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Groovy Tubes: Mythical Beasts
Introduces mythical creatures from various cults and legends, including such beasts as the gorgon, hydra, roc, centaur, basilisk, harpy, leviathan, and ahvizotl.
24 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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July 23, 2018
If memory serves me right (which it rarely often does), I found this toy-and-book kit on the shelf of a toy store in the corner of the Camarillo shopping outlet, one that is no longer standing there and hasn't been for a while. A horse-crazy child, I was attracted primarily by the gorgeous cover of the winged horse, its wings spread wide with a gentle twinkle in its eye, as well as its tiny plastic figurine in the tube as well as the one for the unicorn. I had my parents buy it for me immediately. Bringing it home, I played with the toy kit and the accompanying "Save the Selkie" board game for a little while, but I did so mostly by myself and was too young to truly grasp the concept of rules anyway, so what wound up happening was that I'd create stories and scenarios that the magical-creatures figurines would feature in, rather than actually playing the game.
However, all this is nothing compared to the impact the little hardcover book left on me. A rather short read, easy enough for the age demographic it's aimed for, the book is nonetheless a beautifully detailed mini-encyclopedia on mythical creatures all around the world, accompanied by snippets of the various legends that surround them, and brought to life by John Shroades's beyond-praiseworthy illustrations. Each section moves from the more famous beasts (centaurs, elves, Arabic genies) to the more unusual and/or unfamiliar creatures (naga, baku, firebirds) with an appropriate change in color palette and theme. Forest-related beasts such as nymphs and unicorns are grouped together with illustrations in earthy browns and greens. Myths of the ocean include the naiads, mermaids and hippocampi who surge in a frothy teal sea. And to this day, those eerier, less benevolent creatures linger in my mind with their shades of indigo-blue, violet, and grayish-green, including the skulls and dark feathers of the sirens and the ominous, blank-eyed kelpie. Even the gentle selkies became so memorable, as the illustration showed a female one slipping out of her sealskin amongst a swimming group of seals, while Topie's description recounted their rather disconcerting method of shapeshifting. Even now I can vividly remember that I couldn't bear to look at Shroades's drawing of the banshee for the longest time, her wailing face and bloodstained robes frightening me so bad (until I steeled myself, pulled away my hand to look at her, and thought, "Oh, she's not so scary...!").
The mythology within its pages has proven startlingly accurate as well. Easily the best example I can give is the way they describe sirens not as mermaidlike beasts, but rather as the classical portrayal of giant birds with the heads of beautiful songstresses. A rare sight these days in mythical media, to say the least! It's been more than ten years since I first laid eyes on the cover with the winged horse's gentle expression, and Torpie's succinct and accurate information combined with Shroades's artwork have truly left an impact on me. I'm not exaggerating when I cite this book as the beginning of my adoration and fascination for all things folklore and fairytale. I'll try my best to find this book (I'm sure it's SOMEWHERE in my messy house!) but its colorful pages continue to turn in my heart. It's hardly the best or most detailed mythical-encyclopedia out there, of course, but I still recommend this for any child who loves fantasy, or any adult who can appreciate the artwork and legends contained within.
However, all this is nothing compared to the impact the little hardcover book left on me. A rather short read, easy enough for the age demographic it's aimed for, the book is nonetheless a beautifully detailed mini-encyclopedia on mythical creatures all around the world, accompanied by snippets of the various legends that surround them, and brought to life by John Shroades's beyond-praiseworthy illustrations. Each section moves from the more famous beasts (centaurs, elves, Arabic genies) to the more unusual and/or unfamiliar creatures (naga, baku, firebirds) with an appropriate change in color palette and theme. Forest-related beasts such as nymphs and unicorns are grouped together with illustrations in earthy browns and greens. Myths of the ocean include the naiads, mermaids and hippocampi who surge in a frothy teal sea. And to this day, those eerier, less benevolent creatures linger in my mind with their shades of indigo-blue, violet, and grayish-green, including the skulls and dark feathers of the sirens and the ominous, blank-eyed kelpie. Even the gentle selkies became so memorable, as the illustration showed a female one slipping out of her sealskin amongst a swimming group of seals, while Topie's description recounted their rather disconcerting method of shapeshifting. Even now I can vividly remember that I couldn't bear to look at Shroades's drawing of the banshee for the longest time, her wailing face and bloodstained robes frightening me so bad (until I steeled myself, pulled away my hand to look at her, and thought, "Oh, she's not so scary...!").
The mythology within its pages has proven startlingly accurate as well. Easily the best example I can give is the way they describe sirens not as mermaidlike beasts, but rather as the classical portrayal of giant birds with the heads of beautiful songstresses. A rare sight these days in mythical media, to say the least! It's been more than ten years since I first laid eyes on the cover with the winged horse's gentle expression, and Torpie's succinct and accurate information combined with Shroades's artwork have truly left an impact on me. I'm not exaggerating when I cite this book as the beginning of my adoration and fascination for all things folklore and fairytale. I'll try my best to find this book (I'm sure it's SOMEWHERE in my messy house!) but its colorful pages continue to turn in my heart. It's hardly the best or most detailed mythical-encyclopedia out there, of course, but I still recommend this for any child who loves fantasy, or any adult who can appreciate the artwork and legends contained within.
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