Ocean Monsters

Children's Literature - Carrie Hane Hung

During the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, there were dinosaurs which lived on the land; however, there were also other reptiles that existed in the ocean. Eight of these sea reptiles are featured in this text from the "Dino Times Trivia" series. Along with the brightly-colored illustrations are brief descriptions about these prehistoric, sea-roaming carnivores. Each layout presents information about a dinosaur; in addition, the description is expanded with a question-answer format. With classroom discussion, the text and illustration may help to support thinking about the different physical features of the ocean-living dinosaurs. For young researchers who are interested in the size of these reptiles, scale diagrams compare the dinosaurs with a six-foot-tall human. Other informational features are the pronunciations guides for the dinosaur names, captions, labels, a glossary, and an index. Zimmerman provides a list of some suggested books and the address of the publisher's website for readers who seek additional information. The web site includes a simple crossword puzzle along with some unlabeled portals to websites that have more information about dinosaurs. Readers who are interested in other prehistoric animals from the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods may find the other five books in the "Dino Times Trivia" series fascinating, too. The format for the series is similar, although the theme of each book is different, as are the featured prehistoric reptiles. Reviewer: Carrie Hane Hung