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Imaginary Menagerie: A Book of Curious Creatures
Author(s): Julie Larios (Author), Julie Paschkis (Illustrator)
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Publication Date: January 1, 2008
- Language: English
- Print length: 32 pages
- ISBN-10: 0152063250
- ISBN-13: 9780152063252
Book Description
Who is half gallop, half walk? Who can turn you to stone with one look? Whose voice do you hear in the splash on the shore? Centaurs, mermaids, and other curious creatures populate these wondrous poems and paintings, inspired by a mythological world full of imagination and mystery. Includes end notes about cultures and legends.
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 2–5—Dragons, centaurs, hobgoblins, and 11 other mythical creatures of worldwide origins feature in Larios's short poems and Paschkis's distinctive folk paintings. Caught for eternity in compromising situations, some creatures, such as the gargoyle, wax melancholy. "How can a beast fly/with stone wings?/I fly when the bells ring/and the hunchback is home." As in Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary (Harcourt, 2006), this bright compendium pairs each poem with a richly drawn and colored scene. An element from the painting is echoed in a decorative letter announcing the poem's title. Though brief, the selections sometimes carry sophisticated cultural references, making this title more relevant to an older audience than the earlier collection. Of the thunderbird, for instance, Larios writes, "Cedar scented,/he carries the wind/in his bent beak./Rainmaker./Whale hunter./Great Tlingit chief." The final page carries a brief paragraph describing the area of origin and the behavior of each creature. It's all a quick and alluring peek at some of the best-known denizens of folklore. Storytellers and classroom teachers will find many uses for these poetic nuggets and the art, both of which will be savored by folklore and fantasy readers of all ages.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
JULIE LARIOS is the author of several picture books and is a prizewinning poet for children and adults. She is on the faculty of the Vermont College Writing for Children and Young Adults program and lives in Seattle, Washington.
JULIE PASCHKIS has illustrated numerous books for children and has had her paintings featured in many gallery shows. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
JULIE PASCHKIS has illustrated numerous books for children and has had her paintings featured in many gallery shows. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
