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84 reviews for:
Mythopedia: An Encyclopedia of Mythical Beasts and Their Magical Tales
Good Wives and Warriors
4.46 AVERAGE
84 reviews for:
Mythopedia: An Encyclopedia of Mythical Beasts and Their Magical Tales
Good Wives and Warriors
4.46 AVERAGE
I got a copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc. I saw this cover and I immediately knew I had to request it since I've always been obsessed with mythology and legends from around the world, it was a must to request. And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. One thing I absolutely loved about this collections of mythical stories was the illustrations throughout the book, as well as, the different sections which were divided by continents. I think there was a pretty good mixture of different mythical beasts even though I wouldn't mind having a second part because I definitely think that more stories could be tackled. Overall, really good book with stunning illustrations.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc. I saw this cover and I immediately knew I had to request it since I've always been obsessed with mythology and legends from around the world, it was a must to request. And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. One thing I absolutely loved about this collections of mythical stories was the illustrations throughout the book, as well as, the different sections which were divided by continents. I think there was a pretty good mixture of different mythical beasts even though I wouldn't mind having a second part because I definitely think that more stories could be tackled. Overall, really good book with stunning illustrations.
Beautifully illustrated and informative of mythical beasts some I was familiar with and some I wasn’t.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
informative
relaxing
This book is perfect for any child or adult interested in mythology or mythological creatures.
The book features mythical beasts from a wide range of cultures and from all across the world. Some of these were completely new to me; many others I had heard of but knew little about. While every creature gets at least a two-page spread with some key information, some of them also get an extra couple of pages with a short story about them.
The book is lavishly illustrated, which is probably its greatest strength. The illustrations are large, colourful and detailed, making it a real pleasure to flip through the pages.
The book features mythical beasts from a wide range of cultures and from all across the world. Some of these were completely new to me; many others I had heard of but knew little about. While every creature gets at least a two-page spread with some key information, some of them also get an extra couple of pages with a short story about them.
The book is lavishly illustrated, which is probably its greatest strength. The illustrations are large, colourful and detailed, making it a real pleasure to flip through the pages.
‘’The Elves explained that this chain, called Gleipnir, was made from six ingredients:
The sound of a cat’s footsteps
The roots of a mountain
The beard of a woman
The sinews of a bear
The breath of a fish
The spittle of a bird.’’
Isn’t it wonderful how we see images in our minds? How we form them and give them shape and voice? From the face on the moon to the shapes in the clouds, and all those strange creatures, the offspring of our imagination (or are they…?) that have shaped our fears and warn us to be cautious, to respect what we cannot understand.
Which we don’t but that is a discussion for another time.
Creatures known and obscure from America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. From Pegasus to Chimera, from Medusa to Fenrir, from Quetzalcoatl to Encantado and Zilant, from Ratatoskr to Anansi, from the Yeti to Anubis and Bastet, from Shenlong to Barong and Tanuki, travel around the world guided by a rather formidable company.
Amazing artwork, brilliantly written.
Many thanks to Laurence King Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
The sound of a cat’s footsteps
The roots of a mountain
The beard of a woman
The sinews of a bear
The breath of a fish
The spittle of a bird.’’
Isn’t it wonderful how we see images in our minds? How we form them and give them shape and voice? From the face on the moon to the shapes in the clouds, and all those strange creatures, the offspring of our imagination (or are they…?) that have shaped our fears and warn us to be cautious, to respect what we cannot understand.
Which we don’t but that is a discussion for another time.
Creatures known and obscure from America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. From Pegasus to Chimera, from Medusa to Fenrir, from Quetzalcoatl to Encantado and Zilant, from Ratatoskr to Anansi, from the Yeti to Anubis and Bastet, from Shenlong to Barong and Tanuki, travel around the world guided by a rather formidable company.
Amazing artwork, brilliantly written.
Many thanks to Laurence King Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
Myths always contain weird, beautiful, magical creatures and this book compiles a list that is by no means exhaustive but fun to read.
All beings are sorted by the continent on which their tales are told. Of course, I knew all the European monsters, especially as the focus is on Greek/Roman and Norse stuff. I have to nitpick at the names that were chosen. We have pegasus but Heracles which makes no sense at all. I'm nitpicky, I know.
Apart from that, I learned a lot. Even when I heard about a creature, like the thunderbird, I learned a specific tale about this entity. Especially the South American beings were fun, like the pink were dolphin who comes out when there's a party going on at full moon in the neighborhood.
The illustrations look like coloured pencil and watercolour to me, are very detailed and fit nicely to the text. All in all, this book does what it set out to do very nicely and if you want to look at pretty pictures and learn more about mythical creatures, this one is for you.
I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
All beings are sorted by the continent on which their tales are told. Of course, I knew all the European monsters, especially as the focus is on Greek/Roman and Norse stuff. I have to nitpick at the names that were chosen. We have pegasus but Heracles which makes no sense at all. I'm nitpicky, I know.
Apart from that, I learned a lot. Even when I heard about a creature, like the thunderbird, I learned a specific tale about this entity. Especially the South American beings were fun, like the pink were dolphin who comes out when there's a party going on at full moon in the neighborhood.
