The Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Creatures: Meet your favourite monsters, fairies, heroes, and tricksters from all around the world

By Author / Illustrator

DK, Stephen Krensky

Genre

Fantasy

Age range(s)

Publisher

Dorling Kindersley Ltd

ISBN

9780241423950

Format

Hardback

Published

01-10-2020

Synopsis

Enter the enchanting world of mythical creatures and explore the history behind them in this beautifully illustrated compendium for kids aged 7 to 9.

You'll meet an incredible cast of mind-boggling fictional animals from all around the world. Say hello to Bigfoot in the forests of North America and learn about the Native American traditions that inspired its story. Voyage to Japan to meet kitsune, supernatural nine-tailed foxes that can turn into humans. And jump onboard an ancient storm-battered ship to learn why mermaids were the last thing a sailor wanted to see...

Learn about the societies that spawned these legendary creatures, from Ancient Greece to the indigenous tribes of Australia, and find out what the beasts tell us about the people who created them.

From narwhal tusks inspiring the legend of unicorns, to dinosaur bones creating rumours of dragons, there is an interesting story behind every magical beast. Mythical Beasts and Magical Creatures tells you everything you need to know about supernatural animals great and small.

Perfect for fans of Harry Potter and other fantasy tales,, this is the only kids' guide to magical creatures that tells you the history behind the mythology.

Reviews

The Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Creatures is a must-have for anyone with an interest in myths, legends and folklore from around the world, but it also perfect as a reference point. Eight chapters cover all manner of creatures from winged wonders to tricksters with a general spread focusing on a common theme, for example, ghosts, included in the first five. Each chapter starts with a brief introduction before a spread is devoted to each creature or beast accompanied by wonderful illustrations and a map showing the area of the world from which it originated. Links made to other creatures are referenced at the bottom of the page. A comprehensive A-Z of creatures at the end of the book gives the meaning of each name, the origin of the creature and a brief synopsis about them.

The book includes creatures which are familiar to many - unicorns, the phoenix, Anansi and the Golem- although doubtless providing much needed background information about each. There are also many less commonly known creatures and beasts to discover- the Tengu, Itzpapalotl, a Dokkaebi and the Taniwha- opening a whole host of new myths and folklore for the reader. For the teacher, the book makes a perfect companion to many areas of the curriculum, with connections to Maya, Greek, Roman and Norse mythology amongst others. It also offers support for many books which might be chosen as class or guided reading texts as well as individual reads. An excellent and illuminating read!

160 pages / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher