SOLVED. Non-fiction, Children/ YA Fantasy book about mythical creatures and magical beings. Set-up like an encyclopedia. Read around 2000. [s]

[Ditte]

Topic was information about a lot of different mythical creatures and magical beings:
Centaurs, dragons, witches, wizards, baba yaga, pegasus etc
(I'm not sure if magical creatures was one book and magical beings was another).

I read it around 2000. It was in Danish, but has been translated so it could have been published quite some years before that.

The set-up was like an encyclopedia, kind of like D&D monster manual (5th edition) and the artstyle was kind of the same: realistic and with lots of details.
So an illustration of the being and some information about it as well.

[Capn]

Have you looked through the Bestiary book lists already? :)

https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag?ut...

[Juels]

As this is about mythical creatures should it be fiction (fantasy, made-up) instead of non-fiction (reality, truth)? Or does the author consider the mythical creatures to be real hence the non-fiction classification?

[Capn]

Juels wrote: "As this is about mythical creatures should it be fiction (fantasy, made-up) instead of non-fiction (reality, truth)? Or does the author consider the mythical creatures to be real hence the non-fict..."

Perhaps the OP meant 'reference' rather than 'non-fiction', as they also stated 'fantasy'. This isn't as straight-forward a translation/designation as you might expect in many languages. ;)

[Ditte]

@Capn I didn't even know that there were lists like that, thanks! I'll look through and update whether I've found the book or not.

@Juels It probably should be fiction, but I just remember the book being written as though the creatures should be real :)

[Capn]

Hi again, Ditte!

So I shoved "Bestiarium", 1995-2005, Dansk into WorldCat, and it spat out:

Dunganons Bestiarium
Authors:Karl Kerúlf Einarsson Dunganon, Aðalsteinn Ingólfsson, Nordatlantens Brygge
Print Book, Danish, 2009
Publisher: Nordatlantens Brygge, [Kbh.], 2009

Sowa's ark : et fortryllet bestiarium
Author:Michael Sowa
Print Book, Danish, 1999
Publisher: Hovedland, Højbjerg, 1999
Sowa's Ark: An Enchanted Bestiary - widely translated!
On OpenLibary: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL32430...
EDIT: It doesn't have Pegasus or Baba Yaga, more flying pigs, a woman walking a moth on a leash, flying penguins, a rabbit riding a bike, mini miniature pigs, giant snails... super weird, a visual feast! ;) Worth taking a look if only for the menacing hedgerow harvester of a giant rabbit giving the stink-eye to a fleeing girl and her dad. XD

Et bestiarium over Tolkien
Author:David Day
Print Book, Danish, 1991
Publisher: Gyldendals Bogklubber, Kbh., 1991
/
Bestiarium : et opslagsværk til Tolkiens univers
Author:David Day
Print Book, Danish, 2002
Edition: 2. udgave (Fotografisk optryk), 2. oplag
Publisher: Gyldendal, [Kbh.], 2002
A Tolkien Bestiary - many editions. but wouldn't have Baba Yaga!

https://search.worldcat.org/search?oc...

You could see if the Royal Danish Library has more info, as well:
https://www.kb.dk/find-materiale

Let us know if any of these seem to be the one you recall! :)

[Michelle]

Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were?

[Capn]

Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were: Creatures, Places, and People for Michelle's link
(Neat!!!)

[Ditte]

@Michelle Wow, it really looks like the book I remember! I'll try and find it in the library and write again if it is the book :)

[Kris]

These copies of Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were: Creatures, Places, and People (also called: "The Time-Life Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were") by Michael F. Page (Michelle's suggestion) on eBay show some inside illustrations (the left navigation bar lets you scroll down through all the photos):

- https://www.ebay.com/itm/285235587208
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/166526398367
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/364631898805

[Ditte]

So it's finally solved after so many years!
I can't wait to dive into them again.
Thank you so much for your help :)

'Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were' is not the book I was looking for, however the illustrator Robert Ingpen has illustrated Magicians and Fairies and Ghouls and Monsters which were the books I tried to find.

I've borrowed the Encyclopedia-book since I seem to remember reading that as well when I was younger.
And thanks Kris for linking to pictures of the inside of the book.
It looks like this book has the same content as the two books I read when I was younger.
(edited)