Fantastic Creatures is the perfect short story anthology for lovers of mythical or magical creatures of all types. From popular favorites like dragons, mermaids and lake monsters to the more unusual such as the Pacific Tree Octopus, fire fairies and spotted wyvern, this 20-story collection offers a little bit of everything for the fantasy creature lover.

I liked the fact that the stories are a mix of humorous and dark. Not all of the creatures are out for blood....some just want to play. Others are just....well, evil.

My favorite tale was The Kappa by Lelia Rose Foreman. Sometimes rescuing a hungry, wet kitten can bring unforeseen blessings. The story is short, but made me smile. I foster rescue kittens, so the subject was near and dear to my heart. Another favorite was Absolutely True Facts about the Pacific Tree Octopus. While on a weekend trip to the Olympic Peninsula, Leisel is bound and determined to prove the Pacific Tree Octopus is a real animal. What she learns is astonishing and heart-warming. Quite the adventure for an 8 year old!


Included in the anthology are:

Three Steaks and a Box of Chocolates - A.R. Silverberry
Snapdragon - Lee Doue
The Golden City Captives - Julie C. Gilbert
Seekers - Intisar Khanani
Mystery of Asgina Lake - Caren Rich
Skin Deep - Morgan Smith
The Last Chronicle of Pete Mersill - Cave Yates
Priscilla, The Magnificent Flying Squid - L. Palmer
An Adventurer's Heart - Nicole. Zoltack
Destiny's Flight - Frank B. Luke
The Kappa - Lelia Rose Foreman
Celebration - Arthur Daigle
The Netherlands - Cave Yates
Talori and The Shark - Jessica L. Elliott
Reviving the Sword - Kandi J. Elliott
Mother's Night Out - D.J Driver
The Mage and the Spotted Wyvern - Craig J. Price, Jr
The Very Last Dragon - Katy Huth Jones
The Adventures of Zero: The Quest for Wormsroot - Vincent Trigilli
Ishkah's Garden - Bokerah Brumley
Absolutely the True Facts about the Pacific Tree Octopus - H.L. Burke

I definitely recommend this story anthology to fantasy fans and animal lovers. :) I enjoyed all 20 stories! Each tale was the perfect length. All are well-written. There is nothing in any of the stories that a middle school aged child couldn't read....no sex, nothing too gory or traumatizing. Definitely PG-13. All in all, a great anthology!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.**

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A few stories in this collection were a miss for me. However a few were not. There were tales in this book that had me wanting more! Short stories can be such a tease! ( )

This is a 'Fantastic' anthology packed with stories for all ages about mythical and fantasy beasts and their friends. Many of the creatures are the usual dragons, mermaids, and griffins. Others were not as familiar to me, the hum-fairies, werejaguars, or tree octapuses, but the stories are uniformly interesting and well-written.
I especially enjoyed 'Three Steaks and a Box of Chocolates', 'The Very Last Dragon', 'An Adventurer's Heart', and 'Absolutely True Facts about the Pacific Tree Octapus', but there is something to like for everyone in this fantastical collection of stories.
A few stories have some violence and are marked as such for younger readers. I received this as an ARC and choose to give an honest review. ( )