Demons and Dragons

Gr 3–6—How gory and repulsive are the beastly creatures of the world's mythology? The 10 bloodthirsty giants in each of these slim sets appear in a ranked scheme and ascending order. They're scored "from 1 to 10 for each of five categories: Strength, Repulsiveness, Special Powers, Ferocity and Invincibility." Two-page entries on each creature, which lead up to the score, include a short anecdotal story, suggested ways to defeat the beast, and an orange inset describing origins of the myth. Bold, digitally created visuals feature plenty of fangs and claws, blood and guts, and horrific mixes of human/animal figures. Sixteen of the 40 monsters are from Greek mythology, and another eight are of Norse origin. Others span the world widely. These titles lack some of the customary nonfiction features. Sources aren't listed, and there are no bibliographies or websites recommended. Each book ends with a "Rogue's Gallery" that depicts and briefly describes each of the characters, arranged in reverse order from top to lowest score on the beastly scale. Three bits of added discussion on related topics appear on the final two pages.