Dinosaurs to Dragons - The Lore and Science of Mythical Creatures

By: Elizabeth Shreeve

Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2026-07-21

An imaginative nonfiction middle grade exploration of mythology, paleontology, and early civilizations that invites readers to delight in legendary creatures from across the globe and the fossils that might have inspired their origins.

What if we lived in a world with fire-breathing dragons? Or enigmatic, alluring mermaids? How about rainbow-nibbling unicorns? These fabled beasts aren’t as far from us as we think. After all, their legends had to have come from somewhere…

Join us as we weave together legendary tales and new scientific findings to uncover connections between real and mythical creatures. Delving into the past, we’ll see how our ancestors took what they found in the world and created the beloved fantastical creatures we dream about today.

Could the skull of a protoceratops have inspired the hooked beak of a griffin? From manatee to mermaid, heron to phoenix, we’ll trace the truth behind these fantastical creatures and make some new discoveries along the way!