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Monsters You Should Know
Meet the world's most unusual monsters in this darkly funny collection of creatures and cryptids from folkloric history. Illustrator Emma SanCartier captures the bizarre and hilarious elements of 17 monsters from around the world in a light, tongue-in-cheek tone, from the Japanese dream-eater Baku and the Persian carnivorous unicorn Shadhavar to the Eastern-European Shurale, a literal tickle monster. Packaged in a textured three-piece case and illustrated in lush watercolor, Monsters You Should Know is a perfect primer for the many strange, frightening, and compelling things that go bump in the night.
112 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 247 reviews
August 27, 2018
Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.
For a book that focuses on monsters, this really is one of the most adorable books I have ever read!
SanCartier uses text and gorgeously rendered illustrations to expose some of the world's most obscure monsters, which come from diverse backgrounds and with a whole host of differing abilities. I appreciated how many continents were covered and how few monsters I was previously familiar with.
Despite the simplicity of the prose, making this a suitable read for any age, the artistry was anything but! Each page was a riot of vivid watercolour and intricate detail, which provided each monster with their own unique character and made any additional text unnecessary.
I adored the wit used in explaining each monster's unique gift. Such simple sentences were used but the layout of the book was utilised to deliver ultimate comedic timing and, combined with the artwork, cleverly revealed the nuanced monsters it was exposing.
For a book that focuses on monsters, this really is one of the most adorable books I have ever read!
SanCartier uses text and gorgeously rendered illustrations to expose some of the world's most obscure monsters, which come from diverse backgrounds and with a whole host of differing abilities. I appreciated how many continents were covered and how few monsters I was previously familiar with.
Despite the simplicity of the prose, making this a suitable read for any age, the artistry was anything but! Each page was a riot of vivid watercolour and intricate detail, which provided each monster with their own unique character and made any additional text unnecessary.
I adored the wit used in explaining each monster's unique gift. Such simple sentences were used but the layout of the book was utilised to deliver ultimate comedic timing and, combined with the artwork, cleverly revealed the nuanced monsters it was exposing.
June 3, 2020
Tierno y macabro bestiario. Muy breve, pero me gustó.
February 9, 2022
Okay, can I just say something scream it
THIS WAS TOO SHORT FOR THE AMOUNT OF CUTENESS IT HAD. I NEED MORE. GIMMEE MOREEEEEEE.
Booksy:
A beast that lives within abandoned pages of a novel nobody cares to read because it has a lot of stabbing and entrails and yeah-
She’s harmless.
Until you don’t publish a full version of a book she adores.
THIS WAS TOO SHORT FOR THE AMOUNT OF CUTENESS IT HAD. I NEED MORE. GIMMEE MOREEEEEEE.
Booksy:
A beast that lives within abandoned pages of a novel nobody cares to read because it has a lot of stabbing and entrails and yeah-
She’s harmless.
Until you don’t publish a full version of a book she adores.
January 16, 2022
How come I just found about the existence of this horrible adorable monster encyclopedia just now?!
April 16, 2022
Again the same problem: Why are these books so short?!
I want and I need more! 4 stars because it is this short, but honestly: this book is sooo adorable! Cute monsters that are actually viscious :D.
Totally recommend!
I want and I need more! 4 stars because it is this short, but honestly: this book is sooo adorable! Cute monsters that are actually viscious :D.
Totally recommend!
December 5, 2023
This is the picture book that my future children will read.
My fav monsters are Sigbin- the vampire dog and also Squonk because I also like to cry and hide from people's judgmental gazes.
My fav monsters are Sigbin- the vampire dog and also Squonk because I also like to cry and hide from people's judgmental gazes.
January 1, 2022
A cute illustrated encyclopedia of mythical creatures from all around the world drawn in Tim Burton's subtly gothic style. Most of the illustrations are nice while others are a bit basic. I think the book could've done a better job explaining what exactly the creatures are, their origins and what they do, but I did enjoy the quippy jokes that accompanied the drawings and I think they'll appeal more to people who are already familiar with them.
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November 6, 2021What an adorable monster encyclopaedia!
August 10, 2022
coolish art I guess but this book is so lame you can finish it in literally two minutes
June 1, 2022
Really cute and fun. I would give it to bigger kids who wouldn’t get scared by the illustrations.
