ALA Booklist (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

Curlee, author-illustrator of Brooklyn Bridge (2001) and other books about natural and technological marvels, here compiles a bestiary featuring fearsome and wondrous beings from Greek mythology ong them, Pegasus, gryphons, and harpies, as well as half-human half-animal creatures, such as Pan and the Minotaur. Each creature receives a full-page of text opposite and a bordered, full-page acrylic painting. Curlee's illustrations have a sculptural, almost monumental feel, with his subjects appearing solid, even weighty. The palette is rich but subtle, with deep purples, golds, rusts, and greens. The information is minimal, and although the preface and epilogue provide some cultural context for the tales, several stories, including Orpheus and Euridyce and the Golden Fleece, are sharply abbreviated. The writing is marred by the occasional awkward phrase, but this handsome book will still serve a wide audience, which will be attracted by both the subject and the design.

Horn Book (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

Three fairies must find a magic wand to save Never Land from a mermaid-issued flood. This might sound promising, but it's impossible to keep the countless characters straight (familiarity with this book's predecessor, Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg, seems essential). Quirky writing (the fairies finish each other's sentences) and a whiplash-inducing roving point of view stoke the chaos.

Kirkus Reviews

This is not so much a "bestiary" as a diverse gallery of figures from Greek mythology that are particularly suited to Curlee's distinctive, neoclassical style of illustration. He chooses 16 subjects, ranging from gryphons and centaurs to Pan, Argus (depicted weirdly as a man with eyes all over his body), Poseidon's fish-tailed son Triton and Talus, the bronze giant that guarded Crete. Aside from several notable exceptions like the gaping, gory head of Medusa, which stares stonily up from the page and will likely give many viewers the willies, all are posed in heroic profile and strongly, solidly modeled. The text facing each full-page portrait supplies physical descriptions, as well as abbreviated but clear versions of relevant myths. Curlee wraps the contents in a context-setting Prologue and Epilogue, so the entire volume not only provides an engrossing visual experience, but serves up a coherent early introduction to the range and purposes of these ancient tales. (Folklore. 8-10)

School Library Journal (Thu May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

Gr 3-6 Centaurs, Gryphons, and Harpies share the pages of this who's who of ancient Greek figures like Argus, the watchman with 100 eyes; the three-headed dog Cerberus; and Polyphemus, the Cyclops of Homer's Odyssey . Snippets of stories about Jason and Medea, Theseus and Ariadne, and other well-known characters will give readers tantalizing glimpses of the more intricate tales that await them. Although the title makes it clear that the book is about creatures of mythology, the section on Gryphons is slightly confusing in the way that it implies these half-lion, half-eagle beings did indeed exist in the natural world. Curlee's language is descriptive and lyrical. Combining formal, stylized images with touches of realism, the full-color acrylic paintings depict these characters with dramatic flair. Details mentioned in the text are often incorporated into the artwork, further enhancing the book's impact. This bestiary would be a good companion to Kate McMullan's "Myth-O-Mania" series, could pave the way for Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" books (both Hyperion), and whet appetites for further explorations of Greek mythology. Farida S. Dowler, Mercer Island Library, WA