With detailed illustrations, the story of a young boy more interested in reading than completing his chores plays out. All ends well with the help of the beasties. There are informative pages in the back that make this suitable for more than just young children.

I was browsing the 'read now' catagory on Netgalley and I found this lovely magical children's book. Ever since I started working at the library I've been surprised at how well written children's book can be. And the art in some children's books are just WOW *insert heart eyes* And this cover immediately made me want to pick this up because DRAGONNNN

Drawing style: The era in which this story is set is medieval like and the drawing style looks like it's older and a little faded which is such a lovely detail that makes this book a whole.

Writing style: The writing in the book is a little more complicated than I would expect in a children's book but if an adult is reading it to their child then I'm sure they will help their child understand everything. The style does make everything sound fun and magical.

The bestiary at the end of the book was a nice touch and really makes sure that the child who reads this book knows what kind of mythical creatures are in this book.

This was absolutely adorable and reminds you that children of all ages and all eras can use their imagination. The artwork was really good too.

The artwork in this book is gorgeous! Who doesn’t love mythical creatures and a good story. While a children’s book by intent, there is plenty here to appreciate as an adult and particularly as a parent. Adults as much as children will look forward to reading this book and being captivated by the detailed colored pencil artwork throughout. Sheer eye candy, I love the illustrators style and color templates. A great introduction to the fantasy genre and mythical animals for children, highly recommend!

A picture book for slightly older kids, largely because of the illustration style. The plot is farily simple but requires a degree of visual interpretation skills to fully grasp.

Oh my goodness – The pictures in this book are absolutely gorgeous. The colors are rich and vivid and just wonderful to look at.

Thoughts:
One of the first things I noticed in this medieval-times picture book was the font. Different picture books often use different fonts based on the story – some have a whimsical touch, some are more standard. But here at the beginning, as we are introduced to the tale “neglected chores” a font you might usually associate with medieval times is used. It’s really quite a small thing, but a nice touch and helps put the reader into the middle-ages setting.

The story revolves around Godfrey, his chores, the nearby bestiary book being painted, and his day-dreaming of becoming a knight. He picks up the book – because let’s be honest a picture book of beautiful beasts is a lot more interesting than chores – and begins to daydream. But what’s fun is how Godfrey’s daydreams use the animals from the book to actually do the chores for him and not he-himself that finishes the chores. I even learned more about the mythical creature the bonnacon, which is one I am not as familiar with as I might be a dragon or unicorn.

At the end of this book, the author provides some information about bestiary books and what they might have been printed on as well as what life might have been like in a castle. At the end is also a complete list of the beasts in the bestiary with a description of both what they looked like as well as their characteristics.

Rating: 4 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Getty Publications for the reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

'Don't Let the Beasties Escape This Book!' by Julie Berry with illustrations by April Lee is a picture book to teach about medieval bestiarys.

Godfrey is a young peasant boy working in a courtyard. He finds a bestiary. He starts making up a story with the animals drawn within. Before he knows it, there is a lion running around, then a unicorn, a griffin, and others. Godfrey finds himself in trouble, until he gets some unlikely help.

The book finishes with information about read bestiaries as well as medieval life. The story is fun and the illustrations are really nice.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Getty Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

A fun children’s book with beasts and monsters galore! Drawing on historical elements from the middle ages, this book is surprisingly informative as well as entertaining.

If you have a kid who thrives on imagination, definitely check out Berry’s Don’t Let the Beasties Escape This Book! (Due to the many pictures, I think this would be more enjoyable in a print copy than as an e-book!)

Thank you to Netgalley for a complimentary copy!

A great adventure in imagination with superb illustrations. A good introduction to medieval times and thinking creatively.

This story is about a boy living in medieval times. His mother gives him a list of chores he needs to complete. On his way outside, he spies a book about beasts. As he conjures up each one, they appear in all their fantastic glory – bright and colorful; comical, amazing expressions; and great medieval forms. “Sir Geoffrey” is able to tame each of the beasts while performing acts of feat which in the end accomplish his chores. All of this as a wizard looks on.

A good lesson in being able to accomplish tasks while having fun is evident. Children of all ages will find something to enjoy.

I received an ARC from Getty Publishing through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review

This book was different than I thought. I thoight that it was going to be more like the child reading was trying to keep the beast in the book, but it was actually the young character letting beasts out. As he does they seem to befriend him and help him with his chores. The way the book was written, it was a bit difficult to read to my child. The illustrations were beautiful and the story was cute.

