SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Michael Phelps, children's book author?

Yes, the 14-time Olympic gold medalist has a new book in stores titled "How to Train with a T. Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals."

It features illustrations by Ward Jenkins of Phelps, his bulldog Herman and his coach Bob Bowman.

In the book Phelps describes his training regimen in terms relatable to kids. For example, during six years of training, he swam 12,480 miles. He points out that's the same as swimming "from my hometown of Baltimore to the North Pole and back, and doing it all over again!"

"It's a fun way for kids to learn and for me to get a lot of different messages out there," Phelps said Sunday at a swim meet in Santa Clara. "Having Bob and Herman in the book is cool."

In the book, Phelps recalls the 100-meter butterfly race from the Beijing Olympics, when he won by one-hundredth of a second to preserve his successful bid for a record eight gold medals.

The book is published by Simon & Schuster.