Mother of Sharks
by Melissa Cristina Márquez
illustrated by Devin Elle Kurtz
illustrated by Devin Elle Kurtz
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Para mi familia, thanks for keeping me wild.
00:14For Kadir, thanks for being my safe harbor.
00:17MCM.
00:18For dad, thank you for introducing me to the ocean at the front of your surfboard.
00:23D.E.K.
00:24Mother of Sharks, by Melissa Cristina Marquez.
00:28Illustrated by Devin L. Kurtz.
01:55waters of La Playita del Condado.
01:58Melivamente, digiste cinco minutos mas hace cinco minutos, my mommy called from the shore.
02:04The only problem was when I had to go home.
02:07Just five more minutes te lo prometo.
02:09I exclaimed fitting with the necklace my abuela had given me.
02:12It was my prized possession.
02:14I spotted the tidal pools in the distance.
02:17These rocky pools filled with seawater are sometimes small shallow puddles or huge deep
02:22holes.
02:23I wanted to make these five minutes count, so I began to swim toward them.
02:27As I scrambled onto the rocks, I crouched down to peek through the glass-like surface
02:31of the water.
02:32Within the pool was a secret universe of its own, spiky sea urchins and fuzzy seagrass,
02:38swaying anemones and slow sea slugs.
02:40But my favorite critter had inside a speckled shell.
02:43I carefully picked the shell up and placed it in the palm of my hand to see if anyone
02:47was home.
02:48Hola?
02:49Is anyone there?
02:50I asked looking inside.
02:52Two beady eyes of a hermit crab squinted back at me.
02:55You have a beautiful shell.
02:57What shall I name you?
02:58I asked.
02:59I could just tell you my name, the little crab said.
03:02I yelped, my eyes widening as the crab scuttled around my hand.
03:06Mis amigos me llaman Jabba.
03:08What?
03:09How can… you can talk?
03:11I whispered making sure that no one would hear me.
03:14Of course I can.
03:15Jabba said proudly.
03:16What kind of crab do you take me for?
03:19He didn't wait for my answer.
03:21I've seen you around here before.
03:22What's your name?
03:24My name's Melissa, I said trying to make my heart calm down.
03:28But everyone calls me Melly.
03:30Jabba stopped pacing and slowly blinked his eyes.
03:32Encantado de conocerte Melly, he replied.
03:36Nice to have a name for the girl with the ocean in her heart.
03:39The what?
03:40I asked wrinkling my brow in confession.
03:42This surely was a dream.
03:44Follow me and I'll show you what I mean.
03:46Jabba hopped off my palm and disappeared into the tide pool.
03:50My eyes searched for his shell, but all I saw was a reflection of my wet curly hair
03:54and dark brown eyes rippling through the water.
03:57Then the tide pool began to bubble.
03:59And rumble.
04:00Suddenly, I was surrounded by endless bright turquoise.
04:03Jabba and I swam deeper and deeper away from the surface and toward a sprawling underwater
04:08city.
04:09Crabs and sea stars scuttled away from me along innocent sandy highways and schools
04:13of fish darted past me as if it were rush hour.
04:16Hey Aiba, this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen.
04:19I gapsed soaring above the bustling views.
04:22But how am I able to breathe underwater?
04:24Or talk to you?
04:26Is any of this real?
04:27Maybe.
04:28Julia said gliding ahead of me.
04:30Maybe not.
04:31You'll just have to dive in further and find out.
04:34My legs kicked harder to catch up to the snail Kangregito.
04:37But something started to look off.
04:39Just a few moments before the city was aglow.
04:42Then, a stark color began to stand out.
04:45Rico.
04:46Jabba.
04:47Where did their colors go?
04:48I asked.
04:49My voice sounded too loud.
04:51This part of the reef was ghostly and quiet.
04:53Goosebumps covered my body.
04:55Those coral have been bleached, Jabba said.
04:58Our planet and oceans are heating up, hurting our home.
