An introduction to cryptids, monsters, and mythos..
The art in this book is really lovely, and it introduced me to many creatures I've never heard of. I did feel like the information given was inconsistent and could have been organized better on the page. For example: each creature had "location" and "category" listed under its name but i wish it had also included information like "size" and "appearance" so those things werent just thrown randomly in the text..
I think this book would be better enjoyed in physical form as opposed to digital. I also feel like it's better to buy this book for the art and not for educational purposes.

3.5* rounded up

This was a fun introduction into the world of mythical creatures and Cryptids but I felt it sometimes lacked a bit more information. Or maybe a better layout to each page. Maybe separating the physical details from the myths/ powers. Overall loved the art and it was a fun book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Andrew McMeel Publishing for granting me access in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute jumping off point for those who enjoy cryptozoology, mythology, and folklore. Thoughtfully illustrated. The only thing I would have added would be a pronunciation guide - I was struggling. Still, lots of creatures I’ve never heard of. Would recommend to a friend. Thanks to #netgalley for my copy of this book.

A super interesting read! I've always been a fan of crypts, so I knew I had to read this when I stumbled across it on Netgalley. This book did a great job of combining information on super popular cryptids like Bigfoot and Mothman as well as cryptids I either hadn't heard of or knew very little about. The writing is super accessible, and this feels like a great guide for anyone interested in learning more about folklore and mythology from around the world. I adored the illustrations as well!

Cryptids, Creatures And Critters
is an absolutely beautiful book with incredible illustrations and wonderful stories!
Perfect conversation starters,
Ever heard of Wulver? Leshy? Miengu?
Maybe you've heard of Bigfoot? Nessie? Cat sídhe?
Wether you've heard about all of them or none at all this book offers so many more creatures for you to learn about with quick introductions easy enough to remember and reference later.
I have read through it multiple times loving it a bit more each time I'd highly recommend this title to any and all of my mythos, folklore, and monster admiring friends.
(this is an arc review, all opinions are my own and honest)

This is a beautifully illustrated book about all sorts of potential mythical creatures!

Each creature gets 2 pages, one page for the illustration, the other for the information about it.

The drawings were beautiful and I learned a lot about creatures I've never heard of!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Andrews McMeel Publishing for an advance copy of this book that works as both a field guide and a character handbook listing many of the fantastical creatures thought to be living and thriving all over the world.

When I was a young reader I was addicted to anything that dealt with Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, aliens or really anything that went bump in the night, or that people thought they saw bumping around in the night. My library had a great selection of nonfiction books for kids, and among them were books on the supernatural, the paranormal, and what has grown into cryptids. I was constantly checking them out, reading and rereading, taking little notes to myself, about what I would look for if I found one, and how I would react. My parents later gifted me with a flea market find of the Time-Life Mysteries of the Unknown, which was probably a gateway drug for many pre-X-Files. I loved those books. Magic, majick, ESP, aliens, Jersey Devils, and ghosts, all with the imprimatur of Time-Life. That was legitimate, so this stuff had to be real. Little me would have loved this book, Cryptids, Creatures & Critters: A Manual of Monsters & Mythos from Around the World by artist, writer and educator Rachel Quinney.

The book features over 90 different mysteries from all over the world. The book is divided into tree sections, cryptid, mythology and folklore, with alphabetical listings of the creatures in each section, starting of course with my favourite Bigfoot. The descriptions give locations that these have been spotted, if it is humanoid, or monster, or something else, possibly alien. All have illustrations either drawn by the author, or by guest artists, who might add their own reflections or thoughts about the creatures. There is a good mix of demons, from all over the world, Mothman, Owlman, native myths, and much more.

I enjoyed this book alot. Most of the information might not be new to most cryptid readers, but it is nice to have everything in one place. Also there were a lot of creatures I have never heard of and that was exciting. The art really helps bring the creatures to life, and while I enjoyed all the art, the ones that were done by Quinney were some of my favorites. In addition to being a fine illustrator, Quinney has a really good grasp of the subject and how to present it. A mix of these are real, with a healthy dose of skepticism, as many of these just sound like ways to get more people to come to small towns and spend money. Maybe.

Recommended for people just getting into cryptids, or for people like me who love all these books and can't get enough. Also a nice gift for people just getting into podcasting, as podcasters love cryptid tales. Also this would be a good reference for writers to get ideas, and for role players to add to adventures.

A comprehensive guide to cryptids and other things creatures that are found around the world. There’s enough information to whet the appetite and give a generalized overview of each one, which is a good starting point to doing more research on your own – I am always interested in potential sightings and these are not included in the book. However, the explanations are well written and the illustrations make are a good representation without making them overly scary. There were a few that were new to me and I enjoyed learning about them.

While most of this is information I already knew it is definitely a good starting point for those who may not have a hyperfixation on this topic and the art for each creature is amazing.

Wonderfully informative and a great place for mythology fans, writers, artists, and general readers to start with their research creatures from a global variety of mythologies. Could have been more comprehensive, but since this was a group-created Kickstarter originally, it still was quite impressive.

