Swimming with Sharks

Book excerpt: 2017 Amelia Bloomer List, Early Readers Nonfiction This picture book biography follows the life of Eugenie Clark, the Japanese-American scientist, researcher, and diver, who became famous as "The Shark Lady" for her groundbreaking discoveries about shark behavior. Before Eugenie Clark's groundbreaking research, most people thought sharks were vicious, blood-thirsty killers. From the first time she saw a shark in an aquarium, Japanese-American Eugenie was enthralled. Instead of frightening and ferocious eating machines, she saw sleek, graceful fish gliding through the water. After she became a scientist—an unexpected career path for a woman in the 1940s—she began taking research dives and training sharks, earning her the nickname "The Shark Lady."