05:01Look.
05:02I said pointing at something bright green wrapped around the ghostly coral sculpton.
05:07What's that in the distance?
05:08Is it alive?
05:09That's ghost gear.
05:11Nasty stuff that's been left behind, Jabba explained.
05:14It looks like seaweed from far away but it's a cuddly Annette.
05:18A flash of darkness and a whoosh from behind the fishing net startled us.
05:22Something big was hidden below.
05:24My heart beat wildly in my chest as I locked eyes with the most beautiful creature I'd
05:28ever seen.
05:29A giant fish with a sharp pointed snout and slender body was thrashing amid the plastic
05:34covering.
05:35My stomach dropped.
05:36It's stuck!
05:37We have to help!
05:39I exclaimed watching the creature's blue body swing from side to side in panic.
05:44I dove down and started to tug at the net aranut it's fins.
05:47Almost, there!
05:48I huffed pulling with all my might.
05:50Got it!
05:51The creature swam off in the blink of an eye.
05:54That was a Mako shark, Jabba said.
05:56They re the fattest sharks in the world.
05:58I couldn't tear my eyes away from the shark's shadow slowly disappearing.
06:02I reached out toward it as bubbles began to blur my vision and I was pulled into a new
06:06world again.
06:07Jabba!
06:08What are we doing here?
06:09We can't just be in someone's room!
06:11I whispered.
06:12Don't worry, you're invisible.
06:13Nobody can we exact me, he replied matter of factly.
06:14So how many kinds of sharks are out there?
06:15I asked.
06:16Over 500 different kinds, Jabba said.
06:17Great white sharks, whale sharks, tiger sharks, blue sharks, reef sharks, epaulets.
06:18These creatures have existed before so many of us before the dinosaurs even.
06:19Each one is special.
06:20Sharks seem to be the most important creature in the world.
06:21I looked up and saw a giant fish with a sharp pointed snout and slender body.
06:22It's stuck!
06:23We have to help!
06:24I dove down and started to tug at the net aranut it's fins.
06:25Almost, there!
06:26The creature swam off in the blink of an eye.
06:27Got it!
06:28The creature swam off in the blink of an eye.
06:29Got it!
06:31blue sharks, reef sharks, epaulets.
06:34These creatures have existed before so many of us before the dinosaurs even.
06:39Each one is special.
06:40Sharks sit at the top of the food chain helping control and maintain the numbers of animals
06:44below them in the food web, Jabba continued.
06:47We need sharks to keep our oceans healthy.
06:50Very incredible, I breathed eyes wide.
06:53I want to help them!
06:54Maybe you could become a shark scientist one day, said Jabba.
06:58Maybe, I whispered.
07:00I had never seen a shark scientist who looked like me before.
07:03Can you show me more?
07:05I asked.
07:06Jabba smiled mischievously and flicked his claw.
07:09Hammonball!
07:10Jabba yelled as he tucked his body into his shell and jumped into the clear water.
07:14I pinched my nose and jumped in after him.
07:16Jabba motioned at me to follow him.
07:18I wanted you to meet someone my friend the nurse shark.
07:21I dove below the surface where the sun's warmth could still be felt to find the shy nurse
07:26shark.
07:27Hola, mi nombre es Melly.
07:29I said trying not to stare at her unique pebbled pattern and long fins.
07:33The nurse shark stiffened and retreated back into the shadows of the coral.
07:37Bubbles, Jabba explained.
07:39Some sharks don't like them.
07:41How strange, I said.
07:43What else do they not like?
07:45Without a word, Jabba flicked his claw again.
07:48Where are we now?
07:49A university library, Jabba said excitedly leading us through the maze of books.
07:53C'mon, I know where we'll find the answers to what you're looking for.
07:57I picked up one book about sharks.
08:00Then another.
08:01And my questions grew bigger than ever.
08:03Can people really do this for a job?
08:05Study sharks and help protect them?