May 18, 2022
A work of ART. This book is adorable but still shows the creepiness and uncanny side of folklore and myth. The illustrations are stunning and I can’t recommend this enough!
December 30, 2021
I love studying mythoi, especially when it comes to the monsters and so this was a book that definitely piqued my interest. What would be the need-to-know monsters? Would they be the classics that everyone knows or would there be some new faces that I haven't heard about? So many choices and so many ways this book could choke but fortunately it didn't.
First of all the book does a great job in introducing the reader to the concept of these monsters and where they come from. It acknowledges that some may be quite familiar depending upon one's cultures thus setting up the fact that we, the readers, will most definitely know a few of these faces tucked within the pages.
At the same time with the first entry, Emma SanCartier does a great job in setting up a format that will stay pretty much solid with her first creature the Baku. The creature is introduced with its name in capital letters, a nod to its land of origin and then presented with anywhere from a four-to six-page entry that is really just a small blurb describing why the creature is such a monster.
What really captured my attention with this was the fact that the author did go out of her way to present such an array of various creatures. Just as a warning, though, not all of them are true monsters in the sense of the predatory although the majority do lean that way. What I do want to give props for, though, is the fact that she actually chooses the right shape for the Cockatrice, which to me shows her knowledge, and also ends up favoring lesser known cultural monsters like the Korean Gumiho in the place of much better known creatures such as the much similar Japanese Kitsune.
The book does lack in its presentation of these creatures so it is basically an introductory guide to children or older readers who may be interested to start learning about the beasts. As a result the Gulon is shown as being overstuffed when normally it has squeezed the food out of of its stomach and the Squonk has cried itself into a puddle of tears.
As for the illustrations this is really where I am on the fence since its really cute monster characters. To keep with the dark nature of the story the majority of the book is presented in a gray-scale palette with splashes of color being used to emphasis its macabre nature although in a delicate way to not really be nightmarish to young readers (the one exception seems to be the Gulon but its meal is already mostly dead and gone). At other times there is no showing of the act but just a strong suggestion about what is being done to the victim shown earlier.
And you have to love how the story comes back around!!!
All in all it is rather a pretty decent starter book to the subject if you have a child or a reader who is into such a subject. As such I would recommend it for starter purposes but if a reader is really interested in the material itself they'll just need to continue looking to see just how much monsters these creatures really are.
First of all the book does a great job in introducing the reader to the concept of these monsters and where they come from. It acknowledges that some may be quite familiar depending upon one's cultures thus setting up the fact that we, the readers, will most definitely know a few of these faces tucked within the pages.
At the same time with the first entry, Emma SanCartier does a great job in setting up a format that will stay pretty much solid with her first creature the Baku. The creature is introduced with its name in capital letters, a nod to its land of origin and then presented with anywhere from a four-to six-page entry that is really just a small blurb describing why the creature is such a monster.
What really captured my attention with this was the fact that the author did go out of her way to present such an array of various creatures. Just as a warning, though, not all of them are true monsters in the sense of the predatory although the majority do lean that way. What I do want to give props for, though, is the fact that she actually chooses the right shape for the Cockatrice, which to me shows her knowledge, and also ends up favoring lesser known cultural monsters like the Korean Gumiho in the place of much better known creatures such as the much similar Japanese Kitsune.
The book does lack in its presentation of these creatures so it is basically an introductory guide to children or older readers who may be interested to start learning about the beasts. As a result the Gulon is shown as being overstuffed when normally it has squeezed the food out of of its stomach and the Squonk has cried itself into a puddle of tears.
As for the illustrations this is really where I am on the fence since its really cute monster characters. To keep with the dark nature of the story the majority of the book is presented in a gray-scale palette with splashes of color being used to emphasis its macabre nature although in a delicate way to not really be nightmarish to young readers (the one exception seems to be the Gulon but its meal is already mostly dead and gone). At other times there is no showing of the act but just a strong suggestion about what is being done to the victim shown earlier.
And you have to love how the story comes back around!!!
All in all it is rather a pretty decent starter book to the subject if you have a child or a reader who is into such a subject. As such I would recommend it for starter purposes but if a reader is really interested in the material itself they'll just need to continue looking to see just how much monsters these creatures really are.
December 30, 2020
Monsters You Should Know is an utterly adorable book.
