The Little Encyclopedia of Mythical Horses: An A-to-Z Guide to Legendary Steeds

by Eliza Berkowitz

From Arthurian legend to tales of ancient China, horses have traversed the world alongside humans for centuries, and their heroic adventures are gathered here in this one-of-a-kind little encyclopedia . . . 

Beloved for their grace, strength, and untamed beauty, horses have always loomed large in our imaginations, featuring in mythologies across cultures and throughout history. This little encyclopedia rounds up more than 50 mythical horses from around the world,   And so many more! With detailed illustrations throughout, this book pays tribute to some of our most formidable equine friends. 
 

Genres: Animals

144 pages, Hardcover

Published February 6, 2024

Reviews

[Jule Van Wilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent little foray into the subject, particularly for those who are just beginning to show interest. Folks who have studied mythology and/or horses more extensively will immediately notice the glaring and inexplicable omissions. Where is Bucephalus? Bäckahästen? Capaill Uisce?
Ceffyl Dŵr? Each Uisge? Epona? Helhästen? Púca? That's before I start rattling off actual obscure folklore and wonder at the total lack of Native American stories. We have entries for assorted, mundane equestrian sports instead. An all-inclusive encyclopedia of folkloric horses is too much to ask due to the sheer amount that is 6000+ years' worth of material, but some of the most basic horses of legend are MIA. It's just so bizarre to me that we have barely-horses if you squint, such as Baku, but the ball was dropped on Bucephalus. At least Bayard was included, but it's pretty clear this is a cash grab series with the bare minimum of research and heart put into it. It's entertaining and the art is fun, but Special Interest folks like myself will be left wanting.

[Camden Baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m in this little mythology and fairytale phase and IM GOING TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF IT

I remember going to Barnes and noble and buying this just because the cover looked nice lol

I quite enjoyed it, very quick and easy read and I like horses :>

There was some stuff that was just JUMPSCARE AHH but yeahhhhh 😅

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was mostly a cute little book about some mythical horses (and, oddly, some modern horse things, too). There were entries I was not familiar with so I cannot speak on their accuracy, but there were a few errors I noticed.

1. A baku is not based on a horse.
2. It was so wrong about the Trojan Horse! "They [the Greeks] built a large wooden structure in the shape of a horse and offered it to Athena as a gift. Ignoring her advisors, Athena accepted the gift, and the horse was let into Troy." ATHENA accepted the gift? She had advisors?? It was Laocoon and Cassandra who both tried to warn about the horse. Athena was the goddess on the Athenians' side! I don't know how this mistake was missed, but it made me doubt the accuracy of the rest of the book.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review and thoughts here on the blog!

https://thegrimmlibrarian.com/2025/06/18/the-little-encyclopedia-of-mythical-horses-an-a-to-z-guide-to-legendary-steeds-by-eliza-berkowitz-review/

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe they thought there weren’t enough mythical horse entries, but the author added things like “horsing around” and “equestrian sports”. I think it would have been better to have a longer introduction talking about “the human-horse relationship” (another entry) and the importance of real horses in humans lives and separate out the mythical horse parts for a more focused encyclopedia. The weakest entry in the series I’ve read so far but at least the work cited didn’t include Wikipedia articles.