Sharks in Kansas: The Ancient Sea in the Middle of America

by Melissa Stewart, Becca Stadtlander (Illustrator)

Sharks in Kansas? Yes, it's true! Take a fascinating journey back 85 million years to a time when Kansas was submerged under a vast ocean teeming with incredible prehistoric sharks.

Sharks in Kansas? Seems impossible, right? After all, Kansas is smack dab in the middle of the United States—more than 1,000 miles from the closest ocean. But the world hasn’t always looked the way it does today.

Once upon a time, 85 million years ago, the middle of America was submerged in water--and incredible creatures roamed the sea. On a typical afternoon, a small herd of Claosaurus munches on plants along the shoreline. Above them, a Pteranodon glides across the sky in search of fish... when, suddenly, a Squalicorax grabs a young dinosaur with its bone-crunching bite. Chomp!

From the flightless bird Hesperonis to the mighty Tylosaurus, here is a fascinating look at many kids' favorite creatures and the mysteries of an ancient ocean.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Science, History, Animals, Prehistoric, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

Published July 7, 2026

About the author

Melissa Stewart is the award-winning author of more than 180 science and nature books for children. She offers a wide range of programs for schools, libraries, nature centers, and conferences. www.melissa-stewart.com"

Reviews

[Brittany Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a children’s book but idc. have to lighten the mood from recent readings somehow.


10/10 for teaching science to kids

[YSBR · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The world hasn’t always looked the way it does today…” reads the tagline on the back of this fascinating picture book that backs up its claim with a look at the Western Interior Seaway 85 million years ago. We think we know Kansas: 1,000 miles to the nearest ocean and home to a lot of wheat, corn, and cows. But then Stewart and Stadlander drop a bombshell in the form of a mounted Tylosaurus fossilized skeleton  (stretched across a double-page spread) being viewed by a multiracial family at a museum. A map on a globe helps us orient ourselves for our trip to the past as we visit the Seaway’s rich ocean life, with gouache paintings showing us a habitat filled with enormous prehistoric animals. These include several species of giant sharks, sea birds, sea reptiles (several members of the mosasaur family), sea turtles the size of cars, and numerous mollusks. For each pair of pages, Stewart provides us with one or two short, narrative passages, describing the action in the scene (often, someone trying to eat someone else), while side panels feature thumbnail sketches of individual animals, along with their names, how to pronounce them, their size and weight, and their prey and predators. As always, Stewart’s vivid prose captures animal behavior in realistic yet compelling fashion; a 6 foot long yet relatively diminutive bird called a Hesperornis “unfolds its tiny wings…and warms its body”, but “by the time [it] notices the “fearsome fin [of the 13 foot shark Scapanorhynchus] headed its way, it’s too late.” Stadlander’s watery medium is well suited to her fishy subjects and the animals have a stylized rather than photorealistic look that will appeal to anyone who loves mythological creatures as much as dinosaurs. Final pages explain that fossils of the seaway creatures can still be seen and found in Colorado and Kansas and detail the formation of the limestone cliffs that house them. Back matter includes infographic-style images explaining the formation and disappearance of this unique geological phenomena as well as selected sources, suggestions for further reading, and acknowledgements. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kansas, a state in the heart of the continental United States is not the sort of place one expects to see an ocean. But back about 85 million years the land we know today as the United States was divided by the Western Interior Seaway. This book presents to young readers the reasons the seaway came into being and what led to its disappearance. The illustrations include a glimpse into the animal life whose fossils have been found in the area. Maps show readers where the described conditions existed and how they changed over time. In addition to the main body of text, sidebars include specific information about the animals described in the text and shown in the illustrations. Each sidebar includes the name, pronunciation, class, group, size, weight, prey, and predators for the highlighted species. The paintings show the animals in action next to other animals that they would have interacted with during their lifetimes. The main text works well as a read aloud while the sidebars provide more information for those hungry to learn more about the remarkable animals. The book makes an excellent resource as well as a fascinating story for reading aloud with a class. A fabulous presentation of information that is well suited to its audience. The gorgeous paintings combined with Stewart's very readable text (you would want to practice reading those creature names--thank goodness for the pronunciation guide!) make for a great book for teachers and students. Highly recommended.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This title immediately piqued my interest as a midwesterner, and I wanted to know how sharks were ever in Kansas. Plus, this is Shark Week, so it’s the perfect time to share this fascinating children’s book.

Over 85 million years ago, North America didn’t look as it does now. A great chunk of the land that is now North America was divided by water. In and around those waters were numerous dinosaurs, reptiles, and…sharks!

Eventually, the land started to rise, and the waters drained away, forcing the creatures to swim north to colder waters or disappear. Even though there are no longer oceans full of sharks in the areas around Kansas, signs still exist of the former waters and creatures that lived there. Rippled sandstone in Colorado, chalky white bluffs in Kansas, and even fossils found in Canada prove that sharks, giant clams, turtles, and mosasaurs did exist.

Take a journey into the past and imagine what Kansas and other Midwestern states like Iowa looked like millions of years ago. This book is great for dinosaur fans because it is full of facts and bullet points about various prehistoric creatures. Science and geology lovers will also enjoy reading about how the landscape changed and all about the layers of the Earth. Amazing illustrations combined with facts and a story will engage readers to want to know more about the history of the Western Interior Seaway.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discovering the past of an ocean that crossed through America and the fossils, landforms, and rock patterns it left behind is quite the broad appeal for kids and adults alike! Becca Stadtlander's gouache illustrations are both appealing and educational throughout this book and work wonderfully with the text of the science that revealed this discovery. Since we study rocks in several elementary grades and my students have a fascination with all things prehistoric, this book is a first purchase for both of my elementary school collections!

