Thirty detailed illustrations portray giant squid, great white shark, double-crested crocodile, other real animals, as well as such fanciful beasts as the tusked pig whale, Bardfysshe, and Loch Ness monster.

Dragons, winged dogs, demons, lions, griffins, a bull, unicorn, eagle, various other grotesques from The Book of Kells, medieval architecture, other sources. Detailed black-and-white illustrations of 45 mythical animals. Captions.

Colorists can come face-to-face with 30 fascinating insects and spiders. Magnified images offer close-up looks at the Asian giant hornet, cicada, horsefly, rhinoceros beetle, and more. Captions offer intriguing facts about each creature.

Best-selling simplifier of science Lucille Recht Penner unearths the truth about the water bug which sucks its victims' blood like a vampire, the assassin bug which turns its prey to mush with a special poison, and other barbaric bugs. This vividly illustrated collection of sensational but true bug facts is sure to set young readers' skin crawling!

Super Fun

A step-by-step manual designed to help parents cope with children's fears; Monsters Under the Bed and Other Childhood Fears discusses common fears, how to respond to childhood anxieties, and other ways to deal with frightened children. “With the culture getting scarier and parents getting busier, there is a growing need to help parents understand and cope with childhood fears. This thoughtful and practical work fulfills that need extraordinarily well.”—Stan and Jan Berenstain, authors of The Berenstain Bears children's book series This book is about how to respond to your child's fears. Most children experience fears of the dark, strangers, unidentified noises, and numerous other things for a short time and then they pass. By supporting your child and filling in the gaps in her knowledge, you can minimize most of the normal childhood fears many children experience. By preparing your child in advance for the new situations she must meet, you may be able to avoid new fears.—From the Introduction Praise for Monsters Under the Bed “The authors of Monsters Under the Bed have created a great resource for parents to help their children. The fun parti s that some of the basic wisdom in this book may also apply when the occasional wayward monster slips under an adult bed.”—Sheryl Leach, president of The Lyons Group, creator of Barney “Fears often annoy, disturb, and sometimes even prevent a child from enjoying childhood. At no time are fears a laughing matter. This book offers parents a variety of clever suggestions on how to help their child 'slay' the ubiquitous monsters that lurk under the bed, in the hall, and outside the window. Today's concerned but busy parents will appreciate the straightforward yet family-oriented language of this book.”—Ted Ayllon, Ph.D., professor of psychology and special education, Georgia State University; author, with Mori Freed, of Stopping Baby's Colic