From Mothman to the Mongolian Death Worm, Shellycoat to Simurgh, Nessie to even Ningyo, this charming and creative collection of cryptids will fascinate readers for years to come.
Cryptids, Creatures & A Manual of Monsters and Mythos from Around the World features 90 different creatures from around the world, each with their own researched description and full-color illustrations. The book is divided into three cryptids, folklore, and mythology. It features popular cryptid favorites, such as Mothman and the Flatwoods Monster, and some lesser-known cryptids, such as the Enfield Horror and the Montauk Monster. For folklore, there are kelpies, selkies, cat sidhes, and grimalkins, along with the dobarchu and the vampiric pumpkin! In mythology, you’ll find Medusa, sphinx, Pegasus, and the bukavac!
The book is fun for newcomers to cryptozoology, folklore, and mythology but is also fun for those who are well read about the creatures in the book. While written by Rachel Quinney and mainly illustrated by her, there are twelve guest artists featured within the book, too.
As a lover of all things folklore/mythology/legend, I was excited to see a book specifically featuring creatures like cryptids. This was a really fun collection with a lot of background information for each entity featured, plus vibrant art to illustrate how each creature is believed to look (in some cases a few different ways). I did wish that there was more because I know there were some parts of the world/cultures that were not touched on, but understand that only so much could be featured in this book. I would love to see more in a similar vein from this author as the writing style flowed well and was succinct while also full of great information.
Happy reading!
The Wandering Wordsmith 