It's a small collection of the lesser known creatures of folklore. Sure, there are some sea serpents and unicorns - but likely not the variations upon the theme that you've heard of before. There are some refreshingly different little critters. The two most basic monsters contained between these coves was a a cockatrice, and even that one tends to be a little bit unusual among certain circles. The most delightful creature (apart from the hilarious Fearsome Critter the Squonk) was the Eloko if only because it was drawn to look like a hedgehog.
This was a really fun book to flip through, and one I would definitely consider getting one of my friend's kiddos at some point in the future. It isn't scary as much as it is fun and entertaining, something to ignite the imagination full of drawings that I would've pored over for days as a kid. I loved the folklore, loved the art, and loved the way there is a little bit of a narrative that connects the first and final entry. It's a delightful little book. I really need to check out this publisher more often.
It's a small collection of the lesser known creatures of folklore. Sure, there are some sea serpents and unicorns - but likely not the variations upon the theme that you've heard of before. There are some refreshingly different little critters. The two most basic monsters contained between these coves was a a cockatrice, and even that one tends to be a little bit unusual among certain circles. The most delightful creature (apart from the hilarious Fearsome Critter the Squonk) was the Eloko if only because it was drawn to look like a hedgehog.
This was a really fun book to flip through, and one I would definitely consider getting one of my friend's kiddos at some point in the future. It isn't scary as much as it is fun and entertaining, something to ignite the imagination full of drawings that I would've pored over for days as a kid. I loved the folklore, loved the art, and loved the way there is a little bit of a narrative that connects the first and final entry. It's a delightful little book. I really need to check out this publisher more often.
September 24, 2018
I don't think I could love this book more. Unless it was longer. I could absolutely go for much much more of this delightful content. Beautifully illustrated with charming creature design paired with creepy and amusing folklore facts. These are, indeed, monsters you should know.
April 26, 2020
Read on Scribd. I love all the adorable illustrations.
June 21, 2021
i loved the art in this one but i definitely expected more from this that's why i'm only giving it three stars. but i did really like this regardless.
August 2, 2021
this is such a morbidly cute group of creatures
April 15, 2022
Zajímavá kresba, minimum textu. Ukázka různých příšerek z různých koutů světa.
July 27, 2022
Adorable little book. Would love to have it in physical format if I could, so charming a read.
I'd have LOVED this as a child, so here's to hoping it shapes many little horror lovers' reading path :)
I'd have LOVED this as a child, so here's to hoping it shapes many little horror lovers' reading path :)
April 14, 2023
This is a charming book, filled with such imaginative and amazing illustrations. I love her style! An easy read, but what’s more important is that it’s a feast for the eyes. The monsters all look kinda cute!
October 31, 2024
All I’m going to say is that I identify with the Squonk monster. I am it. It is me.
November 1, 2022
Wonderful illustrations, making the monsters a bit friendlier than they are, but so interesting and witty. I would like to see more.
December 22, 2021
A glorious mix of both fun and darkness. Discover some of the strange beasts of myth and folklore with sparse but sometimes complex vocabulary and joyful illustrations. Warning - It's probably not the sort of book to read to children just before bedtime (unless they enjoy that genre).
September 28, 2018
This was a lot of fun. I give the artwork a 5* and the text a mid-3*, so it averages to a 4*. I liked that the monsters were from different cultures, although the timing with the writing felt hit-and-miss. Overall, though, fun and worth reading!
February 5, 2019
SO CUTE!!! I love that this has creatures I'm not familiar with and ones I've known about for ages. The illustrations are absolutely adorable and the book itself looks and feels great. I'm definitely buying a copy.
September 19, 2020
Cute read!! Also very quick read as this is more of an childrens book with pictures and very little writing.
Very cute artwork, interesting content, had a good time reading it!
Perfect for spooky season!! 😊😊
Very cute artwork, interesting content, had a good time reading it!
Perfect for spooky season!! 😊😊
November 6, 2019
The most adorable monster book ever! ❤️
April 20, 2020
very talented artist. wished it was slightly longer though.
January 22, 2021
Such an adorable book of monsters! The water color illustrations are beautiful, and the cuteness of the monsters just adds to the delight!
February 7, 2021
My goodness, these were the most adorable monsters!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 247 reviews