Mythical creatures title coincides with Fantastic Beasts film

Buster Books will publish a book of beasts to coincide with the release of the film "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" in November.

The Book of Beasts: A Compendium of Monsters, Critters and Mythical Creatures to Colour will be released on 8th September, written by Buster Books editor Jonny Marx and illustrated by Angela Rizza.

Marx, a self-proclaimed enthusiast of myths and legends, said: “Conducting research and writing text for this title was great fun. There are so many unusual and incredible creatures embedded in folktales and stories throughout history. We tried to focus on the beasts that we thought children would find the most interesting, not only to read about, but also to colour in. Some of the creatures are terrifying, some are amusing and others are just plain weird.”

Rizza, who specializes in fantasy illustration, added: “Working on this book was a great opportunity to really experiment with, and reinterpret, some classic creatures, and sketch some new ones I never knew about. I tried to create something that my 10-year-old self always wanted to find whenever she went to a bookstore.”

The first of the planned trilogy of Fantastic Beasts films, written by J.K. Rowling and set in her Harry Potter universe, is released on November 18th, two months after Marx and Rizza’s book.