A Practical Guide to Monsters

by Nina Hess

The sequel to The New York Times best-selling A Practical Guide to Dragons

How do you trick a troll? Do vampires sleep? Why worry about yuan-ti? Just in time for Halloween, this lavishly illustrated guide showcases the spooky, unexpected, and always fascinating world of monsters!

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Dragons, Reference, Dungeons and Dragons, Art, Picture Books

80 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2007

Reviews

[Brandon]

4.5⭐. So good! Hoping to get back into some drawing this year, and thought it’d be fun to read through this and look at the illustrations for inspiration. Absolutely loved this book as a kid, and felt good to relive it. Amazing art throughout!

[Bill]

Entertaining and beautifully illustrated book that would not be out of place in a school for young wizards. It even has margin notes and a quiz at the end! A great book for young readers, but even for older readers, there are some interesting ideas here for Dungeons and Dragons encounters. I particularly like how the author and artist make sure to show the unique qualities of each monster, including their lairs and communities, and imply that fighting these wondrous creatures is often not the best approach or choice.

[Misbah]

This guide covers many different monsters, some common and many Ive never heard of before. I really enjoyed the illustrations and I think I would've had a lot more fun if I had read the book series that go along with this guide.

[Nicole Crane]

Amazing is all I can say.

[Ben Zimmerman]

This book has good illustrations. It serves as a good introduction to Dungeons and Dragons for children.

[Karin Timmermans]

E

[em ☆ sparkle]

I LOVE THIS BOOK it’s what I like to call everything. Images are haunting, style is everything! Loooove! As an adult it’s still among my favorite books

[Spencer]

2023

[James]

Some fun ideas for my games and nice art work.

[Mark Bejar]

Excelente introducción al mundo de las bestias de D&D

[Kristi West]

I love that the vampire looked like Symphony of the Night Alucard.

[Toni]

Loved the art and it is creative!

[Conan Tigard]

I remember reading about Zendric in some of the Knights of the Silver Dragon books. But that was quite a while ago and I don't remember much about him. I think he was their mentor, or something. Well, anyway, he has compiled a study guide about monsters for his apprentices to study while he is away.

This book is packed with informative information about every type of monster in the fantasy realm of DragonLance. There are diagrams of each type of monster, a paragraph or two about each one, and a nice list of fact. These facts that are listed for each monster are as follows: Maximum Height, Maximum Weight, Habitat, Society, Diet, Language, Attack Methods, and Best Defense.

I found that after reading about a monster, and sometimes longing to meet one, I couldn't wait to turn the page and see what type of monster was to follow. I was never disappointed, except for when I finished the book and there were no more monsters to be had. I think my favorite is the Griffin. I have always liked this half-lion, half-eagle creature. So very cool.

Nina Hess has created an expertly written book about the monsters that live in the world of DragonLance. The text is both entertaining and highly informative. If I were wandering those lands, I would want to have this book with me so I could find out how to defeat any monster I might meet. As for the artwork, it is quite stunning. Each monster is expertly drawn and beautifully colored. The combination of the great writing and the artwork make this book quite a treasure.

Overall, A Practical Guide to Monsters is an excellent source for an young wizard apprentice to study and learn about the monsters that abound in the world of DragonLance. I loved this book and anyone who enjoys fantasy like I do will too.

I rated this book a 9 out of 10.

[Monster]

Kids love monsters, and A Practical Guide to Monsters has new and interesting monsters of all kinds. The book introduces us to Zendric, a high wizard and master of magic, who has written this guide to the monsters of the realm for his apprentices’ study. Zendric describes each monster, providing information on its height, weight, habitat, society, language, and attack mode, and also the best defense against it, accompanied by eye-catching illustrations. The monsters include traditional creatures like zombies and vampires, as well as monsters unknown to most children, such as the Behir and Chuul. Some of the creatures have detailed images of their lairs that are beautifully done. The book also contains pages on arms, armor, and equipment that “adventurers” need to fend off the described creatures. Readers advisory note: This book should be appreciated both by kids who enjoy fantasy books and kids who like monsters. Those who enjoyed Judy Sierra’s Gruesome Guide to World Monsters should definitely take a look at this one. Although the book can stand on its own, much of the material in this book is derived from the Monster Manual, a resource from the roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons. With these roots and its visual appeal it may also appeal to older teens and adults. Appropriate for ages 9+, A Practical Guide to Monsters is recommended for public libraries and elementary and middle school library media centers. Contains: man-eating monsters

