Monster Science

Could a creature of the sea really take a breath? This book examines whether the monsters that haunt popular culture could exist under the rules of real science. Would a mermaid need lungs like ours or gills like a fish? If a person changes into a wolf under the moon, does the conservation of mass still hold? Could Bigfoot fit into the story of human evolution? Each question is put to the test with actual scientific reasoning.

The science is delivered through playful, funny explanations, and the illustrations mix the gruesome and the comical in roughly equal measure, so the topics stay lively without losing their scientific content.

Joy Lin, a screenwriter and comedian, was named one of the most inspirational science teachers by TED-Ed, and her series is featured on the TED-Ed website. She also presents her superpower science theories at Comic Cons and is the author of the Superpower Science series.