumptions, friendship, communication-empathy, and good humor through Kate Beaton's text and delightful illustrations provide a clever story for all ages.