Gr 4-7-Most kids love monsters, and Halls, Spears, and Young obviously had a grand time pulling up creepy critters to feed readers' fertile imaginations. From old big leaguers like Bigfoot and his kin, and Nessie and her ilk, they pop down to the minors with Mokele-mbembe and Olitu, and on into the bush leagues with the Bunyip and the Caddy. To spice up the roster, the authors provide "found" information on former cryptids such as the coelacanth and the Chacoan peccary, and data on pure hoaxes like the Piltdown Man and the Cardiff Giant. Pure scientists will bridle at cryptozoology passing itself off as anything but a pseudoscience, but readers will scramble to find data on such eerie apparitions as the Chupacabra and the Mongolian Death Worm. The conversational text makes for fun reading, and a plethora of pictures (photos and drawings in both color and black and white) will prove enticing. A cryptidictionary provides a full roster of "mysterious creatures that may or may not exist" in tidy alphabetical order, complete with a "reality index" rating for each one. For a personal reality check after all this engaging hoopla, try Sally M. Walker's super Fossil Fish Found Alive (Carolrhoda, 2002), Richard Ellis's readable The Search for the Giant Squid (Lyons, 1998), and Kathy Darling's exciting Komodo Dragon on Location (Lothrop, 1997), or, for a truly icky experience, Christopher Maynard's Micromonsters (DK, 1999), which deals with human parasites (not for the squeamish!).-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

So do they exist, or don't they? Written for readers willing to keep open minds, this populous gallery of rare creatures, locally prominent monsters and possible survivors from prehistory fills readers in on the evidence for Bigfoot, Nessie, Champ and the lesser-known likes of the giant anaconda, the flying Kongamato (evocatively translated as "overwhelmer of boats") and the blood-sucking Chupacabra. It also introduces such confirmed discoveries as the giant squid, the coelacanth and the Chacoan peccary. Interspersing interviews with scientists and even special effects artists, the authors cover sightings worldwide and down through history, present an array of speculative explanations, sum up with a large "Cryptidictionary" that includes exposed hoaxes, and close with a rich list of relevant web sites and other resources. Pictures of reconstructed models, plus plenty of small watercolor and pencil sketches from Spears, flesh out a scant assortment of blurry photos. Despite occasional stumbles-the authors can't seem to agree on just how many times the "Skunk Ape" has been sighted in the Southeastern U.S.-a delight for casual browsers and for would-be cryptozoologists alike. (Nonfiction. 8-11)Junior Library Guild selection