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A Practical Guide to Monsters    by Nina Hess Amazon.com order for
Practical Guide to Monsters
by Nina Hess
Order:  USA  Can
Mirrorstone, 2007 (2007)
Hardcover
* *   Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto

A Practical Guide to Monsters is a fun book for kids who ever wish to fight or evade mythical beasts. It's set up like a textbook (complete with notes in the margins) for apprentice wizards.

Each monster is depicted with a chart of vital stats and a few paragraphs of description – everything a monster hunter would need to help them on their quests. The full-color illustrations give a good idea of what the actual monster looks like, and the variety of fonts used help create the feel of a real book in the fantasy realm.

I am not sure where all these monsters have come from as I have not heard of over half of them, so cannot say if these facts are actually correct. I do know that the two creatures based on Greek mythology did not quite match up with their originals - something that kids interested in Greek mythology will pick up on, but other might not. However, the other creatures that I knew something about did seem to be accurate.

Whether the facts are totally true or not, A Practical Guide to Monsters is a fun read for any kid interested in the topic. There is even a quiz at the end to see how well the apprentice was paying attention, just like in a real textbook.

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