Miss Turie's Magic Creatures

by Joy Keller, Richard Watson (Illustrations)

Dragons, Chimeras, and Hydras, oh my! Come explore Miss Turie's Magic Creatures, the most exotic pet store you've ever seen! Miss Turie guarantees to "have the pet that's right for you," but can she find a match for her toughest customer yet? Told in an upbeat, fast-paced rhyme, children will laugh as they learn about mythical creatures and contemplate what they might be like as a household pet. Following the story is a catalog of each featured creature with a more detailed history.

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Childrens, Humor, Animals, Fiction, Magic

40 pages, Hardcover

Published September 4, 2018

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Turie has any creature you can imagine or want and she can make a match - pet to owner. She always finds the perfect match. We see unicorns and bigfoots, griffons and dragons. Anything from Greek mythology will show up in these pages.

This is a cute story and the artwork is packed with action and lots of bright colors. Our protagonist is a POC which is refreshing. The boy doesn’t want some hydra or other scary creature. We go from room to room not finding what the boy wants (why he didn’t want a unicorn is beyond me or a Phoenix - even if it did set his hair on fire).

The nephew loves the monsters in this book. He has really gotten into a monster phase. He has watched the original movie of Ghostbusters and he loves it. Normally, he won’t watch anything but cartoons. He gave this book 5 stars. The niece liked the unicorn in this book. She wasn’t as into this book and she gave it 3 stars.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, frolicking, rhyming romp through Miss Turie’s very special pet shop with the owner trying in vain to match her young customer to his perfect pet. Cheerful cartoon drawings by Richard Watson will draw in readers from age 3 and up. Backmatter extends the learning on the fantastic beings illustrated in this book that belongs on the shelves of any elementary library whether at home or at school. Thanks for the dARC, Edelweiss.

[Tegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute! I loved the end. :)

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy seeks a new pet and comes to Miss Turie's. She shows him all sorts of mythological creatures. He rejects them all until he sees a cat on the couch. She tries to discourage him but he picks it anyway. The end of the book offers a surprise look at the cat's special abilities.
Delightful illustrations.
Mythological creature definitions at the end.

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

Beautiful, gorgeous, amazing book! I absolutely loved this one. I really wish it was a series of some sort.

First of all, the illustrations are just stupendous. Loved the colors and details. I really enjoy the idea of imagining various magical creatures as pets (the snuggly hydra was my favorite).

It was also a really interesting way to learn about mythical creatures. Various creatures are shown in the illustrations, from unicorns and dragons to golems and hippocampi. There is also a section at the end that goes into more detail about each creature including place of origin and various traits as well as speculation on where the idea came from in the natural world.

Just a lovely book overall.

I also enjoyed the story, going through the shop, looking at all of the creatures and trying to find the perfect match. Wonderful ending to such a magical book. The rhyming was also a fun touch.

I really, really enjoyed this book. Read with a little girl at work and she loved all of the fun illustrations.

[Stephanie P (Because My Mother Read) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher to review.

My 5 year old son loved it and said he would rate it 6 out of 5 stars (even after I explained multiple times that 5 was the highest it could be). I'd probably rate it 4 stars, so I'll average it out with a 5 :).

The upbeat rhythm made it a really fun read aloud. The plot is silly and entertaining with bright, engaging illustrations to match. My son has had exposure to more mythical creatures recently so he loved pointing them all out and then learning more about each creature from the historical information included in the back of the book.

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Concept is "cute". Art is "cute", "Miss Turie" looks kind of like Miss Frizzle's little sister.
Text? Poor rhyming is not, is not, is NOT "cute."

Try the marvelous Miss Hazeltine's Home for Shy and Fearful Cats, which is much, MUCH better. And reviewers, please get a goddamn thesaurus (it's a book, not a dinosaur) and find some words other than "cute" to describe every picture book you read!

[Amber Hendrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun book to read! I enjoyed the rollicking back and forth between Miss Turie and her young customer as they tried to find the perfect pet. I also loved the back matter where the author shares more information on each mythical animal. This book will be a great addition to any shelf!

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun, rhyming story of a boy searching for a pet to adopt, featuring mythical creatures and ending in an amusing twist!

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book about a pet shop filled with magical creatures. I loved the surprise ending and a list of brief interesting facts about all the creatures at the back of the book!

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for kids who love mystical creatures! I had no idea what a hippocamp was. I like that there are both common and uncommon creatures included :)

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved all the different creature names and the background information at the end.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contagious fun for dog lovers, cat lovers; lovers of imaginary creatures; and children of all ages. Rhyming text spreads the joy around.

And definitely remember Miss Turie's guarantee to have the pet that's right for you.

Dragons, Chimeras, Cerberus, and a Hydra are just some of the amazing pets that you can take home with you. For instance, about that hydra:

He's really quite affectionate,
with seven times the love to spread.

He'll hug, hug, hug,
hug, hug, hug, hug.

He'll squeeze you tight
with all he's got.

FIVE STARS of merriment, thanks to author Joy Keller and artist Richard Watson.

[Katie Hutchison Irion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Turie’s Magic Creatures by Joy Keller and Richard Watson is a delightful book about magical creatures and the people who want to have them as pets. Told in rhyme, this book is all about a magical creature pet store. The place is filled with unicorns, baby dragons, Hydras, and a kraken! The creatures are mischievous and clever and they are dying for a human to call their own! The book is just a delight to read out loud and filled with bright, imaginative, colorful illustrations and a darling twist at the end. Both my son and I loved reading this book!

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Turie was a bit on the pushy side. But, also, that kid shouldn't have come into a magical creature store in the first place. They both should have guessed his limits and disinterest in magical creatures within the first two animals. I did like the glossary of creatures listed at the end with a brief description and where they originated.

[Jonii · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute book about mythological and magic creatures in which a shop owner tries to sell a little boy more pet than he can handle. It includes a glossary in the back that explains what all the creatures are, including the pet the boy ends up with.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever rhymes, fun twist at the end. I like the addition of the back matter about the mythical creatures. For me, it's too driven by the voice of the adult in the story, and that character was a little too pushy for me.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute rhyming picture book that includes additional information on the various mythological creatures included in the story. The rhymes don't always flow, so as a read aloud this story could be smoother.

[Bonnie Arriola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too wordy for a Storytime but would be fine as a parent/child read.

[Sanbornton Central School · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to second graders, followed by a coordinated coloring page from TPT.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a similar vein to If I Had a Gryphon.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story about a kid looking for a pet. He is shown all kinds of magical pets...but ends up with a cat!

[Dax · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turns out the most magical creature of all might not be what some would expect. I would love to visit this shop!!

[Patricia Gmitrovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mythical creatures and rhyming text, would make this a humorous and wild bedtime story.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the bright illustrations in “Miss Turie’s Magic Creatures.” Also, I liked the fantastical creatures that were included, but some of the rhymes didn’t quite work for me.

[Syntha Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun story of magical creatures and a child looking for a pet

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wacky, rhyming story about a woman who runs a pet shop of sorts...filled with mythological creatures. A section in the back gives a brief intro to the origin of each fantasy beast.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magic is in all creatures - even a cat...

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Súper cute story, and awesome illustrations.

[Carolyn at Bloomers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice introduction to a wide variety of mythical, magical creatures as a child is looking for the pet that suits him best.