I wanted to really like this one, but I think it was trying to do too much at one time. I was very distracted by all the elements, including the words of the story he was reading from the book; the animals coming out of the book and doing different things; and the little labels at the top that were supposed to be, titles? Maybe description of what he was doing? I have no idea. However, this was a cute story, just wish it wasn't so choppy.
#Dontletthebeastiesescapethisbook! #Netgalley

I’m assuming that this book is being published as a sort of companion to this earlier one, “Book of Beasts,” which is a scholarly examination of medieval bestiaries.

“Don’t Let the Beasties Escape This Book!,” however, is aimed towards children and shows a bit of what a bestiary actually was, what beasts might be found in one and what they did, as well as showing young Godfrey on an “adventure” that he makes up as the day goes along. I enjoyed his imagination as he seeks to impress the castle kittens, piggy, dog and chickens with his prowess all while inadvertently letting loose some potentially terrifying beasties. It’s also fun to watch how they manage to get Godfrey’s chores done for him and his reaction when he realizes just what he’s let loose. I did hope to see a bit of remorse on his part for what he did and some character growth in regard to not actually doing anything that his mother had asked him to do. Especially since it’s made clear that young Godfrey has slacked off in the past. Alas, I didn’t see any of that.

But what is there are some absolutely gorgeous illustrations that are a joy to see and that I’ve gone back and reexamined – along with reading the book again – several times. B+ for those while a C for Godfrey’s failure to achieve any of his chores and no remorse about that.

One of the most magical things about childhood is the ability to take a mundane task and make it fun and exciting through imagination. As we grow older, we seem to lose this ability - or at least, lose the feeling of freedom to use it. Godfrey is a young boy who, upon finding a bestiary on the way to beginning his chores, allows his imagination to take over. Suddenly, he's no longer just sweeping and cleaning and working, but he's on endless adventures. Each quest just so happens to help him accomplish his real-life chore, but it certainly doesn't feel like "work" anymore to Godfrey.



This book was enchanting and sweet and fun. The illustrations are so engaging. Each picture lends to the impression that Godfrey's imagination is so much bigger than just himself. He is often a small piece of a picture, with the adventure he's having filling the entire page with vibrant color and dynamic action.



My two children adored this book. My son, especially, who is 9, has returned to read this book over and over again. I highly recommend this for all middle-grade readers.

I absolutely loved this children's book. Illustrations are lovely, and so is the story. I like that this book includes additional information about the medieval era and medieval bestiaries that help children understand the story better.

An adorable book with phenomenal illustrations that comically introduces the reader to the “beasts” of medieval times.
I mostly appreciated the end where it explained the beasts in more detail, but children will likely enjoy Sir Godfrey’s tale of magic beasts that he conquers while doing his chores.

My Review: This is such a fun children's book, I loved the art style, it really suited the story's setting. It is a great book to read with slightly older children as opposed to very young toddlers, as they will be able to grasp the lesson in the book better. Kids will see that their chore list might not be so bad since they don't have to clean up the barn or start the fire for dinner, but they will also see that imagination can make the job go quicker and make it a whole lot more fun. We really had a fun time with this book, and loved that at the end there are some great descriptions and history on the various beasties released in the book.

My Rating: We really enjoyed this one, even though Munchkin is pretty much done with picture books, he was still really able to get a lot out of this story! The illustrations were beautiful and fun to look at the details of the beasts. We give it a rating of Four Paws!

Don't Let the Beasties Escape This Book! was written by Julie Berry and illustrated by April Lee. It is currently scheduled for release on September 10 2019. Godfrey, a peasant boy who works for the lord and lady of the castle, finds a bestiary, or illustrated book of beasts, on the way to do his chores one morning. He begins inventing his own story, placing “Sir Godfrey” at the center of numerous heroic deeds. Sir Godfrey battles a lion, tames a unicorn, defeats a griffin, conquers a bonnacon, and triumphs over a dragon. Godfrey does not realize that each time he says the name of an animal, it magically emerges from the book, causing mayhem and inadvertently accomplishing his chores. The laughs pile up and the tension mounts: When will Godfrey realize that all this outrageous stuff is going on?

