Thomas Taylor is an award-winning author-illustrator for children. He illustrated the cover for the very first Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and has since gone on to write and illustrate several picture books and young novels; most recently he illustrated Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter, written by Marcus Sedgwick. Thomas Taylor has just released Gargantis, his second title in the Legends of Eerie-on-Sea sequence; the first, Malamander, was published to huge acclaim in 2019 (read our review).
Today, Thomas is on the blog to tell us all about his five favourite books that feature magical creatures. Read on!
1. The Crowfield Curse
by Pat Walsh
I love the bleakly glittering world of medieval mystery conjured in this book, the sense of old magic mingling with monastic life, and the quirky little fairy being known as the Hob. Read this book in the warm, by flickering light, while a cold wind howls outside. The Crowfield books deserve to be rediscovered.
Buy it here
2. The Amulet of Samarkand
by Jonathan Stroud
One of the most intriguing and evocative depictions of practical magic I’ve come across in fiction. It’s fascinating to see the world through the unreliable and multi-dimensional perspective the Djinn, Bartimaeus.
Buy it here
3. No Such Thing as Dragons
by Philip Reeve
When I first read this story of a hunter sent to destroy a terrible dragon in its wild mountain lair, I found myself hoping that the dragon would be no more than a legend. Until, that is, the dragon itself shrieked and bristled and clawed its leathery way into the story, to become probably the best depiction of a dragon – with more than a hint of prehistoric survivor about it – I have ever read.
Buy it here
4. Five Children and It
by E. Nesbit
What would you do with a wish a day, until sunset? Could you be sure that what you wished for would turn out the way you wished it? The grumpy little sand fairy – a psammead – in this book is so odd as to be unforgettable, not least because of the comical way he puffs himself up and projects his eyes when he makes your wish come true.
Buy it here
5. The House with Chicken Legs
by Sophie Anderson
Strangely present as an extra character throughout this wonderful inversion of the traditional Baba Yaga myth, the house itself – striding around on its scaly chicken legs – is a magical being like no other. The book is beautifully written, the sentiments expressed poignant and profound, and the imagery darkly delightful.
Buy it here
—Gargantis by Thomas Taylor (Walker Books Australia) is out now.
Gargantis
The Legends of Eerie-On-Sea: Book 2
There's a storm raging in Eerie-on-Sea. Has the mighty Gargantis come back from the deep...?
When an ancient bottle is found washed up on the beach after a ferocious electrical storm, all the residents of Eerie-on-Sea seem to want it ... but should they in fact fear it? Legend has it that the bottle contains an extraordinary secret that spells doom for the whole of Eerie-on-Sea. Could it be true that the vast sea creature Gargantis has awoken from her slumbers...
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