Sea Monsters: The Official Children's Companion to the Giant-Screen Film Book

Relive the wonder of Sea Monsters, National Geographic's 3-D Large Format Film, and learn more about these weird prehistoric creatures of the deep. Here's the Official Children's Companion Book to the giant-screen film which launches in October on giant screens nationwide. Sea Monsters leads kids into the Late Cretaceous Era, 80 million years ago. Stunning images of giant sharks, enormous squids, massive marine reptiles, and flying creatures with razor-sharp teeth will thrill young imaginations. Follow the story of a marine reptile called Dolichorhynchops—Dolly for short—as she braves the dangers of her inland sea home. Enjoy the cool digitally generated images of creatures like Tylosaurus, a whale-size predator, and the long-necked Styxosaurus. The brief text will engage young readers in a fun, unthreatening way. Sea Monsters is a wild and informative read for all who have or haven't yet seen this wonderful movie.

Children's Literature

Young readers love dinosaurs, and their imaginations can run wild when it comes to prehistoric animals on land or sea. But what about the real, day-to-day lives of these creatures? Did they struggle to survive? Did mothers care for their young? Could they learn to hunt on their own? How many made it to adulthood? This book, part of the "National Geographic Kids" series and companion to the giant-screen film, focuses on one giant dolphin-like creature, Dolichorynchops osborn ("dolly" for short) as a pregnant mother gives birth to a male and female in shallow waters of an inland, Mesozoic-era sea, 82 million years ago in what is now the landlocked state of Kansas. Prehistoric sea turtles and ammonites are neighbors. As the two baby dollies grow and move out into deeper waters, they learn to hunt prehistoric schooling fish, as well as to avoid huge predators, including Xiphactinus. a minivan-sized fish, or Cretoxyrhina, a shark as big as today's whale sharks, This predator kills the mother dolly and bites the female hard enough to embed a tooth in her flipper. Later an even bigger Tylosaurus swallows the brother whole. Only his sister survives to maturity, seeking out the shallow waters to birth her own offspring. This book, with its vivid illustrations, brings history alive for young readers eager to learn more about aquatic creatures of the Mesozoic era—the same creatures whose fossils are discovered in Kansas millions of years later. Reviewer: Judy Crowder