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This is one of those older books that is a trip-upon treasure in a library.

All in all, a wonderful title for readers with an interest in the creatures of myth.more The accompanying artwork by Monika Beisner is colorful and expressive, emphasizing the magic and enchantment of the topic under discussion. Also profiled are the Persian Simurgh, who features so prominently in the tale of Prince Zaal the fire salamanders of Europe and Asia the Roc, those massive birds of Madagascar the Mimick Dog, with its incredible ability to sound like other animals and the Clayk, the Tree Goose that hatches from tree-grown melons.Ī well-known children's literature scholar, who has explored the worlds of folklore and fantasy in her essays, collected in Don't Tell the Grown-Ups: The Subversive Power of Children's Literature, Alison Lurie delivers a delightful sampling of creatures in Fabulous Beasts. Less well-known, at least to this reader, were creatures such as the Barometz, the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, whose legend may be an attempt to explain the cotton plant the Swedish Gullon, a gluttonous forest-dweller with the body of a dog and the face of a cat or the Catoblepas, a shy Ethiopian beast with the head of a dog and the body of a buffalo. Here too is the famed Pegasus, that winged horse of Greek mythology the immortal Phoenix, eternally consumed and reborn in flame the fierce Griffin and the deadly Basilisk. Here is the dragon, "compounded of earth, air and fire," sometimes fierce, and sometimes friendly.

Here the reader will encounter the unicorn, rarest of all beings, with its extraordinary horn, and attraction to young maidens.

Here too is the famed Pegasus, that winged horse of Greek mytholog This enchanting picture-book catalogue of the world's mythological creatures presents fourteen fabulous beasts, with a double-page spread - one page of text, and one colorful illustration - devoted to each. This enchanting picture-book catalogue of the world's mythological creatures presents fourteen fabulous beasts, with a double-page spread - one page of text, and one colorful illustration - devoted to each.