Mega-Mouths! Beasts with Big Bites and the Scientists Who Study Them

This dramatic STEM picture book, the first title in the Chasing Curious Creatures series, focuses on four different animals, each with a super-sized mouth, zooming in on how they use their mega-adaptations and how scientists learn about them.

What do the sharp-toothed saltwater crocodile, large-toothed hippopotamus, mouth-expanding Burmese python, and bristle-mouthed bowhead whale all have in common? Their big mouths! In this engaging nonfiction picture book, young readers can take a step into the animal kingdom alongside scientists who study these four creatures. Through short browsable paragraphs, kids will learn how these animals live, and also how they track, hunt, and eat their meals. Paired with dramatic and detailed illustrations, these amazing animals will come to life. The book will also spark interest in the scientists and the tools they use to study these animals, from simple plankton nets to remote controlled
boats.  

Each book in the new Chasing Curious Creatures series will focus on animals with a similar adaptation and draw on the work of the real-life scientists who study them.

Sandra K. Athans is a practicing literacy specialist, featured speaker, and book author. Some of her titles include My Space and Your Space, Secrets of the Sky Caves, Quick & Easy Strategies for Close Reading and Writing. Her resume includes hundreds of other projects, such as teacher guides, reader’s theater skits, early readers, and more.

Mike Downs is the author of more than 30 books for children, writing in both the trade and educational markets. He has written nonfiction and fiction, including The Noisy Airplane Ride, You See a Zoo, I See…, Treasure of Measures, and The Flying Man: Otto Lilienthal, the World’s First Pilot.

Alex Boersma is a scientific illustrator. Her recent titles include, The Whale Who Swam Through Time and Spying on Whales. In addition to her work publishing illustrations, she also illustrates for science articles, scientific journals, and museum exhibits.