[Siobhan]

This book is so much fun! Maybe a little advanced for some of our younger readers, it is modeled like an actual study of the creatures it describes, showing their home habitats, details on their anatomy, a fact list including hight, weight, diet, etc. I have to admit, this format really thrilled me, it felt like I was studying for my monster hunting adventures! Their is no main story line, or any story line, really. The book goes through many different monsters, from all over the world and all different mythologies. It details a chimera from Greek mythology, as well as old favorites like vampires. It actually taught me a lot about monsters I hadn't even heard of, such as the flying Yrthak, or the Ettercap, or Otyugh. The format does not lend itself very well to reading aloud, as there is not a series of events to follow, but I have found that it works really well as a book to read to yourself. The same people also did another few books like this, including the dragon one I have also included in my list, which is just as good, if not better because it is all about dragons.

[Geni]

Quick Pick,Graphic Novel 3Q 2P M J S [Review:] Monsters, Trolls and Vampires Oh MY!
This book is very cleverly illustrated. It would be a great reference for anyone who was curious in monsters, their domains their powers ect. The book is similar to a reference guide, the pages and typography are ochre gold to resemble 14th century manuscripts. The descriptions, and language of the book is extremely simple and friendly.
I would recommend this book to anybody interested in how to DRAW monsters or doing a research project during Halloween. I would also recommend this book to someone trying to organize a 'Role Playing Game'.

[Sophie Avett]

Lovely images. However, it doesn't offer any information you wouldn't be able to find on the internet. This book comes from the DD world, so it does have some interesting takes on various monster "strengths" and "weaknesses," but there are better books for that kind of information. Really, I think the images are more useful to an author, rather than the information. I used a lot of the images as spring boards to craft my New Gotham creature descriptions. Oh, and it quite the pricey book. So, really, not worth it unless you're going to pick it up secondhand, or really just want access to the wealth of lovely images.

[Heather]

I'm working my way through the books that i bought as reference for my fantasy writing. This one had some monsters from folklore and mythology, but it also had ones from RPG universes (like beholders). It was a really fun read and had some pretty cool artwork throughout.

It's also got stuff on weapons and armor and things that travelers might need. Overall, it was a fun resource for writing. I realize it's not perfect, since it's written for younger people, but it will give me ideas that I can research deeper when writing.

[Jonah]

I have read this took many times before but this is the first time I've actually read it cover to cover I learned many knew things I loved the illustrations and my favorite monster has to be the friendly Goblin he was the best of them all!

P.S.
Does anyone have the address to "The Tower Of Sorcery" I filled out the test.

[Sistora Neeley]

A Practical Guide to Monsters is a fun and interesting book! The pictures are beautiful, and the descriptions bring the creatures to life. I found myself wondering if I could go out and find these creatures!

[Kate]

my sister wrote this. And it's number 3 on NYTimes bestseller list!

[Jess]

Beautifully illustrated. I found it very interesting - it was a bit like a mini Monster Manual with more pictures - especially because I'm doing an art project that's sort of like a bestiary.

[Natalie Wright]

This is a great book to research monsters & beasts. Fabulous illustrations and beautifully done.

[R]

A fun monster manual from Wizards of the Coast. A worthwhile book for any D&D fan.

[Nicole Sanglay]

Such a cute read! 8)

The monsters featured in this book were awfully interesting.

[Heather Donavant]

My son LOVES this book. I've read it to him every night since we got it.

[Ilib4kids]

J793.93 PRA

[Susie]

This is a book that I think my nephew and niece will probably have to have as they get older. It's like baby DnD.

[Lydia]

a good reference book for creatures

[Helen Viorel]

So darn awesome!!! Very useful too.