Learn about the history of sea monsters in this photographic nonfiction leveled reader perfect for kids interested in the natural - and unnatural - world! Did you know that the legendary Hercules fought against the hydra, a sea monster with many heads? Or that the giant squid may not sink ships like the hydra, but it is still powerful enough to use its 30-foot-long tentacles to turn a whale into prey? That means that enormous creatures still lurk in the depths of the ocean! Embracing children's delight in the mythical creatures while also imparting fascinating facts about the real ones, discover the history of these special animals and decide for yourself if you believe in sea monsters! With simple language and vivid photographs, Are Sea Monsters Real? is perfect for emerging readers curious about the natural world and these legendary creatures.

The author reveals the truth about real sea creatures that may have inspired many sailors' tales of terrible monsters.

Learn about the history of sea monsters in this photographic nonfiction leveled reader perfect for kids interested in the natural - and unnatural - world! Did you know that the legendary Hercules fought against the hydra, a sea monster with many heads? Or that the giant squid may not sink ships like the hydra, but it is still powerful enough to use its 30-foot-long tentacles to turn a whale into prey? That means that enormous creatures still lurk in the depths of the ocean! Embracing children's delight in the mythical creatures while also imparting fascinating facts about the real ones, discover the history of these special animals and decide for yourself if you believe in sea monsters! With simple language and vivid photographs, Are Sea Monsters Real? is perfect for emerging readers curious about the natural world and these legendary creatures.

Shares information on sea monsters, including the kraken, the Loch Ness monster, and the kappa.

Describes real-life sea creatures that may have inspired tales of sea monsters, discussing giant squid, manatees, and oarfish. Reprint.

The mythic creature expert and author of Phoenix takes readers through a bestiary of sea monsters featured on the famous 16th century map Carta Marina. In the sixteenth century, sea serpents, giant man-eating lobsters, and other monsters were thought to swim the waters of Norther Europe, threatening seafarers who ventured too far from shore. Thankfully, Scandinavian mariners had Olaus Magnus, who in 1539 charted these fantastic marine animals in his influential map of the Nordic countries, the Carta Marina. In Sea Monsters, mythologist Joseph Nigg brings readers face-to-face with these creatures and other magnificent components of Magnus’s map. Nearly two meters wide in total, the map’s nine wood-block panels comprise the largest and first realistic portrayal of the region. But in addition to its important geographic significance, Magnus’s map goes beyond cartography to scenes both domestic and mystic. Close to shore, Magnus shows humans interacting with common sea life—boats struggling to stay afloat, merchants trading, children swimming, and fisherman pulling lines. But from the offshore deeps rise some of the most terrifying sea creatures imaginable—like sea swine, whales as large as islands, and the Kraken. In this book, Nigg draws on Magnus’s own text to further describe and illuminate these inventive scenes and to flesh out the stories of the monsters. Sea Monsters is a stunning tour of a world that still holds many secrets for us land dwellers, who will forever be fascinated by reports of giant squid and the real-life creatures of the deep that have proven to be as bizarre and otherworldly as we have imagined for centuries. It is a gorgeous guide for enthusiasts of maps, monsters, and the mythic. “[A] beautiful new exploration of the Carta Marina.”—Wired

Explores the myth, legend, scientific documentation, and fiction inspired by sea monsters.