Cryptid Creatures: A Field Guide to 50 Fascinating Beasts

by Kelly Milner Halls, Rick Spears (Illustrator)

Overview

Explore the fascinating world of cryptozoology with this fun guide, filled with eyewitness accounts of 50 cryptids found throughout the world, some of which have been proven real.

Cryptozoology is the study of mysterious creatures that fall between the realm of real and imaginary on the scientific spectrum. Cryptid Creatures: A Field Guide offers a closer look at fifty of these amazing creatures, examining the best possible evidence for each, including scientific papers, magazine and newspaper articles, and credible eyewitness accounts.

The fifty cryptids are arranged in order alphabetically, and in addition to speculative illustrations, include details like when they were first reported, whether they are terrestrial, aerial, or aquatic, and each have a reality rating of 1 to 6, in which 1 means that the cryptid has been confirmed as a hoax, and 6 means the cryptid has been proven as real.

This page-turning guide will inspire curious readers to investigate more on their own, and maybe even help to prove if a cryptid is a hoax or is real.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632172105
Publisher:	Blue Star Press
Publication date:	09/24/2019
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	265,398
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	7 - 12 Years

About the Author

For the past 25 years, KELLY MILNER HALLS has crafted high-interest nonfiction books and articles for young readers. Known for quirky but well-researched topics, Halls delights in drawing even reluctant readers into the realm of discovery through explorations of dinosaurs, Sasquatch, UFOs and other unusual themes. She lives in Spokane, Washington, and speaks at schools and conferences all over the world.

RICK SPEARS was born in California in the third quarter of the 20th century, relocating to Georgia five years later. As with most young children, he was fascinated by dinosaurs and spent many hours drawing pictures of prehistoric animals in various scenes of combat. His dinosaur and cryptid art has found its way into various books, magazines, websites, and even a board game. His sculptures can be seen in several museums and collections throughout the southeastern United States. Rick currently resides in Georgia with his family, who finds his weird projects just a part of everyday life.

Editorial Reviews

09/02/2019

Among the 50 cryptid animals and beasts introduced in this guide are some that actually do—or once did—exist. Alongside the real creatures (the extinct aquatic coelacanth and the squirrellike isothrix barbarabrownae), subjects include infamous monsters: the Chupacabra, Kraken, Bigfoot, and Mothman, as well as those less familiar, such as the “Drop Bear” (“a ferocious, large-dog-size koala cousin” that drops from the trees) and the “Loveland Frog” (a bipedal amphibian). For each subject, Halls includes a “Reality Rating,” identifying whether the creature has been determined to be real, a hoax, or somewhere in between. Spears’s ashy blue drawings have the impromptu feel of field sketches, while facts and alleged eyewitness accounts lend further credence to this fun handbook. Halls also provides a heartening message to readers: for any cryptid proven nonexistent, there are plenty of other weird and wonderful species to compensate. Ages 7–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"A collection of creepy cryptids for the courageous connoisseur" —Kirkus Reviews


"I urge you to check out this remarkable title and share it with kids you know who need a portal to potential!"—Unpacking the Power of Picture Books

"Spears’s ashy blue drawings have the impromptu feel of field sketches, while facts and alleged eyewitness accounts lend further credence to this fun handbook. Halls also provides a heartening message to readers: for any cryptid proven nonexistent, there are plenty of other weird and wonderful species to compensate."—Publishers Weekly


"This is a solid addition for libraries serving elementary and middle school students." —School Library Connection


"Cryptid Creatures is a joyful romp through a world of possibility."—City Book Review

"Kelly Milner Halls shares exciting information that, amidst all the fun fantasy, also manages to be both historically accurate and scientific. Cryptid Creatures will encourage kids to discover the world around them and explore the its many wonders"—Spokane Coeur d'Alene Living Magazine


"Cryptid Creatures is a well-researched and written field guide of 50 cryptid creatures" —Kid Lit Reviews

From the Publisher

09/01/2019

Gr 2–5—For all lovers of bigfoot, ten-foot squid, and other unusual and maybe not real beasts, this "field guide" shares about 50 of these creatures known as cryptids. According to the introduction, cryptozoology is the study of real and imaginary animals that have been observed but not scientifically documented. These cryptids are listed in alphabetical order and start with a text box with first sighting, location, type of cryptid, and a reality rating with stars. One star is a hoax, and six stars means it has been proven to be real. Each entry has about three pages that include a drawing of an adult, a detail of a body part (arm, skull, tentacle), and a drawing of what the young animal looks like. Unfortunately, none of this information has cited resources to indicate where the information about each creature was found. And although there are a few pages devoted to materials for further reading and the book contains lots of detail, including eyewitness accounts that appear to create a sense of truth, how much can readers believe when even the topic is questionable? VERDICT What could have been a wonderful browsing title for lovers of strange beasts is visually unappealing with a disappointing format. Small size, dense text, and pen drawings will not draw excited young readers into this title. A larger format with some color would have been a wonderful addition but in this format, most readers will be disappointed or bored.—Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City

School Library Journal

2019-05-22
A collection of creepy cryptids for the courageous connoisseur.

This alphabetic encyclopedia of 50 creatures rates each from one to six stars, where one is a confirmed hoax (Australia's Drop Bear, a killer koala conceived to scare tourists) and six is a creature once known as a cryptid that is now accepted as real (Peru's Isothrix barbarabrownae, an elusive tree squirrel). In addition, Halls classifies each by type: aerial, aquatic, humanoid, etc., and offers a comparison to a familiar real-world animal (e.g. the Dingonek from Kenya is "cat-like"). Along with the date and location of the first putative sighting, each entry offers a "factoid," a summary of eyewitness accounts, and usually three black-and-white pencil illustrations: the adult beast, its skull, and a baby or juvenile version. Factoids are tidbits not included in the eyewitness accounts that usually relate the beast's history. Here and there throughout the text are single-page "Cryptid Extras," including a rundown of cryptid appearances in cartoons and video games and the address of the International Museum of Cryptozoology in Portland, Maine. A list of cryptids by type, many more than are in this volume, a further reading list of books and online articles, and a glossary close this fantastical field guide.

Just enough info to whet the appetites of budding cryptozoologists. (Nonfiction. 8-14)

Kirkus Reviews