If you like the strange creatures that exist in mythology and legend, you'll like this book. It's both light-hearted and comprehensive, which is a tough balance to hit. It's laid out in three main sections: Cryptids, Folklore, and Mythology. The introduction includes an interesting little list that defines the classifications in the book (classifications here meaning the "physical form of the creature") as: monster, spirit, humanoid, shapeshifter, and alien. Each entry gets at least a full page, most two, with a full-color illustration and interesting facts about what the creature is said to do (especially, of course, its interactions with or impact on us humans).

On to some of my new favorites! The Tatzelwurm (an Alpine snake with clawed front legs and the head of a cat) might top the list. The Bake-Kujira (a spectral whale skeleton seen in Japan) is a close follow, along with the Buschgroßmutter (the "shrub grandmother"), the Lusca (a Bahamian chimera that is half shark and either half eel or octopus - two of my favorite animals), and the Skvader (a winged rabbit that resides in Sweden).
And let us not forget about the Tizzie-Whizie, an English cryptic with the body of a hedgehog, the wings of a dragon, the antennae of a bee or butterfly, and the tail of a squirrel. It can be coaxed and soothed with warm milk and ginger biscuits. Actually, perhaps that's my new favorite.

There are a few things that keep this from being 5 stars for me. Firstly, the art pieces (which are all wonderful individually) are done in such a wide variety of styles that it's almost disconcerting. As you flip between pages, you're first looking at images that are detailed and eerie, then suddenly cutesy and cuddly, then suddenly stylized angular. There doesn't seem to be any consideration given to which art style was paired with which creature, which could have gone a long way to offset this issue. In many places there's a huge mismatch between the illustration and the creature being illustrated. Case in point: the Zheng, which is described as "a ferocious and malevolent beast." The accompanying illustration looks like the cutest, friendliest leopard-inspired furry that you've ever seen. It's an odd choice, to put it mildly. But to be fair, many of the illustrations are perfect pairings with the creatures, like the enormous skeleton striding through a moonlit forest, depicting the Gashadokuro. A special shout-out for the illustration of the Enfield Horror that looks extremely inspired by the rat-creatures in the gorgeous Bone graphic novels (that's a big compliment, if you don't know Bone).
My second little quibble is that the descriptions don't always bother to give any information on time periods, i.e. when legends began of the specific creature. I know it's not easy to nail this sort of thing down, but even a general statement like "sometime in the Edo period" or "during the Middle Ages" would have been nice, as some kind of reference point. For the cryptids, there's often not even a mention of where or how the creatures have entered into folklore. More details, please! Is this a common legend? Has it been around forever? Is it very new? Is it extremely area-specific??
But as I said, these are small quibbles. Overall this is a wonderful book and will be a great addition to the collection of anyone who enjoys these sorts of creatures.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review.

I. LOVE. This book!

I tend to love all things cryptid anyway so that part is easy. But this book is fantastic. It’s set up like a great little dictionary of creatures, some you have heard of and some that may be new to you. It seriously covers a great range. Each section is accompanied by fantastic art of the creature.

The book split into 3 sections. It starts with the cryptid section, which has info on the cryptid, from where it is located, to variations in look, to stories about the cryptid. Part 2 is folklore, which tells you all sorts of variations on each creature it presents to you. Part 3 is mythology and delves into fascinating mythological creatures from around the world.

All of the art with each of these creatures is absolutely beautiful. A moment for the artist/artists (as I understand it, the author drew most of them, though there are also some guest artists) each and every one is great, from the small ones hanging out on the bottom of a page to the large full page pieces!

I seriously love this book so much I have now ordered it, I want a permanent hard copy in my library (I read it digitally on an advance from netgalley).

I am obsessed! This book is amazing. Not only are the illustrations absolutely stunning but the information packed into every page was so much fun. I learned so many new things about creatures that I didn't even know about. This is a book that I cannot wait to have on my coffee table to read over and over again!!

Wow I am literally so obsessed with this! I would love this book as a coffee table read. I saw all my faves and learned about so many more things from around the world. It was all very interesting.

The artwork is so fantastic I could not look away from some of the images.

OH BOY was this book for me!!!! From the incredible and sometimes so cute illustrations, to the fact that the author started by clarifying their terms, and getting to learn about some thing I had never heard of, THIS BOOK IS IT. I love a fun fact book, especially when one is done so well.

The art was absolutely gorgeous. Some of the entries on different creatures were a little unbalanced. It was only noticeable going from entries that were half a page or a paragraph to entries that were a couple pages. Obviously the lore for some has developed more than others. Overall, it's pretty comprehensive as far as geography/culture.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 Yes, our family’s greatest adventure last year was a day trip to Sutton, West Virginia for the Bigfoot Museum and to visit the site of 1952 Flatwoods Monster sighting (and their amazing museum as well). Whether you are a seasoned reader of Cryptids, or a novice, this book is for you!!!! The illustrations are fabulous and the information is great. I absolutely loved reading about some favorite cryptids and learning about new ones. I would 💯 put this book out on my coffee table to enjoy over and over again!

Review is on Goodreads and will be posted on Instagram soon!