John Larkin (text) and Chrissie Krebs (illustrator), How to Avoid Being Eaten by Sharks… and Other Advice, Walker Books Australia, January 2024, 160 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760657451
John Larkin is a multi-award winning children’s author and a very funny man as well. This guide to life, statistical wonderland, mish-mash of jokes and knowledge, or possibly half-mad suite of meditations, is a book that smart kids will relish, and kids with some inkling that the world is a weirdly wonderful place will love as well.
There is a lot to learn about sharks here, as well as some history on how we humans came to accept that the world is round and that we’re not at the centre of God’s universe. Though there is a nod to those who still ‘believe’ the earth is flat. There is a fair bit about the chances of there being intelligent life out there (among the stars, not on earth), and some pretty sensible advice even—especially on how to write well.
And each swerve and twist of the text is peppered with the crazy-happy cartoons of Chrissie Krebs in ink-shades of grey. There is a lot to like here and even more to laugh about. Recommended for kids from seven to ten and from thirty to seventy.
Reviewed by Kevin Brophy
