Books in It's a Fact: Real Life Reads series

Longer than a school bus and weighing more than 22 elephants, Megalodon was a truly enormous and powerful prehistoric predator. This ancient ancestor of today's most feared ocean predator, the shark, would have hunted whales and been able to snap up a great white shark as a snack! In this book, readers get to dive into the world of a prehistoric ocean giant and find out how scientists have used fossils and studies of modern-day sharks to look back millions of years and piece together the story of Megalodon.

Kitty may look like a fluffy, purring bundle of fur, but beneath that cuddly exterior lurks a skillful predator with incredible senses of hearing, sight, and smell. A predator with the grace of a ballerina and the speed, skills, and capabilities of a superhero. Packed with wow-factor science (and lots of cute kitties), this new IT'S A FACT! title explores how our pet cats perceive and move through their world with all the extraordinary powers and abilities of a movie superhero!

Enter the terrifying, yet fascinating, world of a 17th century Caribbean pirate and discover what life was truly like aboard a pirate ship. Did pirates really have wooden legs and parrots? What weapons did they carry? And can it be true that these ruthless outlaws actually lived by a set of ship's rules and shared the treasure they stole equally between them?

In the animal kingdom, it's essential to have a good means of defense when something bigger than you wants to eat you. In this book, readers will meet a lizard that squirts blood from its eyes at predators. A seabird chick that projectile vomits on an approaching enemy. And a host of animals that use slime, their poop, and other bizarre means of defense to stay safe. Packed with essential life sciences information, this gross fest of all things defense and disgusting will have readers laughing, making ewwwwwwwww noises, but most importantly, turning the pages and reading!

It sounds like something from a science-fiction movie, but today, many scientists are exploring the possibility that humans could one day live on the planet Mars. This fascinating book, packed with real-life space science, explores the latest ideas of the people who dream of colonizing another planet. How would we get to Mars? How would we breathe? What would we eat and drink? What would a home on Mars look like, and what would everyday life be like on a freezing-cold planet millions of miles from Earth?

Millions of miles from Earth, a very unusual scientist is hard at work exploring the freezing, dusty surface of the planet Mars. Curiosity, the robot geologist, is one in a long line of robots that have visited some of our solar system's most inhospitable places. In this fascinating title, we look at space robots from the past and those at work today. What are their missions? What tasks can they do? And how does it feel to be the human here on Earth who controls a high-tech robot on a faraway planet?

Could a river in Thailand really be home to giant stingrays powerful enough to pull boats through the water? Do man-eating catfish truly lurk in murky waters waiting for a chance to swallow an unsuspecting swimmer or angler? In this book, look deep beneath the surface of rivers, lakes, and oceans worldwide and discover some truly bizarre, dangerous, and enormous fish. If you think sharks are the scariest members of the fish family, you've obviously never encountered an alligator gar or a giant tiger fish!

In the animal kingdom, its essential to have a good means of defense when something bigger than you wants to eat you. In this book, readers will meet a lizard that squirts blood from its eyes at predators. A seabird chick that projectile vomits on an approaching enemy. And a host of animals that use slime, their poop, and other bizarre means of defense to stay safe. Packed with essential life sciences information, this gross fest of all things defense and disgusting will have readers laughing, making ewwwwwwwww noises, but most importantly, turning the pages and reading!

For more than 200 years, parts of Europe and even North America were raided and often terrorized by Vikings. These brutal warriors attacked from the sea, stealing gold and other precious goods, and capturing people to be slaves. How did the Vikings survive their long ocean voyages aboard their longships? What was life like in a Viking village? And were these terrifying warriors actually clever businessmen and skillful explorers?

Just look at that cute puppy. All big shiny eyes, slobbery tongue, and wagging tail. Beneath that gentle exterior, however, lurks a creature with the powerful physical capabilities and incredible senses of a superhero. Packed with wow-factor science (and lots of cute pups), this new IT?S A FACT! title explores how our pet dogs perceive, sense, and move through their world with all the extraordinary powers and abilities of a movie superhero!

You are alone and lost. You have no water. No food. No cell phone. No map. The Sun is getting hotter and hotter. Would you know how to survive in a desert? This fantastic survival handbook combines adventure, real-life survival tactics, and fascinating facts about desert habitats. How can ants or bird droppings be a clue to a source of water? How do you build a shelter when there is nothing around but sand? And which desert animals are dangerous, and how can you avoid them?