This is a great introduction into many popular and lesser-known figures in folklore. Children can use it as an encylopedia to research the characters that are relevant to them, or they can peruse it to see if there are characters they'd like to learn more about.

It would be fantastic for children who like fiction about mythical characters and would like to know more about where they came from. It would also work well as a homeschool resource.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Gorgeous illustrations, fascinating cultural and historical insights, and overall fun to read. I read this with my 6 year old son and he wanted to read it over and over. Some of the material is a bit dark for younger children but overall a wonderful door into the history and imagination of many cultures. It led us into many rabbit holes, doing research for more background on some of the entries. I strongly recommend for anyone interested in culture and whimsy.

Many thanks to Dorling Kindersley Limited and NetGalley for the ARC!

The book was so entertaining to flip through. I enjoyed learning about the different creatures. It is so interesting seeing what the creatures did. I didn't read it from beginning to end. I flipped through the different creatures out of order but still enjoyed the book

I enjoyed looking through this book and reading about all the creatures. Thank you for giving me the chance to read this.

Having read and reviewed a number of large format children's books about mythical creatures, Gods or Goddesses, and other interesting lore; it really means something when I tell you that this is the best I've ever seen of them!

Mythical Beasts & Magical Creatures has an inclusive worldwide outlook that I have not seen in most. Not only does it include multiple stories from every populated continent (sorry penguins Antarctica is the exception), but it also hasn't labelled creatures that may be common in North America now as such; these are categorized under their first influences in Europe. This then allows for the North American creatures to be of Indigenous origin. I can't tell you how happy I was to see the Windigo included!

With two full pages for almost all creatures and gorgeous illustrations this is a beautiful coffee table book for an enthusiast or a great way to introduce a child to the world of mythical animals. There is also a two-page spread in each category that sums up many types of one creature. For example: on the fairies page we have brownies, pixies, etc. On the vampire page we have the typical Dracula type vampire, as well as all the Asian inspired creatures that feed on the blood of the living. Again the inclusivity feels very balanced.

At the high price point these types of books sell for you want to make sure you are getting good paper quality, beautiful illustrations, well written content, and comprehensive worldwide outlooks. I can say with certainty that Mythical Beasts and Magical Creatures meets all these criteria and more. I just might have to add this one to my own personal library, or the toy box for the kiddos that visit me to peruse through!

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Seen in person in hardcover format at my library to evaluate the page quality, illustration colour, and other print qualities.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

The cover of this book really is adorable.
The illustrations were great!
This book was fantastic. Seriously.
My kids and I loved it.

I'd definitely purchase a copy and check out other books by the author.

Son found helpful for working through some of the harder parts of his mythology unit. Will be recommending to the local english teachers for middle school.

I received this as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and DK Children for giving me access.

This book is STUNNING! I just ordered a copy for my kiddos.

While it is geared for children 7-9, I felt the reading material was a little above their reading average. Defiantly something they would need help reading with an adult.

The graphics were absolutely gorgeous and I cannot stop looking at them. It is also very informative about creature lore we may not be 100% familiar with.

The Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Creatures was written by Stephen Krensky and illustrated by Pham Quang Phuc. It is currently scheduled for release on October 13 2020. In this book readers will meet a 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 rumors of dragons, there is an interesting story behind every magical beast.

The Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Creatures is a decent introduction to a wide variety of creatures of myth, religion, and folklore from around the world. I liked that a wide variety of regions and cultures are included, and think the organization of the creatures is well done. The illustrations are bold and eye catching. They do a great job of illustrating the creatures and habitat in question, and keep the interest of readers. I also liked the information on the legends surrounding common animals, the A-Z listing with short summaries of the creatures included, and the glossary included at the back of the book. I did this some of the information on the listed creatures in their large spreads did a good job of showing how some stories are told around the world, with slight variation due to culture, climate, and other factors. However, some bits were a little too simplistic, varied from what I have previously read on the subject, or left of bits that I always found the most interesting. Since mythology and folklore are among my favorite reading subjects, so newcomers and the children most likely to pick this up might not have have the same reactions. It could also be that I have read so many retellings and variations on some of these stories that I could be holding onto favorite bits from more current takes on the subjects than the author and research done here would have considered.

This book is gorgeous ! The illustrations are so amazing I need to buy a physical copy for my bookshelf ! I also love all the facts about the. Various magical creatures !

The book says it’s recommended for ages 7-9 but that’s a lie. It’s definitely 7-Any age possible.

I love books like that that basically travel the world and teach you about the different monsters, gods, beasts, lore of different countries. I read this by myself and then read it with my 8 year old daughter and was delighted that she enjoyed it as much as I did. The art is beautiful and definitely keeps you intrigued especially if you’re more of a visual person.

Thanks very much to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy of my ARC.

While the art of this book is fantastic, there are a few errors to the material that make it hard to love. Between classifying some humans or gods as 'beasts,' there are also a few mistakes made in regards to the mythological beings listed. For example, Loki was never adopted by Odin in Norse mythology; that was in Marvel's Thor comics. That aside, the wide variety of creatures, gods, beasts, and so on from diverse backgrounds and mythologies was great.

