Questionable Creatures: A Bestiary by Baynes, Pauline [Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006] Hardcover [Hardcover]

by Baynes

Questionable A Bestiary by Baynes, Pauline [Wm. B. Eerdmans Publis...

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Mythical Creatures, Animals

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baynes's bestiary explores creatures real and mythical from the perspective of the medieval world. I enjoyed how she noted varying accounts and beliefs, and noted medicinal ideas when relevant. This is not really a book for children, in my opinion. It's fairly mature and earthy, just like the middle ages; think The Miller's Tale from The Canterbury Tales.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of odd and unusual "facts" about a hotch-potch of beasts, both real and mythical, culled from various medieval bestiaries and plonked on the page with about as much panache as a dinner lady serving mashed potato at an infant school.

Ah, but the illustrations are little jewel-like confections, lovingly crafted by a Michelin-starred pâtissière. I love you, Pauline Baynes!

[Jean Bowen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations by Pauline Baynes but her text was rather cynical. I wish she just let the whimsy of a Bestiary shine through.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool picture book in the style of bestiaries- books written and illustrated in the Middle Ages by monks depicting animals both real and fantastic. Pauline Baynes illustrations are wonderful of course.

[Isaiah (aka Isaiah Ward) Herrero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite, if you want better understanding on how medieval besiaries worked back then and the symbology behind them this is definitely one of the books you should get your hands on. Truly exceptional!

[Carfig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting facts and illustrations

[Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, brief picture book of beasts based on medieval bestiaries.

Note: some mature content.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended for gr. 4-10. This book modernizes the concept of a bestiary, a description of real and mythological creatures. The author/illustrator takes 20 creatures from the lion to the phoenix and gives the reader a fanciful illustration and a single page description of how these creatures were described in older bestiaries along with ideas about whether the mythological creatures were based on actual animals. Short but interesting.

[Melanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

The little bits of folklore gleaned from ancient bestiaries were really interesting - particularly the descriptions of what the scholars of yore thought various animals looked like. Can you imagine a blue or red leopard?

I wasn't that enthralled with the pseudo old fashioned illustrations. One of these days I'll have to track down some reproductions of bestiary illuminations -- they're probably fascinating!

[Holden · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was like the bible for some real and mythical creatures, not that good.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish there had been pictures p what was thought to be an exaggerated animal. A glossary with pronunciations would have been nice.