Tales of the Cryptids by Kelly Millner Halls

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. What on earth is a cryptid? The word cryptid finds its origin in the word Cryptozoology, which is the study of hidden or legendary animals. The Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman—if it’s animal and no one is sure it really exists or not—it’s a cryptid. And this book is full of them.

Filled with fun facts, photos and eyewitness accounts of all kinds of cryptids, found the world over, this book will keep any monster loving kid fascinated from beginning to end. Did you know that Bigfoot, Sasquatch and theYeti are all believed to be the same animal? Did you also know that it used to be a standard practice in the 1930’s to exercise circus elephants by swimming them around in Loch Ness, which led to quite a few Loch Ness monster sightings during that time? Bet you didn’t know that the elusive Yowie from Australia has its own line of chocolate bars? Neither did I. My favorite part of this book was the Cryptidictionary which listed each cryptid and rated the possibility of its being real or not based on all the evidence collected over the years. This is an engrossing read that even the most reluctant of readers will not be able to put down.