The Most Wonderful Animals that Never Were

by Joseph Wood Krutch, Pauline Baynes (Illustrator)

Enchanting First Edition/First Printing (1969) illustrated children's book. The Unicorn; Mermailds; The Phoenix and the Roc; Real Animals; The Salamander; The Dragon; The Basilisk, The Werewolf and the Manticore; The Dolphin; The Loch Ness Monster and the Abominable Snowman.

188 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Works of American critic, naturalist, and writer Joseph Wood Krutch include The Modern Temper (1929) and The Measure of Man (1954).

He worked as a professor at Columbia University from 1937 to 1953. Moving to Arizona in 1952, he wrote books about natural issues of ecology, the southwestern desert environment, and the natural history of the Grand Canyon, winning renown as a naturalist and conservationist. Krutch is possibly best known for A Desert Year , which won the John Burroughs medal in 1954.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_...

Reviews

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up. Western civilization-centric (text originally from 1969, by American, but acknowledging rest of world, albeit incomplete or unwittingly patronising. Fairly enlightened compared to other texts of the age).
Lovely journey through creatures of lore, from mermaids and werewolf to basilisk and manticore. Lots of reference to classic texts (as in Greek and Latin), and English poetry.
Decent source mention at the end of book.

[Gold Dust · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has a conversational way of writing, like a grandfather telling stories by a campfire. The book covers the unicorn, mermaid, phoenix, roc, salamander, dragon, basilisk, werewolf, manticore, loch ness monster, and the abominable snowman. It also talks about some real animals which people have made up stories about, like the pelican, dolphin, ostrich, milksnake, bears, ostriches, etc.
The author could’ve gone into more depth. The book doesn’t mention that werewolves were thought to have come about from people eating spoiled rye bread which made them hallucinate. The book doesn’t mention the vermillion bird in its chapter about the phoenix. The author doesn’t mention China’s dragon in its chapter on dragons either. Or dinosaurs. It’d be nice if the author had been more specific about all the areas of the world in which each creature was believed in. Still worth reading for anyone who is interested in these creatures.

[Buddy]

Cover art and several interior illustrations by the inimitable Pauline "Narnia" Baynes.