From beautiful mermaids and gentle unicorns to fire-breathing dragons and bloodthirsty vampires, mysterious beings and magical beasts appear in stories told all around the world. This book highlights 20 legendary beings.

Twenty types of mythical creatures creep, stalk, hustle, fly or swim through this fun graphic novel. From Bigfoot to dragons, vampires to giants, we are treated to surprising facts, a sense of how their mythologies came into being, and how they live – not just their preferred environment, but what they eat and whether they’re hostile or friendly to human beings. We even learn what movies they’ve starred in in the past.

With breakout text boxes called “fun facts” and “story spotlight,” and between 50 and 75 percent of the pages being visuals, this volume is easy to read. It’s ideal for reluctant readers, middle graders and graphic-book fans in general.

Fun fact: Some goblins punish naughty children. But they bring gifts for children who behave well.

Fun fact: In addition to lamps, genies can be trapped in jewelry, pots or jars.

The book’s only downside is the writing, which is often short and choppy. While this makes it easy for reluctant readers to navigate, it will certainly grate on older and more comfortable readers; the style is almost more picture book than middle grade — especially the chapters that attempt to ease into the history and facts with a “let’s drop into a story” type of kickoff.

The sailors hear a loud boom. Then their ship rocks to one side. A sea serpent is attacking! The captain spins the ship’s wheel. But he can’t turn fast enough. The sea serpent strikes again. Huge waves splash onto the deck. Soon, the ship will sink.

Still, readers will learn a lot, and have fun perusing everything from maps and illustrations to photos. The visuals alone make it a great read.

Why do unicorns have only one horn?

Which “cryptids” (cool new word) shape-shift and which have magical powers?

Are gnomes, dwarfs and trolls related?

Were the first “sightings” of unicorns actually of Indian rhinoceroses?

What corners of the world did each mythical create originate, and how do those who populate various corners of Earth differ?

Enjoy!

-Pam Withers