Shark Lady: True Adventures of Eugenie Clark

National Science Teachers Association and the Childrens Book Council, 1978
Outstanding Science Book for Children

Book Description
One Saturday, when Eugenie Clark was nine years old, her mother took her into the city to visit the Aquarium. Eugenie was fascinated by the fish she saw there, especially the biggest -- the shark. Soon, Eugenie was going every week, and Saturdays were never quite the same. As her fascination grew, she asked her mother to help her set up her own aquarium at home. Her mother shared her interest and started bring home new fish for Eugenie as a surprise. When it was time for Eugenie to go to college, she knew she wanted to be an ichthyologist - a person who studies and works with fish. How Eugenie Clark became a world-famous scientist ... became the director of a marine laboratory and a professor of zoology ... and her unforgettable adventures as she traveled around the world to study sharks, makes exciting reading. The story of Eugenie Clark is true, and she is still studying sharks today. "I love my work," she says, "and I never stop learning about the sea and its creatures."

Excerpted from Shark Lady by Ann McGovern and Ruth Chew. Copyright © 1995. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
From Chapter 3: Eugenie had learned how to skin a dead animal in the lab in college, but she felt she needed more practice. One day the neighborhood grocer killed a big rat in his store and Eugenie begged to have it. The grocer wrapped it up and she took it home. Good. There was nobody in the house. Quickly Eugenie skinned it. Then she got out one of her grandmother's cooking pots. She wanted the skeleton. She would have to boil the rat. Every five minutes Eugenie ran into the street to see if Grandma was coming. Then she ran into the house again and checked the pot. The rat was still boiling on the stove when Eugenie suddenly heard Grandma's footsteps outside. What could Eugenie do? It was too late to do anything. Grandma was standing in the kitchen doorway. "Genie, darling," she said. "What are you cooking?" Before Eugenie could stop her, she lifted the pot cover, peered inside, and saw the big rat's two sharp teeth. Grandma was very angry. And Eugenie was not allowed to cook in the kitchen again for a long time.


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A biography of the ichthyologist whose interest in fish began at the age of nine during weekly trips to the Aquarium in New York City.


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