This book briefly outlines and explains about a dozen monsters and creatures from around the world. Although this book doesn't go into great detail about big foot, loch ness or giant squid, I can tell this would be a definite favorite in my classroom!

Great book about monsters for student that are interested in monsters and other tales. Good illustrations!

Response - A clever way to write about mythical creatures - the author invites the reader to join a monster hunt in the introduction. I like how he addresses a mythical creature and then provides evidence of similar creatures once existing. Thus, helping the reader to understand the origin of the mythical creatures. I think a bibliography should have been included to provided interest students with more sources.

Curricular connection - guided reading lessons on informational texts

Good introduction to cryptozoology for children not ready for Kelly Milner Halls's Tales of the Cryptids. ( )

Arnosky's exploration of mysterious creatures is more of a tribute to and celebration of wonder than it is a "scary monster" book. Framed by his own trips to Lake Champlain to search for the fabled lake monster "Champ", the exploration of the weird and wonderful moves lyrically through real and as yet mythical creatures, illustrated by Arnosky's luminescent art.

Arnosky looks first at charcharodons, massive prehistoric sharks. Could they still exist? No one knows, but it's possible. What about giant squids? Long thought to be mythical, scientists now know these "krakens" really do live in the ocean - but not much more about them.

Gorillas and Komodo dragons were thought to be myth, until they were discovered in the 1800s. What about Bigfoot? Many reliable people have reported sightings of this gorilla-like creature. If he did exist, what would he eat? How would he avoid humans?

While sea serpents seem too fantastical to be based in fact, what about lake monsters, especially the famous Loch Ness Monster and Lake Champlain's Champ. Could these creatures be plesiosaurs? Arnosky ends the exploration with the story of his own exploration of Lake Champlain with his wife and grandsons. He describes in words and paintings how they explored the bottom of the lake and discovered that large lake creatures could quite possibly survive there.

Verdict: This isn't the book for kids looking for chills and thrills or for a strictly scientific approach to cryptozoology. But it's a great book for sparking imagination and exploration and encouraging appreciation of the mysteries in the world around us. Recommended for elementary grades, especially kids who like stories about mythical monsters but nothing too scary.

ISBN: 9781423130284; Published July 2011 by Hyperion; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library