This really was such an immense joy to read!
The backstories and ethology provided for the creatures gives an obvious insight on the amount of effort put into creating this. The writing clearly is very thought-out and super creative as are the illustrations. The art was incredibly gorgeous and elevated the magical feel in this book. I could see this being a wonderful gift even from that alone.
The little letters throughout were such a nice touch that brought the reading experience alive even moreso.
I absolutely loved learning little real-life facts throughout this. (e.g. chitin = metallic substance that gives jewel beetles their shine)

Some favourite pages/creatures featured:
• Tree-Beings (very beautiful full double spread)
• Tommyknocker and Pukwudgie
• Mishepishu (this intrigued me so much, I instantly went down a rabbit hole of information online!! super interesting!)

This was super creative and fun, I know for a *fact* I would've been utterly obsessed with this as a kid and am still completely entralled by it today. Though kids would presumably get more out of this than adults since that's the target audience of course, I can confidently say even interested adults can for sure appreciate this as well.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I read this book for free thanks to NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback.

This is a beautifully illustrated book to add to any library. I have personally always been fascinated by mythological beasts, and so would have loved to read this as a child. As an early fan of the Harry Potter series, having a book like this to turn to would have been amazing! This feels like a great accompaniment to Fantastic beasts and Where to find them.

Thank you for your beautiful book!

🧚🍀👏 WHAT A WONDERFUL BOOK!!! 👏 🌈 🦄

The best publisher's note of all time 📝

🏹 Centaurs: bizarre bodies 🤭
🏹 How to estimate a centaur's age
🐾 Cerberus = legend only
🦄 A blessing of unicorns and truffles
🐨 Drop Bear = koala's evil cousin
🌳 Trees! And 🦶 Big foot, has big feet!

Magic and wonder within ✨

Weaving together a field guide and exploration adventure, A Natural History of Magical Beasts, tells the story of zoologist Dr. Dimitros Pagonis and pilot/adventure-seeker Artemis Matsouka as they explore the world in search of magical beasts. Each section describes the creatures from a different part of the world, providing historical references, anatomical drawings, and field notes about where they are most likely to be found. Filled with unique quirks that add to its whimsy, the commitment to the field guide structure creates opportunities to dig into mythology of the creatures, such as comparing different subspecies of centaur or the difference between Chinese and European dragons. I could spend hours exploring the pictures and learning about magical creatures from around the world, and I will certainly recommend this book to children who are excited to learn more about mythology or magical creatures.

A gorgeous book with so many wonderful beasts. I love the variety of myths from so many countries that populates this book. The fact that it is designed as if it is a scrapbook makes it feel even more fun. While I am looking at this on my computer, I can only imagine how wonderful it would be in print. A book I can imagine some kids would be absolutely obsessed with and spur on many fun make-believe stories.

Fans of the mythical creatures in Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts will love this collection of beasts from around the world. Featuring exotic creatures from the Pukwudgie to the Zaratan, along with familiar ones like the Phoenix and the Basilisk, this book includes lovely illustrations and will make a great gift for aspiring "magizoologists"!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review. This is such a beautiful book! Jessica Roux is one of my favorite illustrators and I've been following her work for a while. I love that the book is presented as factual through the eyes of an explorer. Each creature has its own page filled with an illustration and information like the country/region, diet, habitat, size, scientific name, etc. I wasn't familiar with some of the magical beasts, specifically those found in Australia, Africa, and the Caribbean. I think that's what set this book apart from others for me-- It does a great job of being diverse and inclusive. The page layout packs a lot of information without feeling cluttered. It's easy to follow the side stories and notes through a differentiation in the backgrounds. This would make a great gift for a child or an adult that reads a lot of fantasy and has an interest in mythology and folklore.

Meet the magical creatures that live all around the world with the help of the Society for the Protection of Magical Beasts (SPMB).
This book will be the perfect reference text for young witch and wizards as they begin their education in the field of magic. Gorgeous illustrations and diagrams entrance readers as they learn about the various creatures found in all corners of the world. Some will be familiar, some will be new, but all of them will be magical.

Artwork, page layouts, and borders make this an enjoyable read which bursts with information and beauty. The adventure begins on April 30, 1927 with Dr, Dimitri Pagonis of the Society for the Protection of Magical Beasts, and Artemis Matsoukis, his fearless pilot, as they set out on a journey to investigate the apparent decline and disappearance of magical beasts. Various typed and scribbled massages are taped to the illustrations, and provide details about appearance habitat, region, diet, behavior of the magical beasts. There are rabbit and rooster lookalikes, dragons from every continent, familiars beasts such as Nessi, Sasquatsh, Yeti , the Basilisk, and the Phoenix. Legends attest to the fact that Indigenous Peoples of the world respected the magical beasts. Trolls are also chronicled as to their role in keeping the environment healthy. This is a magical journey which will stroke the imagination of fantasy readers of all ages. Absolutely gorgeous.
Thank you to Frances Lincoln Children's Books, an imprint of The Quarto Group, and Netgalley, for the digital arc.