08:07I asked Jabba.
08:09He nodded and said, let me show you someone who does just that.
08:12Julia transported us to a theater with cozy red chairs that faced a big shiny stage slash.
08:18On stage was a woman with wild curly hair giving a speech.
08:21I looked around at the crowded theater and couldn't believe it.
08:25A real life scientist and she looked just like me?
08:28Female researchers especially these of color are like female sharks lurking in the darkness,
08:33the woman said.
08:34Weary here.
08:35But no one is paying attention.
08:37We can't be what we can't see.
08:38I could hear her words echoing in my ears as Jabba snapped his claw.
08:42But she's so cool.
08:44Who was she?
08:45I pleaded with Jabba.
08:46Couldn't we stay to hear the end of her speech?
08:49Ah, but that was just the beginning, said Jabba with pride.
08:52People call her the mother of sharks.
08:54Her superpower is teaching people to care for sharks around the world.
08:58We watched her ride in a helicopter over the Arctic Ocean on a blizzardy expedition.
09:03And wade the deep waters of Australia to drop underwater cameras and spy on sharks in far
09:08away places and even deep dive in a yellow submarine.
09:12K'chavir.
09:13I exclaimed as Jabba and I followed the crew of scientists down into the depths of the
09:17dark sea.
09:18As we reached the bottom the mother of sharks smiled and shouted, I see something?
09:23To the right.
09:24A beautiful sixgill shark bumped into the submarine.
09:27We are trying to record the shark's natural behavior so we can learn more about how this
09:31animal acts around new objects, she explained to a crew of documentary filmmakers.
09:37I watched as another scientist pulled a small capsule out of a bag.
09:41Tagging sharks lets scientists track them for a few months, said Jabba.
09:45The tag helps gather important information to better protect them.
09:49This is the coolest thing ever!
09:51I exclaimed.
09:52It gets cooler Jabba laughed from my shoulder.
09:55Instantly, he whisked us off to a boat that was surrounded by snow-tall mountains and
09:59icebergs.
10:00Do you see anything yet?
10:02The mother of sharks asked.
10:04We might have something, another scientist yelled.
10:07There we go, that's what we're looking for, the mother of sharks called out to the rest
10:11of the crew.
10:12The largest fish in the Arctic.
10:14The Greenland shark.
10:15The researchers cheered as they quickly let the shark go with a tag attached to track
10:19her movements.
10:21I think they're my new favorite, I told Jabba loudly so he could hear me over the cheering
10:26scientists.
10:27I can see you, she gently whispered back.
10:29The sun peeked out from behind the clouds glinting off the necklace she pulled out from
10:33behind her scarf.
10:35It was my necklace, the one Abuela gave me.
10:37A giant smile spread across each of our faces the same smile.
10:41I think you've got to get back to the beach Mellie, she finally said as the sun slowly
10:46began to set on the bottom.
10:48That's right, mommy, but there are many things I want to ask you and Jabba.
10:52Good, Jabba said pulling me away one last time.
10:56Keep questioning.
10:57But what happens now Jabba?
10:59I asked as we returned to La Playita del Condado.
11:02Follow your heart, Jabba reassured me.
11:05It has the ocean in it after all.
11:07There are always people who want to help sharks.
11:09You just have to find them.
11:11How will I know where to find you?
11:13I said setting Jabba back down in the tide pool.
11:16I am always here.
11:17Let's look for the speckled shell.
11:19Jabba winked at me just before a wave crashed into the tidal pool.
11:23When the foam disappeared, so did the little critter.
11:26Un pasado cinco minutos nos vamos.
11:28I heard my mother remind me.
11:30Had it only been five minutes?
11:32It felt like a lifetime, voy mami.
11:35I replied.
11:36I looked back at the endless ocean as waves crashed against the glow of the sunset remembering
11:40everything that Jabba and the mother of sharks showed me and the world of adventures that
11:45lay ahead.
11:46The end.