THE SHARK GOD by Rafe Martin, illustrated by Davis Shannon, presents a powerful tale based on Hawaiian folklore. In this story , a young brother and sister are sentenced to death after touching the kings drum, which is kapu, strictly forbidden. The mother and father try in vain to receive help from the king and the people of the island, but they are “hard-hearted”. They eventually seek the help of the Shark God, and since the youngsters had helped free a trapped shark earlier, he agrees to help. The parents do as the shark god tells them, and their children are saved and the island destroyed. In the end, the small family takes the king’s drum and sails toward a new island, where the king is “kind and just” and the people “still have good hearts”.

In the Author’s Note, Martin explains how he came upon this story, and lists multiple citations. He also explains how he altered the book for today’s young children. Some of the changes he made include changing the two boy characters into a brother and sister, and creating the “happily ever after” ending by adding ”the idea of an island to which the family sails, hoping to fulfill the promises of a new life.” Martin’s language flows beautifully, using fitting metaphors and similes such as, “fear rose like a wave and washed over them.”

David Shannon’s paintings set the tone and his perspectives add interest and dimension to the story. The mean-spirited king smirks in a self-satisfied way as he peers around his curtain. The reader looks down from above as the young girl drops her lai into the water in thanks to the Shark God. Publishers Weekly points out, “Still more remarkable is the attention the book pays to the feathered garments, beautifully woven textiles and elaborate tattoos of old Hawaii.” Martin’s Author’s Note shares that Shannon visited the Bishop Museum on Oahu to research “the visual details of his pictures”. In perhaps the most powerful illustration, the mother and father huddle on the rocks and face the Shark God, who is turning into his huge human form. On his gray back is a tattoo of a shark’s beady eyes and open mouth, pointy teeth bared. On his head is a sharp fin, Mohawk-style in the center. This is the image on the cover of the book. Interestingly, the front cover shows only the Shark God, the parents, and the title of the book along the side. Readers will need to flip over to the back cover to see the names of the author and illustrator. This technique seems only to add to the grandeur of the tale and its striking art.

2001. Review of The Shark God in Publishers Weekly.