ReadItDaddy's Second Picture Book of the Week - Week Ending 24th November 2017 - "The Atlas of Monsters" by Sandra Lawrence and Stuart Hill (Big Picture Press)

Our Second Picture Book of the Week this week proves that Big Picture Press have come back with a bang towards the end of the year, putting out some truly stunning books...
"The Atlas of Monsters" by Sandra Lawrence and Stuart Hill is one of those ideas that just sings out to us like a siren's call. We love map books anyway (is there something quite strange about folk loving atlases and maps?) but we also absolutely LOVE monsters and mythology, so imagine combining the two with some of the most glorious medieval-map-like illustrations, underpinning brilliant facts about mythical beasts.

It's like a dream come true. As regular contributors to the awesome #MythicalMashup tag on Twitter, here's a stupendous whistle-stop tour of the world's monsters, from the Ogopogo Lake Monster in Japan to the awesome Trolls of Norse mythology.

It's just so beautifully, beautifully done...I mean just look at it!

Here be monsters! There be monsters! Everywhere there be monsters!

Think about your favourite mythical beast and I bet you'll find it in here, it's exhaustive, brilliantly researched and so gorgeously presented, so apologies if we're a wee bit gushy about it.

Japan. Tiny island, LOADS of mythical creatures! Awesome place!

The best thing about this book is the way it introduces these beasts to younger readers in such an enticing way that they won't be able to resist going off and doing their own research on them too.

Human mythology is a fascinating subject, and knowing that these monsters sometimes were actual living creatures yet to be classified and studied just adds to their allure.

Trolls, bestial black dogs and enticing water maidens, oh my!

We spent hours and hours gazing in awe and wonder at this book. It's absolutely essential if you have even a passing interest in monsters and mythology, and it's a definite must if you love fabulously illustrated map books.

Utterly glorious. Don't just stand there gaping, just get out there and buy a copy!

Charlotte's favourite monster: Baba Yaga and her amazing walking tree-bird-house. EEEK!

Daddy's favourite monster: The mighty Kraken, ready to drag ships down to the inky depths and certain doom.

(Kindly supplied for review)

"The Atlas of Monsters" by Sandra Lawrence and Stuart Hill is out now, published by Big Picture Press.