New Picture Book Review: The hidden Bestiary of Marvelous, Mysterious, and (maybe even) Magical Creatures

By Judy Young, and illustrated by Laura Francesca Filippucci
Copyright: 2009
Best for grades: 1-5
Call number: E Young, J


Hidden Bestiary has engaged my thinking in some incredible new ways. Presented as the travel log of famous explorer Dr. Basil Bernard Barnswhitten (Dr. B.B.B.), this picture book features couple rhyming stanzas of text on each page about different animals from all over the world. Each illustration shows Dr. BBB studding animals in the wild and also has gorgeous two page spread of illustrations of plants and animals.

The highlights of this book are the hidden animals in each illustration. Each two page spread features one animal that is hidden somewhere in the beautifully detailed illustration-- animals like the Kakapo of New Zealand, the now extinct Dodo, and the deadly mysterious Kraken. Other animals can also be found in landscape, so young explorers would keep a sharp eye out even after finding the featured animal.

This booked sparked my curiosity and as I searched for each animal on the page I also pulled up webpages and encyclopedia articles about the animas. But if you’re not near a computer or books about animals then there is also a handy feature in the back of the book giving just a little information on the animals like their habitat, description, behavior, diet and status (ie endangered, extinct, nonexistent).

So for those kids and adults who enjoyed I Spy, Magic Eye, and art work by Bev Doolittle, here’s another amazing book to spend some time exploring.

To view this title in our catalog click here.

-JW-