Brandon Terrell

This was pretty well-done. It's a second-person adventure with chooseable paths; this makes it interactive and something like a low-tech video game. I don't know how popular this format will be with modern children, but it seems pretty enjoyable, and it will likely be marketable to the children of that 1980s-1990s generation who loved the famous "Choose Your Own Adventure" series. This book is a lot like that, but with a more educational bent. The abundant full-color photographs that enrich show more this volume contain clear information on a variety of topics. Some are historical, such as the famous hoax picture from 1934, while others depict and describe elements of nature, such as real animals and their environments. The story is interesting, and the choices (and consequences thereof) are both logical and educational. The three main cryptids featured here are the Loch Ness monster, Champ, and Mokele-mbembe. I was deeply impressed with the organized layout of the book; each monster gets its own chapter, and the book ends with a final informational chapter, glossary, and index. The authors put a lot of thought into this, and it shows. show less

Super short graphic novel about a really specific moment in time -- it's very good at highlighting that game. It doesn't have much narrative outside of that.

I still unreservedly recommend Far Out fairy tales, but this could have been better. The detail in the illustrations appeals, but I don't understand the Carrabas link to the original. And the climax of the ogre/mouse is handled poorly, imo.

Another fun entry in the Far Out Fairy Tales series. Better for kids into comics than for me, but I still appreciate them, and the back matter enrichment. This particular tale doesn't really have much to do with the original story, though.