But here’s a book about beasts and creatures that’s a little different.
Shine your Magic Torch: Magical Creatures and Mythical Beasts is an interactive adventure story that combines non-fiction, imagination and a torch.
Page one introduces you to Professor Byron Mortimer and his daughter Millie. The professor and Millie are about to set off on a journey across the world, exploring the birthplaces of the legends of mythical beasts.
Millie is excited, especially because she found a magic torch in her dad’s library and a note that told her the torch has the power to reveal mythical creatures.
As you turn the pages, you’ll travel around the world and learn about the myths and legends from the local area. Travel to Loch Ness, Scotland and learn about the Loch Ness Monster. Head to Norway and discover the Kraken. In New York, you’ll learn about Sewer Gators, and in Moscow search for the Firebird.
At each location the Professor reveals to readers where the legends of these fantastical beasts came from and what people might have actually been seeing instead (the legend of the werewolf likely came from actual wolves).
But sometimes adults just can’t see the truth. They think they know everything, but really they don’t. And if they just looked a little closer and opened their minds, they’d see that the legends are sometimes true.
Millie is there at each location, too. But she does something different to the Professor. Millie uses her torch and searches the area for evidence of the creatures, hiding in cracks and sometimes in plain sight.
And you can search for the legends too! The book comes with a special torch that reveals the beasts as you shine it on the pages.
At the back of the book there is also a list of other mythical creatures that are hiding on the pages. You can go back and search for them all.
This is a brilliant book for all fans of the mystical and magical. It has a heap of information and its loads of fun. A perfect Christmas gift for the believers in your life.
Title: Shine your Magic Torch: Magical Creatures and Mythical Beasts
Author: Professor and Millie Mortimer
Illustrator: Victo Ngai
Publisher: Magic Cat Publishing, $44.99
Publication Date: 5 November
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781916180574
For ages: 4+
Type: Non-Fiction, Junior-Non-Fiction
