Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A-Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic Hardcover – January 1, 2005

This book is really interesting. It's a full encyclopedia with decent amounts of information on more than 1,000 entries of cryptozoological creatures. Most books I've read, typically focus primarily on the Loch Ness Monster and the damn Sasquatch and that's about it. However, this book contains viable information for each of its entries. The ones that have more history behind them will have more information than some others, which offer only a short paragraph about it, but it will at least give you an "awareness" of some of the rarer creatures. So if you want more information on those, using the internet sometimes comes in handy. But you'll most likely not find much more information on them anyways as modern man does not know as much about them as the ancients did. This is by far the LARGEST and most comprehensive collection of mythical animals and creatures I have ever seen. It's THICK, too. with 643 pages of creatures, plus a bibliography and index. The print is large as well, plus there are big margins to write in notes if you like, with extra information you may have found about the beasts elsewhere (This is what I do). I only wished that it was illustrated. It does have a few drawings in there, but they are very random and not specified towards any certain creature, nor are they labled. I believe that a pronunciation guide for the names of the creatures would have been a nice feature as well as I struggle to pronounce the names as they are written, but overall, John and Caillin Matthews did a terrific job on compiling and writing this fantastic book, which has no equal or rival in my search for books like this. If I could rate it higher than 5 stars, I would. Pliny the Elder and Younger would both be very impressed with this excellent book.

This has been super helpful for finding less common mythical creatures to put in my novel. But, I will suggest BE SURE YOU BUY THE HARDBACK as the paper back does not include the index in the back, which is the most helpful part! The index allows me to look up creatures according to what animals they most resemble. So if I want a dog like creature, I look up "Dog" in the back and then sift through the pages referenced until I find a made up creature that I like. The book as a whole is like a big dictionary, everything in alphabetical order with physical descriptions, where the tales originated from, and traits of the creatures. So great for finding mythical creatures OUTSIDE of the overused European fairy tales and Greek mythology! Only wish it was easier to look up creatures by region (ex. American legends, India Mythology, etc.).

I just wanted to research dragons for a children's book.Well, I got dragons, and a slew of other creatures I never knew existed, that give me ideas for a dozen other books.I imagine this would be a hit with any child interested in mythological beasts and spark their curiosity and imagination.... maybe even take a breather from those mind numbing computer games and use their brains creatively. Who knows, you might find reading it yourself.

I love this book... Very detailed on magical and mythical creatures... I'm using it for a reference on dreams and as an encyclopedia

Looks practically brand new.

The media could not be loaded.  Very good quality. Bought for $70+. I read a review that the used book was horrible but luckily mine is perfect! I saved like $100 by not buying the only “new” one left. I really took a chance.

I was looking for a book like this! There are soooo many creatures in the book and it was so interesting to read. The explanation of each creature was in depth and not short at all. It’s oil to see how many creatures I actually already knew about from watching movies and tv shows! I have purchased other books along these lines, but I was disappointed, so if you are looking to read about mythical beasts, I would get this one! There’s so many in there (like all the mythical beasts) so the book is a little heavy haha!

I previously owned this book and hated parting with it. I had to purchase another copy. This is one of my favorite books in this style of format. Very informative and interesting, there are literally thousands of terms, characters, creatures, etc to glean from the pages. While not overly descriptive, I think the book does its job of covering the basics. I often use it as a great reference for particular creatures/beasts/characters and continue researching the subjects on the internet. This thick, heavy book may not have "everything", but it's certainly close enough.The reading style is simple, yet not childish. Youths with decent reading skills ages 12+ should find it easy to use. I recommend this book for anyone with an interest in mythology, folklore, legends, ancient religions, beliefs, etc.

all of the magical creatures one could imagine and more. Book arrived quickly and in very good shape.

Fantastic

I got this book because while in lockdown I have been reading a lot more than normal. That being said this book has been on my wishlist for ages and I finally jumped and got the book. This book is jam packed with information about all different magical creatures and is really interesting to read. If you are looking for a great book full of old folklore creatures then this is the book for you. Its really great to have in my book collection and I have really been enjoying reading them.

This encyclopedia is absolutely brilliant. I also have the encyclopedia in their series for witchcraft, and that is equally as good.As someone who enjoys reading re-tellings of fairytales, children's literature and books on mythology, THE ELEMENT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MAGICAL CREATURES has proven to be an excellent addition to my collection. Because it is such a huge book, this is one to dip into now and then, whenever you come across something you may not have heard of before. You are sure to learn a lot more than you had anticipated - there are some creatures in here that you may not class as 'magical'. For example, eels were one creautre I was surprised to see included (they are sacred to the ancient Greeks).What I love about this volume is that there is so much information, collected from many cultures and times in the world. One reviewer said they have made some mistakes regarding Nordic beliefs; as I do not know about this area, I cannot comment upon whether the authors have made mistakes or omissions. But, what I can say, is that even if there are some errors, this encyclopedia is so good that it can easily encourage people to learn more.The major gripe I have with the volume, however, is the lack of illustrations to help identify the creatures. I think that is the only way this could have been improved.As an easy, quick reference to mythical and magical creatures, this is an excellent place to start. It is informative whilst also firing your imagination and desire to find out more.

I genuinely enjoyed this book, and spent a week regailing my friends with the snippets of anthropological detail taken from its entries (for example, the ancient Chinese used to place jade cicadas in the mouths of the dead). There are plenty of them, and for anyone with an anthropological interest they are wonderful tidbits to have, as are the essays in the front of the book. Similarly there are dozens of creatures I've never heard before (and I've been heavily into mythology since I was six).But there are lots of creatures which aren't included and really should be - for example, though there's a (woefully incomplete) entry for the Fomorri of Celtic mythology, there is no mention of the Tuatha de Danaan who succeeded them. Too many entries are comprised only of stories about a paticular creature and give you no information at all, and for some reason the authors have chosen to include various gods from Hindu, Greek and Egyptian mythology (while often getting attributes, names, or genders wrong). While this might be okay if they included *all* the gods from those pantheons, they don't. Similarly mentions are made of vampires, roane, and a handful of other creatures but they don't get their own entries, and some, like the Japanese kitsune, are excluded completely.The anthopological details and the essays are worth reading, but I would reccomend borrowing this book if you can find it rather than spending money on reading it.