There's no way I'm not buying a copy of this book for one of my kids for Christmas. The only question is which one, as I think they all would love it. I love it. Just wow. The art is just phenomenally beautiful. It's well organized into sections and it actually contains characters and creatures from all over instead of just the standard Greek or occasionally Norse myths most books mention. Some characters have a variety listed, like the fairy pages that show fairy types of creatures from all different cultures around the world. The text is just enough to give kids interesting information but not so much that it bogs them down or bores them, or gets them to just skip the text and look at the pictures. The colors are vibrant and it's absolutely stunning and a pleasure to read.

Highly, highly recommended.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

This book is really cool! I would have loved this as a kid! The illustrations are beautiful and the information is interesting, but accessible to kids. My 5 year-old enjoyed hearing about the hippocampus, mermaids, and unicorns. I would definitely buy this when she is older and not so afraid of scary creatures! I can see this book appealing to kids of all genders.

The Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Creatures // by Stephen Krensky // illustrated by Pham Quang Phuc

This honestly must be the most beautiful children’s book I put my hands on this year, or even ever. Between the subject, the text, and the illustrations, there is nothing I did not like about this book. There is no question of whether this book will end up on my shelf as a physical copy.

The book is split into 8 sections: Our Mysterious World, Good and Evil, Tricksters, Shape-Shifters, Almost Human, Creatures of the Deep, Winged Wonders, and Beasts of the World. Each section starts out with a quick intro that is followed by the creatures and beasts that fall into its category. They each have a page spread dedicated to them that includes their name, an illustration, where in the world they originate from, and a few paragraphs of description.

At the end of the book, you will find an A-Z of Creatures that lists all of them in alphabetical order in case you are searching for a specific one. There, you also find the meaning of their name as well as a quick origin section. This is followed by the Glossary and Index to further assist in a specific search and to decipher the meanings of words that may be unknown to the reader.

I know I already said it above but I have to say it again. This book is stunning. Pham Quang Phuc is an absolutely brilliant illustrator that makes this book such a gift to own. Or to give away. This would be a beautiful present for any child. While the book itself is definitely interesting, the marvelous illustrations with their vibrant colors just take it to a whole different level.

Aside from being a great children’s book, I honestly think this would be a fun and quick resource for writers looking for creatures to include in their stories. There is obviously not enough information about them to base an entire character on them and they would need to do more research to really be culturally accurate but it is a fun reference place to get started.

Did I mention it is beautiful yet?

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was received as an ARC from DK Children in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was so impressed by this book that all I wanted to do was read it over and over again. This book would be perfect for a classroom/school project for our teachers and elementary students in our community as they learn the origin of stories behind these infamous mythical beasts and magical creatures. I do have to say my favorite was the kitsune in Japan, these magical foxes that can easily morph into humans and have human developments and emotions. I know our community will respond well to this book and especially if there is a project in the works, it will definitely be well circulated for sure.

We will consider adding this title to our JNon-Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

The Book of Mythical Beast by Stephen Krensky was filled with so many mythical beasts from all over the world. The writing was great. Some creatures had longer descriptions than others. I liked that the book had dedicated pages to just witches, or just faeries, etc. It was fun to have them all together, so you can compare myths from around the world. What really made the book are the illustrations by Pham Quang Phuc. They are stunning. This book is perfect for anyone that is interested in mythology.

I received an eARC from DK Children through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

This is such an engaging book! My children (6, 9, & 11) were fascinated by all the creatures, and it was the first book they ran for when it arrived. They love the illustrations and facts. The same day they read it, I found them with pencils and markers in hand inventing their own mythical and magical creatures!! A book they love to read that ALSO ignites their imagination and creativity?! This is fantastic!! The only reason I took off one star is because a few creatures scared them.

<i>arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

I loved this so much! The art was absolutely beautiful. Each page took my breath away and I spent a good amount of time just staring at the illustrations. They were so detailed and colorful! I can just imagine how excited kids are going to be when they get their hands on this.

This was super informative too and in an easy to digest way. We got concise information that was easy to understand and kept me wanting to read more. I loved the fact that a myriad of cultures were shown in here!

Overall, this was a joy to read and I highly recommend this to everyone! If you’re interested in myths and creatures, definitely check this one out!

5/5 ⭐️

The Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Creatures is an exemplary visual guide filled to the brim with information and stunning illustrations. This books is a great foundation for understanding the cultural significance of certain mythical creatures; moreover, this can be used to spark interest of different cultural folklore, as well as give background for creatures that may show up within literature as they get older. At the end of the book, there is an A-Z section that compiles each of the creatures mentioned within the text as an overview, as well as a glossary to help contextualize certain myths and/or locations. I loved that each illustrations and description of a beast or creature was accompanied with a map highlighting where the stories originated and culturally descended from. Overall, I loved this book, and I will be using this in my classroom as both a curricular tool and a part of my classroom library.