Charlotte Lewis Brown - Beyond the Dinosaurs: Monsters of the Air and Sea

Short paragraphs, chapters, and exciting themes
for the perfect bridge to chapter books

CONTENTS

Pteranodon
Deinosuchus
Elasmosaurus
Ichthyosaurus
Mosasaurus
Hainosaurus
Pterodaustro
Microraptor
Kronosaurus
Placodus
Archaeopteryx

Millions of years ago,
and long before there
were people,
dinosaurs were the most
powerful animals that
walked on land.
Dinosaurs ruled the Earth,
but they did not live
in the air or the water.

Other powerful animals
swam in the sea
and flew across the sky.
These creatures
were just as strange and wonderful
as any dinosaur....

PTERANODON
You say it like this:
ter- AN- oh- don

Pteranodon flew on wings
made of skin
that stretched from its body
to the ends of its arms.
A coat of fine hair
kept Pteranodon warm.

Pteranodon lived near the ocean
and flew above the waves
hunting for food.
It caught fish in its long,
thin beak.

DEINOSUCHUS
You say it like this:
Die- no- SUE- kus

Deinosuchus looked
like a modern crocodile,
but it was more than
five times larger.

It was so big,
it could eat dinosaurs.
It waited underwater
until a dinosaur came to drink.
Then Deinosuchus
pulled the dinosaur underwater
and ate it.

ELASMOSAURUS
You say it like this:
eh- LAZZ- mo- SAWR- us

Elasmosaurus was mostly neck.
It had a fat, round body
and a short tail.

Elasmosaurus was not a fast swimmer,
but it was good at catching fish.

When fish swam by,
Elasmosaurus shot out its long,
skinny neck and grabbed one!

ICHTHYOSAURUS
You say it like this:
ICK- thee- oh- SAWR- us

Ichthyosaurus had fins
and a tail, just like a fish.
But it was not a fish.
Ichthyosaurus was a reptile.
Fish can breathe underwater.
Reptiles must breathe air.
Ichthyosaurus would take