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Five Faves: Uncommon Mythical Creatures

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We all have our favorite books about unicorns, dragons and mermaids. But what about a cyclops? Or a gnome? Even though they are out of the ordinary, these creatures are just as fantastical and have the added bonus of opening up new high-quality reading options!

Here are five favorite books about uncommon mythical creatures:

Written by Jonathan Auxier
Illustrated by Olga Demidova
New York: Amulet Books, 2020. Intermediate. 85 pages.

Auggie lives on a magical island and takes care of its one-of-a-kind creatures in the Fabled Stable. When one of the incoming inhabitants, a wisp, is in danger Auggie comes to the rescue with a creative plan and a little help from his friends. 


Gnome
By Fred Blunt
Minneapolis: Andersen Press USA, 2020. Picture Book. 

As we follow Mr. Gnome throughout his day, he is consistently grumpy and answers "NO," to almost every question asked of him! Upon sitting down to fish, he encounters a witch and he soon learns there are consequences for his bad manners. 

By Rowboat Watkins 
San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2015. Picture Book.

This laugh-out-loud story about cakes and cyclopses flips our expectations completely around. You would think that a cake is sweet and a cyclops is mean, but no! In this story, the cyclopses are always well-mannered, and surprisingly good teachers to one rude cake. 


Written by Roald Dahl 
Illustrated by Quentin Blake
New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1982. Fiction. 219 pages. 

This heartwarming classic is the story of how a brave little girl and one gentle giant (who spends his nights giving good dreams to children) work together to stop the other "cannybull" giants from gobbling up "human beans."


Written by Ellen Potter
Illustrated by Felicita Sala
New York: Amulet Books, 2018. Intermediate. 136 pages. 

Boone, an aspiring cryptozoologist, and Hugo, a young sasquatch, both have big dreams. When happenstance brings them together, they become a bridge to make those dreams a reality. 
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