• Age: 4 to 7
• Grade: p to 2
• Reading age: 4 to 7

In the popular Tales of Prehistoric Life series, incredibly lifelike, computer-generated images illustrate action-packed stories about dinosaurs and their contemporaries. As this dramatic tale begins, Quetzalcoatlus, a huge pterosaur, is seen flying over a lush landscape looking for a good breakfast. He lands near a river with the hope of finding some tasty fish. However, he is soon surrounded by a pack of Saurornitholestes, who begin furiously biting and pecking at the pterosaur. Though the two-legged dinosaurs are much smaller than Quetzalcoatlus, he has a difficult time fending off their ferocious attacks. After a valiant effort, he decides there are just too many Saurornitholestes to fight at once. “Quetzalcoatlus was a towering giant, but sometimes numbers and fierceness count more than size.” So he gathers his strength and soars into the air to escape to safety.

Created by Daniel Loxton, the three books in this series are just the thing for young dinosaur lovers, both early readers and pre-readers, who will find their stunning, attention-grabbing artwork highly engrossing. The detailed illustrations and the facts of each story are based on thorough research on each of these creatures. This tale is based on the real-life discovery of a Quetzalcoatlus leg bone fossil that had bite marks and a tooth fragment from a Saurornitholestes embedded in it. There is a page providing background information about Quetzalcoatlus and Saurornitholestes at the end of the story, making this book a great resource for older children's fact-finding purposes as well.

Daniel Loxton is Editor of Junior Skeptic, the children's section of Skeptic magazine, a quarterly science education and science advocacy magazine published by the nonprofit Skeptics Society. Daniel is the author and illustrator of Evolution. He lives in Victoria, B.C.

Daniel Loxton's profile page

Jim W.W. Smith's profile page

• Short-listed, Rainforest of Reading, Ontario Library Association
• Winner, Bolen Books Children's Book Prize, Victoria Book Prize Society
• Short-listed, Lane Anderson Award

... a terrific example of how to make a popular book on prehistoric animals both exciting and scientifically sound, an accolade that is all the more remarkable when you consider that a part of its targeted demographic is still learning to read.—Pterosaur.net Blog

... hyper-realistic clarity and sharpness. ... Dino devotees ... will devour this eye candy with relish.—Kirkus Reviews