I have become eager to learn from Melissa Stewart for many years now. I love her books and ability to integrate vast tidbits of knowledge on scientific topics that will engage my students. I love how her process has changed as nonfiction books have changed in the children's book world. There are often side panels, fact boxes, and back matter within or after the main story. Learning about the ocean crossing North America was as fascinating for me as it will certainly be for my students.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to imagine any youngster who won't be drawn in by this book's title and the chance to learn about what life on Earth was like 85 million years ago. While plenty of children's books cover fossils, dinosaurs, and prehistoric life, this one goes even further, discussing the Western Interior Seaway that once divided what would later by the North American continent and providing the perfect habitat for some surprising species, including all sorts of sharks, turtles, and mollusks. The gouache illustrations present these impressive marine animals in their natural surroundings in eye-popping style, appropriate due to their enormous sizes, and thumbnail sketches along the pages' borders offer additional information about each species, including name, pronunciation, class, group, size, weight, prey, and predators. Simply stunning, this book is a must-have for an elementary or intermediate classroom library.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Melissa Stewart was interviewed at one of my librarian professional development workshops, and I was impressed, both with her in general and the topics she covers. This nonfiction picture book is excellent for readers who are curious, who love science, and/or just enjoy learning. It would help if the reader already understood the compositional makeup of the earth and plate tectonics, although plate shifting is explained pretty well here: maybe grades 4 and up? I had a 6th grader read this to herself and really enjoyed it, but she's the type who devours nonfiction life science books anyway.

I learned a lot about how our geography has shifted over time and why. I never had known that there was an ocean running through the center of North America, and now I know what creatures lived in that sea and why it is now just farmland. GREAT picture book for curious minds.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as attention grabbing titles, this is a fun one. Sharks in landlocked Kansas? What!? With well paced text, lovely illustrations, and lots of fun facts, the story of middle America as a watery world and how it came to look the way we see it now is shared on the pages of this picture book. This highly readable book would be a great addition to a unit on Dinosaurs, evolution, Kansas (or any of the states in the former Western Interior Seaway) or North American history. Of course, it would also be a fun one to put in the hands of a shark fan. It's hard to imagine, but sharks were once swimming in Kansas.

[June · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

I am a little disappointed in Melissa Stewart. The book is bound to be popular, and the history of the interior seaway is well told. However I found the backmatter of the Rise and Fall of the Western Interior Seaway a bit confusing. I wish it had stated that Fallon plate had completely slid below the North American plate. Most curious children will probably look it up like I did, but I expect Stewart to be a bit clearer.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars
These 40 pages pack a lot of information in along with kid attention-grabbing illustrations. Millions of years ago, Kansas, as well as much of the interior of the US was covered with sea, teeming with prehistoric life, including sharks! Thankfully the author explains how the sea got to inland USA and what happened over time to change the landscape and leave fossils behind.

[Alicia · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Who knew? Well Stewart knows because she's a GOAT of nonfiction for kids and this one hits all the right notes-- SHARKS in KANSAS. The world looked different way back when and this is why there are discoveries that sharks were in Kansas then. Full of cool science, awesome illustrations, and intrigue for the littlest to share the factoids and pictures in wonder and awe.

[Pat Danna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharks in Kansas? A sea in the middle of America? What an intriguing book! This is a perfect STEM book for a class unit on geography, fossils, dinosaurs, and related topics. All forms of sea life are featured with detailed information about each creature. Beautifully illustrated.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another terrific nonfiction picture book from Melissa Stewart. The Western Interior Seaway? Who knew?! Factual sidebars and excellent back matter provide loads of information. My dinosaur fans are going to devour this one!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an outstanding book! Gorgeous artwork by one of my favorite artists and a really interesting concept! I never knew Kansas was under an ancient ocean! An excellent read for adults as well as children.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isn't really a history story, more a bunch of facts about prehistoric ocean animals.

[Meghan Bohn · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Sharks and prehistoric reptiles together in one book!

[Krystal Kraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love that we get a copy of this for our shelf! My daughter I read it to was obsessed with it because we live in Kansas and how COOL is that! But also because one of her VERY favorite type of books to pull off our shelf for me to read to her are the ones jam packed with facts and info for her little brain to grow! She loves it and we thought the illustrations were awesome as well! Thanks for a fun and super informational book for us to enjoy over the years!

[Kellee Moye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melissa Stewart shared on her webpage that, “As I was writing the book Mega-Predators of the Past, I was astonished to learn about Archelon — a prehistoric sea turtle the size of a small car. But what was even more amazing than the turtle’s supersize is where it lived — smack dab in the middle of the North American continent. Up until that moment, I’d never heard of the Western Interior Seaway, and I had no idea that the land we now call the Great Plains had once been covered by an ancient ocean. I had to know more, and once I discovered the incredible cast of creatures that called the seaway home (including a dozen different kinds of sharks), I knew I had to write a book about how the seaway formed and how it changed over time.” Like her, until I read this book, I had no idea either!

Stewart and Stadtlander do a great job bringing this unimaginable setting to life so that readers can see how what seems impossible is possible. It is a great mix of informational nonfiction, sharing of information about the Earth’s and animals’ history, while also adding in a bit of narrative by engaging with the reader through story. I also loved the inclusion of sidebars throughout the book which told you more about each animal that was encountered without messing with the flow of the writing. And, as always, I am so happy to see age appropriate, informative back matter that shows more information to fill in some gaps while also keeping learners wanting to find out more.

Full review with teaching tools: https://www.unleashingreaders.com/30180