Customer Reviews

Bestiary: An Illuminated Alphabet of Medieval Beasts

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have taught at both the Middle and High School levels and found that Bestiary: An Illuminated Alphabet of Medieval Beasts and Illuminations both by Jonathan Hunt are a wonderful way to introduce the medieval period to young adults. These books are not just children's books. Bestiary: An Illuminated Alphabet of Medieval Beasts and Illuminations introduce the students to important vocabulary words and mythological creatures from this fascinating time period. This is a great way for students to relate to the period in a nonthreatening manner. These books allow me to make the Middle Ages fun. They are both filled with information as well as visually stimulating. The author takes each letter of the alphabet and associates it with something medieval in Illuminations and something mythological in Bestiary: An Illuminated Alphabet of Medieval Beast. The illustrations are breathtaking in both. You will learn something new with each reading. I highly recommend both books to young and old alike.

This book is my five-year old son's favorite! The illustrations are striking and the short text descriptions trigger elaborate conversations. We discuss which of these medival beasts is the strongest, the meanest, the most difficult to capture. The author includes a table of pronouncations, which my son uses to correct me. We spend hours pouring over the map on the inside cover, locating different beasts and thinking about where they came from. My older son and his friends use the illustrations as guides for their own drawings, which now grace the walls of our house.

Its a rare book that can spark so many imaginations while teaching the alphabet, word origins, geography, and history. The Bestiary is just such a book!

My sons and I have been reading and rereading this book for four years, since they were 4 and 7 years old. At 8 and 11, it's still our favorite. Just the right amount of information, great illustrations, and a starting point for terrific imaginings!

Living in a world that they knew was much larger than their immediate surroundings and hearing tales of some of the amazing creatures known to exist, the people of medieval Europe let their imaginations create many fearsome creatures of myth. In the modern world, we tend to restrict this to dragons, yet there were many other creatures that found their way into the thoughts of European writers. A bestiary is a compilation of descriptions of these powerful beasts.

This book presents a collection of images and descriptions of 26 such beasts, there is one with a name beginning with each letter of the alphabet. It starts with the two-headed creature "Amphisbaena" and ends with the "Ziphius" or water-owl. All of the beasts are dangerous and to be feared, reflecting the general fear of the vast unknown prevalent in that time of human history.

The artwork is superb; the power of the creatures is evident in their structure and facial expressions. This book is an excellent description of some of the mythical creatures that humans once shrunk from in fright.

My children (ages 15, 12, and 7) all enjoy looking at this book. Well-illustrated, well-written.

Pleasing to the eye and stimulating to the imagination, this book describes and depicts twenty-six "fabulous beasts" who were once the thing of everyday legend in times past. An excellent book to refer to time and again, and one children should love. Well-illustrated and nicely-written, this is a good work to add to the home library of anyone who loves the past, the landscapes of Medieval fantasy, or who simply appreciates colorful art.

I thought that it was very good if you like monsters that where thought of real in the middle ages. All ages should like it. This is a good book for people that like Monsters

I thought that it was very good if you like monsters that where thought as real in the middle ages. All ages should like it.