Don't Let the Beasties Escape This Book! is illustrated in the style of manuscripts from the middle ages. The images and colors are beautiful and I enjoyed looking at them. The text of the story is written in rhyme, and also carries the feel of a middle age tale. It felt a little clunky to me, but oddly enough I think that was deliberate to fit with the style they were working for. I have to admit that my favorite part of the book was not the actual story, but the beastairy and information about the Middle Ages included in the backmatter. I have always been fascinated by that sort of thing and I was glad to see that kind of primer to the medieval world included here.

Don't Let the Beasties Escape This Book! is a stylized and interesting read, but I do not think it is for everyone. Those interested in creatures and medieval life will enjoy it, but I think some will not enjoy it quite as much.

This is a delightful book for anyone who likes manuscripts, beasts both real and fantastic, and stories about kids with overactive imaginations. Godfrey (or, as he sees himself, SIR Godfrey) is a medieval boy who would rather look at the bestiary in production for the lady of the castle than do his chores, and much like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, he imagines the creatures described in the bestiary helping him.

The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, in part based on manuscripts in an exhibit at the Getty, and somehow April Lee manages to draw in a modern style that feels medieval. The one drawback of having to read this on my computer is that it's meant to be read as a physical book, with illustrations often spanning a two-page spread, which is frustrating when you have to zoom in to read the text. This is no fault of the book or its creators, just a comment that you should get a physical copy (I have no idea if it will be released digitally) because that's the best way to read something like this. Like the bestiaries they replicate, the pictures are colorful and lively, with something fun happening even in the smallest details.

The book ends with a historical note that puts bestiaries, and what medieval people got from them, into context-- most people had no real way of knowing what was out in the world far away, and many of the creatures were actually believable-- compared to a rhino, a unicorn doesn't sound all that strange. I really like this. There's a major misconception in our popular culture that people in the Middle Ages were stupid and believed ridiculous things like unicorns, dog-headed people, that the Earth is flat (which they didn't, by the way). The truth is they weren't stupid, they just didn't have the cumulative knowledge we have today, and many things medieval people believed, or at least what they presented as some level of factual, aren't really that strange considering the information they had. Bestiaries are a good example of this, and this book portrays that well. It also includes a section of descriptions and images of creatures from actual bestiaries, which is another good historical note.

This is definitely a book I hope to someday have a physical copy of to read to my young cousins in the hopes that they'll become medievalists. Or at least in the hopes they'll like it.

When a peasant boy can’t resist looking at the bestiary book an illuminator is working on in the castle, he makes up a story about the animals and his chores suddenly get a lot more interesting than even he realizes.

I definitely recommend reading the back of this book. (In fact, it might make it an even better experience to read the back matter first and then the story.) It was fascinating to learn more about original bestiaries and how those inspired this tale. There’s also good information for kids on normal life in Medieval times. The book will likely introduce readers to some mythical creatures they haven’t met before, and it is a lightly humorous tale with vivid illustrations. The back matter includes opportunities for kids to separate fact from fiction in what original bestiaries said about various animals. The story itself also presents a great way to introduce text boxes and how those can relate to the story in different ways. In this book the text boxes could be interpreted as a narrator comment or an old-style chapter heading while the text on the page is the story the boy makes up. A great book to use when studying Medieval times with kids, for kids curious about book history, and of course, fans of those mythical beasties.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Don't Let the Beasties Escape This Book was a delightful and colorful read. The book follows Godfrey, a young boy living near a castle in Medieval Europe. Godfrey is tasked with completing his chores for the day and his mother warns him to not disturb the book maker who is working on a book for the lady of the castle. Being the rambunctious kid he is, Godfrey sneaks the book off its desk and begins to read. Magical beasts begin to appear and Godfrey's day of work gets sidetracked.

At the end of the book are sections on the beasts featured in the book as well as information about life in Medieval Europe. I found the section on why people from the Medieval time period believe in magical creatures to be super interesting. This section would be great for readers who want to learn more about mythical creatures, but some readers may skip over it, since it is fairly dense with only a few accompanying illustrations. 

Overall, I found the story to be just okay; Godfrey didn't learn anything while slacking off during the day. I would have appreciated some character growth or acknowledgement of the chaos he was causing by releasing beasts into the castle. The great redeeming factor for this book was the illustrations. I thoroughly enjoyed the illustrations in this book. The colors were vibrant and mimicked tapestries from the Medieval era. Since I read this book as a digital edition, some of the images were split in weird places; this problem would be fixed with a physical copy.

I would rate this book 3 stars overall, 2 for the story and 4 for the illustrations.