A Natural History of Magical Beasts is visually stunning thanks to the talents of Jessica Roux. Her attention to detail and shading is absolutely magnificent, and I knew from page one this would be my favorite part of the book. The reader has over sixty pages to explore magical, mystical creatures, each laid out with information on their habitat, region, features, size, diet, and behavior. This book is incredibly thorough, detailing each creature by location as the reader journeys with Dr. Dimitros Pagonis and Artemis Matsouka on their research mission.

I've read several field guides for magical creatures, and it seems they're either heavy on illustration or narration. This book offers an excellent balance, and I'm sure it's more magnificent in person; I will definitely be looking for a physical copy to share with my boys. One thing to note: if you're sharing this with younger children you may want to read the note from the publisher at the beginning of the book. I personally found the character's story line intriguing, but younger readers may be a bit frightened.

So, long story short, I’m a teacher-librarian and one evening six years ago while working at school, I decided to concoct an elaborate story about seeing a unicorn on the playground. I compiled evidence…went all out. Needless to say, the story lives on and I have many kids fascinated by unicorns. I also have a library elf who moves about at night. So will I purchase this beautiful book of beasts for the library? Absolutely. The introduction is delightful and the spreads are so full of magic. It’s perfect for my older elementary kids who still cling to—seriously or playfully—what I witnessed on the playground all those years ago. ;)

Thank you sincerely for the ARC!

What a cool book! It reminds me of the "-ology" series (Dragonology, Wizardology, etc) that I absolutely loved as a child, and I hope this book could be the same for a younger generation! I liked that it selected some mythical animals from every continent and from multiple folklores - I learned a lot about the mythical creatures of Africa, which I hadn't known before! The illustrations are wonderful and the hints of frame narrative provide a little more fun and mystery to engage the kids. I would recommend that my library get this title, budget permitting!

Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Children's Books for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely adored this book! Anything whimsical is a win with me, but I particularly loved the nostalgic illustrations and how the spreads were laid out like an informative scrapbook. It reminded of the wildlife fact files I used to collect and covet as a child. This book would make a great gift for an older child who is interested in myth, magic and folklore.

ARC Copy...Just like its fairy natural history companion, very well grounded (as fantasy can get) yet very whimsical with a "take care of nature" theme. It feels that magical beasts are alive and real. Plus liked that exotic creatures from actual lore from around the world is included.

This book is SO COOL! Anyone (of any age) interested in magical creatures will fall in love with this gorgeous book. It's full of information on lots of different creatures from many different parts of the world/cultures and there's a fun frame-narrative as this is presented as the notebook of a 1920s zoologist. I expect many kids will become obsessed with this book and the rest of the Folklore Field Guides series. They're the perfect introduction to folklore, myths, and legends.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE this book, and will be adding it to my library's collection. This is perfect for anyone, youth or otherwise, who loves fantastical creatures and fantasy worlds. It was written to look like the journal of a 1920s zoologist, which is such a fun way to present the information. I like that it is divided up by the creatures' continent/place of origin, and the illustrations are just lovely. The information is divided up on the page in a really easy to digest way, which is great for children. It is always wonderful to see something that I know will spark the interest of children, and that will certainly make learning fun!

What an absolutely gorgeous book this is! The illustrations are so beautiful!
I love the layout of it, as if it were a research journal of someone who is out searching for these creatures.
The descriptions, facts and info are short and to the point, but still well written and interesting. Perfect for a kid who loves mythology or magical creatures. Or even the adult in your life you also loves these things. overall just a really stunning book!

A fun book for children who love fantasy. I liked that it included creatures from all over the world. I also enjoyed that there was a narrative throughout rather than just information presented randomly.

The pictures are wonderful, colorful and detailed. The descriptions are short, fun, and easy to understand for young children. My kids loved it. I loved the different fonts for titles and descriptions. I love the writi g style and the length of the book. Its simply wonderful if you are curious about magical beasts

This is one of the coolest books I’ve ever seen! I love folklore and mythology, and this is definitely full of it. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. The layout is smart and easy to read, while still remaining aesthetically pleasing. I absolutely love this little story.