Shark Princess

Shark Princess #1

by Nidhi Chanani

A new early reader graphic novel series from the critically acclaimed creator of Pashmina, perfect for fans of Narwhal and Jelly.

Meet Kitana--a Shark Princess and the first of her kind. Her allergy-ridden, best friend, Mack, wants to be one too, but he worries that his sharp teeth and big sneezes make him too dangerous to be a princess.

With Kitana's help, Mack realizes his unique shine. When Mack puts on his crown for the first time, these Shark Princesses are ready to explore the ocean and embark on a fintastic adventure!

Nidhi Chanani's signature artwork brings this underwater series to life in a spunky tale about friendship and redefining who and what a princess can be.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Animals, Childrens, Comics, Humor, Friendship, Graphic Novels Comics

80 pages, Hardcover

Published September 13, 2022

About the author

Nidhi Chanani is a freelance illustrator, cartoonist and writer. After completing her undergrad literature degree at the University of California at Santa Cruz, Nidhi pursued a career in nonprofits. The desire to draw kept pulling her away and in 2008 she enrolled in art school (only to drop out a year later). In 2009 she began completing one illustration every day of the week. She called this Every Day Love and developed her narrative style and voice with three years of daily practice. Thus began her art career and business.

Born in Calcutta and raised in suburban southern California, Nidhi creates because it makes her happy – with the hope that it can make others happy, too. In April of 2012 she was honored by the Obama Administration as a Champion of Change.

Her debut graphic novel, Pashmina (First Second/Macmillan), released in fall 2017. It received starred reviews in the School Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and was reviewed in the New York Times. Pashmina was a Junior Library Guild selection, Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2017, Texas Maverick Graphic Novel 2017, Northern California Indie Bookseller Association Long-List Title and a YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens. In March of 2019, the film adaptation of Pashmina with Netflix was announced. Gurinder Chadha (Bend it like Beckham, Blinded by the Light) is set to direct.

In 2018, Jasmine’s New Pet, which she wrote and drew, was released through Dark Horse Comics. Her bilingual board book, Shubh Raatri Dost/Good Night Friend released in 2019. Her debut picture book, written by Bea Birdsong, I will be fierce, released in April 2019. Her next picture book, Binny’s Diwali, written by Thrity Umrigar, released in September 2020. Her second original graphic novel, Jukebox, will release in June 2021.

Her next picture book, Kong and Me, written by Kiki Thorpe, will be released in March 2021. Her author/illustrator debut What will my story be? releases in September 2021. She is currently working on unannounced books. She is an instructor in the Master of Fine Arts, Comics program at the California College of Arts.

Her media appearances include PBS, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 and BBC Radio. Her work has been featured on the Huffington Post, the Women’s March, My Modern Met, Bored Panda and India Times. Nidhi is frequently a featured artist with Disney Parks. She has worked with ABC, Airbnb, Sony, Microsoft, State Farm Insurance and a variety of other clients. Her non-fiction comics have appeared in the Nib. Everyday Love Art prints and cards are sold in retail shops throughout California.

Nidhi draws and dreams every day with her husband, kid and their kittens in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reviews

[Ms. B]

Anyone can be a princess in this graphic novel about creative play, imagination and adventures with friends.

[Yentl ♥]

Shark Princess was the best! It was super cute, the illustrations are adorable and it's super funny. Kitana and Mack are shark friends and together they go on an adventure to explore a shipwreck. Everything is going well, until they get into some trouble and together they figure out a solution. I can't wait to read more of these adventures.

[Bethe]

Cutesy illustrations are very engaging with much girl appeal. The message is all encompassing with self love and being anything you want to be (anyone can be a princess). Not much adventuring in this one, maybe more in book 2?

[Anthony]

Kitano, a whale shark, crowns herself as the first and only Shark Princess. But when her friend Mack shows up, decisions have to be made if there is room in the ocean for two shark princesses. A fun tale of friendship and adventure in the deep blue sea.

[Meg]

Sharks, princesses, and undersea puns, oh my!

[Deke Moulton]

Extremely cute and a wonderful message about deciding who you get to be and having fun while doing it!

Plus - sharkles!!!!

[Emily]

This is cute! Although I wonder if my review copy was missing some pages, because there were some weird jumps in the shark princesses' conversations.

[Great Books]

A sweet graphic novel about friendship and deciding who you are. This book is filled with puns and cool facts (whale sharks don't have sharp teeth!) as well as extras, like a how-to draw Shark Princess guide.

Reviewer #28

[Kenya Starflight]

Man, it feels lousy to write a review of this book when I know I'm not its target audience... but even if I'm not who this book was aimed at, I feel I can still give my two cents. And let's face it, a book with the title of "Shark Princess" deserved something a lot more awesome than what we ended up with. Yes, it's cute and the art is charming... but I guess I was hoping for more.

That's not to say that there's nothing of worth in this book. The main characters, Kitana the whale shark and their friend Mako (implied to be a mako shark), are sweet and cute, and I love the art style and the positive tone of the book. And while the characters' genders are never specified in-story, I came away with the implication that anyone can be a princess if they want, which is wholesome.

But... but... I suppose I was hoping for an actual story, whereas this book felt more like two characters we're barely acquainted with going off on random adventures. I know this is aimed at kids, but kids still deserve good stories and good characters, and here the only thing to really define the characters is that Kitana occasionally addresses the reader (that joke gets old fast) and Mack has an allergy to dead fish. (I tried really hard to ignore the fact that the author seems to believe that "allergies always equals sneezing," because let's face it, this book is about talking sharks pretending to be princesses, but there was so little substance to this book that it was hard to ignore...)

