An A to Z of Monsters and Magical Beings

by Rob Hodgson

nan

Genres: Picture Books, Monsters

Unknown Binding

About the author

Rob Hodgson is an illustrator and designer with a deep interest in how and why we make pictures. He grew up on a healthy dose of skateboarding and Morrissey in an English seaside town. He now lives in Bristol with his girlfriend and two highly intelligent cats.

oday he lives in Bristol where he spends his days making a mess and turning it into quality illustration projects and books. He cites Yoko Ono, Ed Templeton and Arthur Russell among his influences.

Reviews

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this. A joint production by Rob Hodgson, and Aidan Onn, it was Hodgson's artwork that originally caught my eye, with its exuberant and definite renderings of creatures ranging from the Sphinx through to the Werewolf and the Kraken. Hodgson delivers such rich and deliciously dark work, that manages to juxtapose a childish aesthetic with some gorgeous little touches. Let me explain a little more about that phrase of 'childish aesthetic' as I think it's one that's worthwhile to explore here. The visual literacies of children fascinate me because they are marked with a sort of infinite potential. A line on a page could be a pony, a house, or a comment on post-modernism. And yes, some of that has to do with the development of motor skills, but it also has to do with the fact that children can work in this sort of creative world of infinite potential. It's the same with writing, and any other creative practice; we learn to work within frames. And that's a good thing, because when we subsequently break them and remake them, we are better than what we were before. Learn the rules. Break the rules. But don't forget to embrace that period of before, where a horse can have three heads or an antelope can sit down for tea. And that's what I mean with Hodgson's work, he kind of goes 'here's a blue minotaur' or 'here's a pink Kraken', and you believe it because it is delivered with such emphatic affirmation. It's great.

One thing to note is that this a book that deserves a better cover than the one it has. The world of children's picture books is a busy one, and this cover isn't ideal. It's a beautiful piece of artwork that reoccurs in the book itself as the illustration to the 'Troll' page, but when people describe it as dull and dark to me then that's feedback I need to note and recognise. Admittedly you'll not see many picture books which go for the dark blue palette of this cover, and there's an argument for it standing out for that reason, but equally there's a question to be asked about the cover when it comes to reprints. A similar question could be asked about the unexploited space of the endpapers at that point.

So, to sum, there are parts of this book that are under-exploited, but there are points that fiercely and satisfyingly hit the spots. I can imagine this going down well with a primary audience (expect lots of shrieks), and also as part of some dark and deliciously wintry creative writing and imaginative artwork sessions. I can also imagine it pairing very well with something like Bernard by Rob Jones.

My thanks to the publishers for a review copy.

[Marco Subias · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this for my nieces, who are five and seven. They absolutely love it.

[Erik This Kid Reviews Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting A-Z book – it is less about learning the alphabet and more about learning about the mythical beasts within. Because of that, I would place it as meant for a slightly older age group – one that is relatively familiar with the alphabet. The book has a variety of content, ranging from the “common” creatures to beasts from different locations in the world. I really enjoyed how the book taught me of some creatures I didn’t know about either – like the Eloko and the Ushi-oni. The illustrations have a fanciful collage-type feel to them, brightening up the book. This book will be great for children who need to improve their reading ability, as it is a tougher read than most alphabet books – it’s perfect for an advanced reader at a younger age! Kids will love to learn about these fantastical creatures as they flip through the pages. Please note I received a free review copy of this book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very well done. The illustrations were interesting but not too complicated, and the A-Z format didn't get bogged down and too wordy. A nice and intriguing paragraph about each monster. What I really enjoyed was all the different monsters from all around the world, and all the different types of monsters.

[Kasandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book about monsters from all cultures, I loved the illustrations and tiny details. Maybe too scary for the littlest ones, even though the portraits are re-written to avoid frightening the smallest kids, I'd think this is great for age 5 and up.