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| Tales of the Cryptids: Mysterious Creatures Which May or May Not Exist, as Investigated by Halls, Spears, and Young (Darby Creek, September 1, 2006) |
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DID YOU SEE THAT?!
TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS: MYSTERIOUS CREATURES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT EXIST, by Kelly Milner Halls, Rick Spears, and Roxyanne Young is available for pre-order through Darby Creek Publishing, and at Amazon.com. Order one for yourself and one for your local school or library. You won't believe the thanks you'll get!
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Tales of the Cryptids: Mysterious Creatures That May or May Not Exist continues to garner awards and honors. The book is nominated for the Benjamin Franklin Award, given out by the Independent Publishers Association in June at BEA. If it wins, this would be the fourth consecutive win for Darby Creek Publshing, a true testament to the high-quality books they produce. Just to be nominated is an honor. Congratulatiosn to publisher Tanya Dean!
My good friend, Kelly Milner Halls, author of the three books in line ahead of Cryptids to take home the BF Award, brought me on to help research and write this 72-page book about cryptids, those mysterious creatures of legend from around the world. We delved into folklore and we interviewed scientists and other experts about the likelihood of these creatures existing or not. Kelly's buddy, Rick Spears, who builds dinosaur models for museums, illustrated this book with amazing creativity, but also with the skills honed by years of creating those dinosaur bodies with little but bone, fossils, and habitat records to go on.
My favorite parts of the book are Kelly's "Imagine..." introductions to each chapter. They absolutely get my heart racing. I'm very lucky and incredibly honored to have such a generous and talented friend, and absolutely blessed that she asked me to help with this book. Thank you, Kelly!
Book your School Visit or Author Talk now.
August 15, 2006 - KIRKUS LOVES US!
Tales of the Cryptids
Mysterious Creatures That May or May Not Exist
Author: Halls, Kelly Milner, et. al. (<---that's me and Rick Spears, et.al. <g>)
So do they exist, or don’t they? Written for readers willing to keep open minds, this populous gallery of rare creatures, locally prominent monsters and possible survivors from prehistory fills readers in on the evidence for Bigfoot, Nessie, Champ, and the lesser-known likes of the giant anaconda, the flying Kongamato (evocatively translated as “Overwhelmer of Boats”) and the blood-sucking Chupacabra. It also introduces such confirmed discoveries as the giant squid, the coelacanth, and the Chacoan peccary. Interspersing interviews with scientists and even special effects artists, the authors cover sightings worldwide and down through history, present an array of speculative explanations, sum up with a large “Cryptidictionary” that includes exposed hoaxes, and close with a rich list of relevant web sites and other resources. Pictures of reconstructed models, plus plenty of small watercolor and pencil sketches from Spears, flesh out a scant assortment of blurry photos. Despite occasional stumbles–the authors can’t seem to agree on just how many times the “Skunk Ape” has been sighted in the Southeastern U.S.–a delight for casual browsers and for would-be cryptozoologists alike. (Nonfiction, 8-11)
"I want to recommend the book Tales of the Cryptids to everybody. It's out. It's a kids' book basically explaining the story of cryptids. With gratitude and joy, Roxyanne, thank you for sending it to me." - Ian Punnett, host, Coast to Coast Live with Ian Punnett
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