Very young readers will probably enjoy this book, but a book with the awesome title of "Shark Princess" really deserved better. At least it has cute art, and it's nice to see whale sharks get some attention...

[Katie Lawrence]

This was a super cute shorter graphic novel about Princess Kitana and Princess Mack. Their adventures were charming, but I really loved the messaging about writing your own story. Page 27 in my ARC copy “Shouldn’t we decide who we are?” The back matter included a drawing tutorial, facts about whale sharks & shipwrecks, seek and find details in the story and more. While this was not the tightest narrative at times, and I felt like the puns might go over kids heads, I was charmed by this story and would buy it for elementary readers.

Thank you to Viking for the ARC received during the ALA Annual Conference

[McKenzie Richardson]

For more bookish thoughts, see my blog: Craft-Cycle

A sweet story about two friendly sharks and their underwater adventures. A cute start to the series. Great for fans of the Narwal and Jelly series.

The illustrations are absolutely adorable. Loved the color and details. The dialogue and story felt a bit disjointed and rushed in areas, but overall it was a cute book.

The backmatter contains a hide-and-find challenge, facts about whale sharks, information about undersea treasure, and a guide for drawing Kitana, the first shark princess.

A nice early reader graphic novel with great humor and silly puns.

[Sirah]

Kitana has made a crown and now she is the shark princess. Shark princesses go on adventures, so of course Kitana and her friend Mack go exploring a spooky old shipwreck. It's less fun than it sounded, but Mack learns that anyone can be a princess.

I love the premise of this book, and the illustrations are adorable. Except Mack; what's going on with his face? The plot also didn't catch me at all. There were funny moments, but for the most part, nothing happened. This is still a fun book to read, and I think that kids who love sharks and princesses and are looking for a silly early reader will enjoy this book.

[Roben]

So cute! This is a good companion to the Narwhal and Jelly books. Kitana is a whale shark - and self-proclaimed Shark Princess. Her friend, Mack, wants to play but Kitana just wants to float. Then Mack mentions there is a shipwreck to explore - and off they go on an adventure!
There is a lot of positive reinforcement for being who you want to be -- if you want to be a princess, then by all means - be a princess! Especially when you special power is Sharkle! There are also lots of fun puns that kids and parents can both enjoy.

[Becky]

2.5 stars. The highlights of this book are the colorful, cute art and the few pages at the end with whale shark facts & treasure trivia as well as interactive “hide and sea” to find creatures throughout the book and learning how to draw lead character Kitana. Unfortunately, I did not like the plot. There was a lot of simplistic back-and-forth dialogue that was uninspired and repetitive. I just didn’t get the purpose of this book at all, so it fell quite flat for me.

[Swati Shah]

What a charming tail!!! Pun intended as are the lovely puns in this book! The illustrations are beautiful in Chanani’s whimsical style and the story was just so sweet! It’s a quick, lovely and empowering read, perfect for new readers. I highly recommend Shark Princess and can’t wait for her further adventures! Perfect for new and young readers

[Mary]

Kitana is a whale shark who proclaims herself a shark princess and insists that her friend Mack can be a princess shark too if he chooses. They have an adventure on a shipwreck, but overall it is more talking about self-love and identity and less action. A playful early graphic novel with clever wordplay and lots of potential for future stories.

[Liz]

Kitana finds a crown and declares herself the first and only Shark Princess. Her chum, Mack, wants to play with her, and they go on an adventure where they find another crown. Kitana helps teach Mack that they get to decide who they are and they can both be Shark Princesses. A cute story about being whatever or whoever you want to be. For princess fans.

[Pam]

Graphic Novel
Perfect length for lower elementary level readers. And, combining sharks and princesses - a complete win. Kitana and her friend Mack head off on an adventure to explore a sunken ship. Mack finds their own crown in it and decides to be a princess too. Both encounter danger and have to rescue themselves. A charming tale of friendship with enough action to keep readers focused.

[Angie]

Absolutely adorable!! My young readers will love this book. I love Nidhi's illustrations, and these are incredibly charming. This will make a great addition to any home, classroom, or school library collection!
Thank you, Edellweiss+, for the digital review copy!

[Brian]

A fun read sprinkled with new vocabulary, nautical puns, shark facts, and the importance of being who you are and telling your own story. Perfect for fans of Narwhal and Jelly and Bunbun and Bonbon.

[Renee Lute]

I read this one tonight with my six-year-old shark-loving daughter and my ten-year-old princess-and-fantasy loving daughter, and both enjoyed it! What a fun book. We’re all thrilled that it sounds like there will be more to come!

[Melanie Gaum]

Cute concept, but it felt disjointed. The dialogue jumped around in parts, so maybe some pages were missing.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Bel]

Absolutely loved this story and the art that goes with it. A great tale of friendship and inclusion. I particularly enjoyed how the princess defined/showed/proclaimed her princess-ive-ness.

[Rachel Matsuoka]

My shark enthusiast inner child loved this book and would've been obsessed with it had it been around then. Quite possibly the cutest illustrations ever.

[Pam Page]

With that cover, this book is going to be popular! An early graphic novel with great art and a message about friendship.

[Panda Incognito]

The story is completely random and jumps around a lot, but kids will enjoy the colorful illustrations and friendship dynamic.

[Alicia]

Brightly colored, easy to follow illustrations set up in comic-style panels. Lots of aquatic-based wordplay used in the brief text.

[Jj]

Thanks to Penguin Young Readers for the review copy!

[Nav]

It's sweet (story, friendship) and cute (art, friendship).

[Nadina]

This was adorable and cute. I loved the characters, loved the plot. It was a quick easy read, and the artwork was great. Definitely a graphic I would recommend to kids.