Mythical Creatures

by Lauren Bucca

A palm-sized compendium of fanciful beasts in art, from around the world and throughout history This miniature bestiary contains some 200 illustrations of more than 160 mythical fire-breathing dragons, mysterious mermaids, sinuous sea serpents, mischievous yokai, and many other wondrous creatures drawn from global folklore and mythology. They are depicted in a wide variety of artistic media, from painting and book illustration to sculpture and ceramics, from ancient times to the present. An insightful text explores the history of these creatures and their cultural roles. All lovers of myth and fantasy will delight in this Tiny Folio. 250 full-color illustrations

Genres: Mythology, Art, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

Published July 4, 2023

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a little disappointed because I expected to learn about the histories of mythical creatures, but there were a few profiles on mythical creatures and just art on most of the creatures mentioned. I rated it 3 because even though I was looking for more info, there was a lot of neat historic art.

As always, I'm looking to see what representation there is in books that purport to be worldwide. There is a heavy European skew to the creatures. I've broken the book's creatures down by region. The creatures with profiles are also included in the total number I've put the Abrahamic religions under "Middle East." I also split Africa into "Saharan" and "Sub-Saharan," although the "Saharan" category only features Egyptian creatures. Europe includes many European traditions but is dominated by Greek and Roman creatures.

No creatures from South American traditions were mentioned at all, and I have figured Aztec creatures in with the North American American Indian and First Nations ones. Some creatures (e.g., mermaids) were classified as "worldwide," per the book.

Total:
North America 3%
South America 0%
Europe 49%
East Asia 16%
South Asia 8%
Middle East 10%
Saharan Africa 3%
Sub-Saharan Africa only 1 creature (less than 1%)
Oceania 1%
Global 8%

Profiles:
North America 1%
Europe 45%
East Asia 26%
South Asia 7%
Middle East 10%
Saharan Africa 5%
Sub-Saharan Africa 2% (the one from above)
Oceania 2%
Global 0%

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Attractive little book with illustrations of a lot of (as promised) mythical creatures and sparse text offering little more than a short caption for each one. It does seem like the pitch to the publisher was very much a promise to get a book out with public domain images, but it's a fun browse anyway.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely lil book jam packed with creatures from all across the globe. Some were very well known to me but some were brand new. But they were all gorgeously illustrated in various techniques from across the ages. Fun!

[LudmilaM · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful pocket guide to mythical creatures with basic description, aimed mostly at artistic design.