The illustrations look like coloured pencil and watercolour to me, are very detailed and fit nicely to the text. All in all, this book does what it set out to do very nicely and if you want to look at pretty pictures and learn more about mythical creatures, this one is for you.
I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
First of all, this book was absolutely stunning! The artwork was divine and it's in large part thanks to the beautiful illustrations that I loved this book of mythological legends from around the world. The mythical beasts were all gorgeously illustrated with lots of bright colors, and I think I learned a lot of new things by reading this. It's perfect for children and teenagers interested in mythology, but it's satisfying to read as an adult as well - again, it was stunning.
I think it could have benefitted from a pronunciation guide, as I imagine some parents would read this aloud to their children, and this is probably my Nordic bias speaking, but I would have liked another two-page spread from Nordic mythology, which was rather underrepresented. Only Fenrir's myth was elaborated on, while Greek and Egyptian mythology each had two two-page spreads. But that's a minor thing, and overall I just really enjoyed this. Again, SO BEAUTIFUL.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I think it could have benefitted from a pronunciation guide, as I imagine some parents would read this aloud to their children, and this is probably my Nordic bias speaking, but I would have liked another two-page spread from Nordic mythology, which was rather underrepresented. Only Fenrir's myth was elaborated on, while Greek and Egyptian mythology each had two two-page spreads. But that's a minor thing, and overall I just really enjoyed this. Again, SO BEAUTIFUL.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my thoughts.
This book is stunning. Let’s just get that out there straight off the bat. This book is gorgeous. From the cover you can see the care and artistry that went into creating Mythopedia, and that continues throughout the rest of the book, too. Each page is richly designed and illustrated, with each mythological creature getting a full colour, fully illustrated two page spread - often in a style pertaining to the creature's culture and country of origin. I can only imagine just how incredible it will look as a physical copy, but let me tell you that the digital version did not disappoint.
The stories and creatures, too, didn’t let me down. There are countless creatures in here that I previously didn’t know about and it’s only made me want to expand my mythological reading. I really liked how the ‘basic’ creatures weren’t covered in this and the spotlight was given to Aztec, Native American, Aboriginal creatures that you don’t often find in mainstream media. I for one learnt a lot from reading this book. Certain creatures also have a little story accompanying the basic facts and pictures about them, furthering my interest in cultures I’ve yet to explore and setting a nice basis for future research.
I wish there was more to this book - I would happily sit with a 400 page version of this, pouring over all the mythical, wondrous creatures from across the globe - but for an introduction to mythology I really cannot complain. There’s honestly nothing about this I can fault, as it’s so beautiful and informative. Definitely a must read for myth nerds of all ages.
This book is stunning. Let’s just get that out there straight off the bat. This book is gorgeous. From the cover you can see the care and artistry that went into creating Mythopedia, and that continues throughout the rest of the book, too. Each page is richly designed and illustrated, with each mythological creature getting a full colour, fully illustrated two page spread - often in a style pertaining to the creature's culture and country of origin. I can only imagine just how incredible it will look as a physical copy, but let me tell you that the digital version did not disappoint.
The stories and creatures, too, didn’t let me down. There are countless creatures in here that I previously didn’t know about and it’s only made me want to expand my mythological reading. I really liked how the ‘basic’ creatures weren’t covered in this and the spotlight was given to Aztec, Native American, Aboriginal creatures that you don’t often find in mainstream media. I for one learnt a lot from reading this book. Certain creatures also have a little story accompanying the basic facts and pictures about them, furthering my interest in cultures I’ve yet to explore and setting a nice basis for future research.
I wish there was more to this book - I would happily sit with a 400 page version of this, pouring over all the mythical, wondrous creatures from across the globe - but for an introduction to mythology I really cannot complain. There’s honestly nothing about this I can fault, as it’s so beautiful and informative. Definitely a must read for myth nerds of all ages.
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This in no way influences my opinion of the book.
This really blew me away, even as someone with a background in studying mythology from around the world! The illustrations were absolutely stunning and almost distracted me from the from the writing itself, which was also very eloquent. The colours are so strong and vibrant, and the pages are full with images that jump out at the reader. It gave such a lovely reading experience!
I love how this went all around the world, giving fuller spreads to more well-known mythology creatures with deeper origin stories. I have to admit, there were some in the book that I hadn't heard of before, and I loved how diverse it was!
Although I can appreciate this because of my background, I know that beginners to mythological would find this very accessible and informative as well. I think that this would definitely be something magical to read with children too, or just to have in your own personal collection!
This really blew me away, even as someone with a background in studying mythology from around the world! The illustrations were absolutely stunning and almost distracted me from the from the writing itself, which was also very eloquent. The colours are so strong and vibrant, and the pages are full with images that jump out at the reader. It gave such a lovely reading experience!
I love how this went all around the world, giving fuller spreads to more well-known mythology creatures with deeper origin stories. I have to admit, there were some in the book that I hadn't heard of before, and I loved how diverse it was!
Although I can appreciate this because of my background, I know that beginners to mythological would find this very accessible and informative as well. I think that this would definitely be something magical to read with children too, or just to have in your own personal collection!