Mega-predators of the past

The phrase prehistoric predator may conjure up images of a Tyrannosaurus rex or other toothy relatives, but there are countless lesser-known specimens to discover. Stewart eschews the usual parade of dinosaurs, turning the spotlight on some equally impressive, though less notorious, creatures. Some of the names alone are enough to frighten: giant ripper lizards and 10-foot-tall terror birds stalk the pages. Many of the animals look eerily close to current-day predators but with supersized dimensions. There are arm-length scorpions, snakes large enough to swallow crocodiles, and sharks longer than railroad cars. Each spread includes a chatty introduction, a condensed list of quick specs (size, location, year of discovery), and a humorous size comparison that often shows a to-scale human running away from or cowering next to the predator in question. The handsome, lifelike illustrations are chock full of action and expression, freezing the predators at their most dramatic moments. "Face the facts, friends . . . dinosaurs are overexposed and overrated," Stewart cheekily declares, and she makes a seriously impressive--and hilarious--case.

A rousing roundup of outsized meat eaters for readers who, like the author, find Tyrannosaurus rex and cousin dinos "overexposed and overrated." Looking like modern creatures, only much bigger, the extinct predators Stewart selects run from a 28-inch prehistoric scorpion to "railroad car"--sized protoshark Megalodon.A slavering "giant ripper lizard" (Varanus prisca) on the cover sets the tone, and as Gray goes on to depict beaked or toothy horrors chasing or snatching prey, the author makes up for the lack of explicit gore with commentary that suggestively goes for the gusto: "Dive! Swish! Chomp! Gulp! Meet the Sanders seabird--a prehistoric predator guaranteed to make fish fret and squid squirm." Each sharply detailed portrait comes with a fact box and, entertainingly, a silhouette with a to-scale human figure flinching, cowering, or fleeing in terror. In a closing twist, the final entry, the "biggest predator of all time," is the nonextinct blue whale ("makes T. rex look like a puny pipsqueak"); for added value, along with a source list and an audience-appropriate selection of further reading, the author and illustrator both end with helpful notes on their research methods. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A creature feature presented, and likely to be devoured, with relish. (Informational picture book. 6-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.