★ Rights sold to China!
★ Selected for the global “Draw the World – 1,001 Outstanding Children’s Books from Around the Globe” exhibition!
★ Strange creatures that humanity has been searching for over hundreds of years will appear one after another, showing just how wild and imaginative human thought has been throughout history!
★ Explore human culture, world myths, and legends through 21 mysterious animals, sparking children’s imagination and curiosity!
★ Perfect for curious readers of all ages!
★ English sample available!

Since ancient times, people have believed that faraway lands are home to all sorts of wondrous creatures. Some soar through the skies, others roam the depths of the sea, and still others lurk in remote mountains. Some are fiercely dangerous and terrifying, while others are said to bestow riches or even immortality. Then there are those mythical beasts that humans have been searching for over centuries, a quest that continues to this day.
This book introduces a collection of extraordinary creatures born from human legends and historical records. These incredible animals hail from diverse cultures and eras. They were documented by scientists and writers of their time, and artists captured their likenesses based on eyewitness accounts. Within these pages you will encounter the unicorn, the cockatrice, the dragon, the mermaid, the phoenix, the Kraken, the Loch Ness Monster, the sphinx, the hairy fish, the nine-tailed fox, Bigfoot, and many more. What did they look like? What did they eat? Where did they live? And what is the latest scientific information about them? By exploring these questions, this book will help young readers discover which monsters once roamed our planet—and whether there is any scientific evidence to support their existence.

[Author] Ekaterina Stepanyenko (1986)
Historian, children’s book author, and publishing editor. She graduated from the History Department of Moscow State University in 2008 and completed internships at the Universities of Warsaw and Bologna. Currently an editor at the Russian children’s publishing house “Walking Through History,” she has authored titles such as “A Guest from Ancient China,” “An Archaeological Journey to Pompeii,” “The Medieval Labyrinth,” “Exploring Winter: A Science Picture Book” (which won the 2018 Russian “Image Book” Award), and “An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Strange Creatures from Around the World” (selected for the 2018 NonFiction Book Fair in Moscow Top List), among other historical and science-oriented books for young readers. She is also a co-author of the children’s guidebook for the Russian National Historical Museum’s “Let’s Go to the Museum Together” project.

[Illustrator] Polya Pravinskaya (1991)
Russian illustrator, book author, illustrator for multimedia animation projects, photographer, and partner at the Marshak Children’s Bookstore. She graduated from the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in Photojournalism in 2011 and later earned a diploma in Illustration from a UK design school in 2015. Polya collaborates with numerous leading Russian publishers and magazines. The illustrated book “Exploring Winter: A Science Picture Book,” which she illustrated, was awarded the 2018 Russian “Image Book” Prize. In 2017, she held a solo exhibition at the «CUB» Gallery in Riga. In 2018, together with the photography collective Takih Del, she won the Digital Storytelling Contest at the World Press Photo competition (WPP).

1. Plant Sheep
2. Unicorn
3. Kraken
4. Basilisk
5. Yeti
6. Phoenix
7. Chupacabra
8. Dragon
9. Roc
10. Loch Ness Monster
11. Griffin
12. Fox Spirit
13. Hairy Fish
14. Two-Headed Snake
15. Bracket Beast
16. Chimera
17. Lernaean Hydra
18. Beast of Gévaudan
19. Shamir Worm
20. Scorpion-Tailed Lion
21. Platypus