Top 3 Rare Mythological Creatures (Lizzie)

I hope you've heard that Laurie Lucking and I are part of a new fairytale anthology, Encircled, that releases next week. Laurie's Snow White retelling kept coming to mind as I was trying to come up with an idea for this post. It wasn't the Snow White aspect (though I loved that) that had captured my thoughts, though, but the trees. Or more precisely, the dryads living in the beautiful, mysterious forest. I've not read much about dryads, so I found them fascinating, and I loved Laurie's portrayal of them, especially of the dryad prince. It got me thinking about other beings from mythology that I've only read about a few times. So here are three of my favorite "rarities."

1) Dryads 

These nymphs are tied to their trees and are very graceful. I believe they are mentioned in The Chronicles of Narnia, but I never really thought much about them until reading Laurie's "Edged in Silver." They aren't the same as Tolkien's Ents or Rowling's Whomping Willow (I think it's interesting that Tolkien also has a malicious willow in The Fellowship of the Ring, but willows look innocent enough to me.) They can leave their trees.

2) Naiads

These nymphs inhabit rivers, springs, and waterfalls. In Brandon Mull's Fablehaven, the naiads are extremely dangerous and enjoy convincing humans to join them in the water so they can drown them. One of my favorite characters in Fablehaven (I won't say who to avoid spoilers) was a naiad who fell in love with one of the human caretakers of Fabehaven and left the water, and became a nice person (I'm not sure I'd call her human exactly, but she gained human qualities of compassion and love after leaving the water).

3) Selkies

These Scottish mythological creatures are capable of changing from seals to humans. They are portrayed differently in the three stories I've heard them mentioned in, but my favorite portrayal of them in the animated movie Song of the Sea. A young half-selkie girl has a beautiful, white "selkie coat" that lets her turn into a seal in the sea beside her lighthouse keeper father's house. She must learn to sing the selkie song. So I associate selkies with beautiful white coats and lovely songs, as well as with seals.

Do you have any favorite mythological creatures (beyond dragons and unicorns, that is)?

Top Three Memorable Picture Books (Erin)

Not too long ago, Laura posted about her Top Three picture books, and I thought I would chime in. I was also intrigued by Laurie's post on Top Three Speculative worlds, but my favorites are so predictable--Narnia, Rivendell and Hogsmeade--that I thought you might be more interested in my picture book choices.


3. What Do You Do with a Kangaroo? Also by Mercer Mayer, one of Laura's author picks, this book was one of my childhood favorites. A sassy girl in bell bottoms is harassed by a menagerie of demanding animals who interrupt her daily schedule. I love the illustrations and I can relate to her dilemma. What do you do when a "grown Bengal tiger with flashing green eyes" is sitting on your "red-painted tricycle seat?" You can view the pictures and have the book read to you by a gentleman with a delightful Australian(?) accent here: What Do You Do with a Kangaroo?  Can you find the kitty in most of the pictures?




2. Animalia by Graeme Base is a sophisticated alphabet book in which Base uses alliteration and paints fantastic images of all things ordinary and fantastical beginning with each letter of the alphabet. The "D" page highlighted on Base's author page is one of my favorites. "Diabolical dragons daintily devouring delicious delicacies." Indeed!





1. Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems. This hilarious book was the source of much consternation in my life as a mom. Thankfully, my children are old enough now to laugh at the book's message and not take it literally. However, a mischievous auntie gave my youngest the book several years ago. Since my youngest was just a toddler then, she spent a happy aisle or two in the grocery store with her sweatshirt around her waist. When I realized why all the other people in the store were laughing as they passed us, I asked her to pull her shirt up. Unfortunately, she exclaimed, "No! We be naked!" Mortified at the time, I now think the book is fabulous, and makes a great gift. (Here is a handy Amazon link)!

Fun Note: Did you notice all these books are technically fantasy books?

What are your favorite fantasy picture books? 

Attributions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dsQ3NvYOMU
http://graemebase.com/book/animalia/
https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Mole-Rat-Gets-Dressed/dp/142311437X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477006967&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=naked+moe+rat+gets+dressed#reader_142311437X

Top 3 Fantasy Illustrators (Erin)

Today in Top 3s, let’s take a look at illustrators! Imagining fantasy worlds is so much fun, but seeing the way artists conceptualize those worlds helps me to gain a clearer picture as I read.

Here are three of my favorites:

3. Pauline Baynes: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis was one of the first fantasy books I read when I was growing up. The colorful sketches by Pauline Baynes made it even more magical. Tell us what you thought about the Narnia movies here. 






2. James A. Owen: Author of Here, There Be Dragons and the rest of the Imaginarium Geographica series, Owen started as a comic book illustrator. Each chapter in Here, There Be Dragons begins with an elaborate drawing, executed by the author himself. His attention to detail is remarkable. I can’t imagine how long it would take to draw each piece! I am excited to read more of his work.

3. Alan Lee and John Howe: I know, they are actually two illustrators, but they are tied for their amazing work on both the print copies and the movie concept artwork for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Their paintings made Tolkein’s books come alive for me. Read more about the world of Lord of the Rings here.












Attributions:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Baynes
https://40.media.tumblr.com/51c7043051372c39d909691fbf73e544/tumblr_n65lpq0i3R1t2e8o4o1_500.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-Sketchbook-Alan-Lee/dp/0618640142?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&redirect=true&ref_=s9_simh_gw_g14_i1_r
http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Magic-Art-John-Howe/dp/0007107951?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&redirect=true&ref_=s9_simh_gw_g14_i1_r

Top 3 Fantasy Creatures (Hannah)

I love mythical creatures!  I don't think there is a fantasy reader anywhere that doesn't love at least some fantasy creatures.  I was so excited when Erin chose this topic, but unfortunately for me, Erin and Laura already named some of my favorite fantasy creatures: elves, my second favorites, and dragons, my all-time favorites.  I won't repeat what they said, since you can read their posts for yourself, but I will note a particular variation of each that I like in particular.

3. Pegasus

Not many people realize that Pegasus is actually a proper name.  Pegasus was a pure white winged horse in Greek mythology, the son of the sea god Poseidon and the Gorgon Medusa.  When the hero Perseus cut off the head of the monster Medusa, Pegasus was born fully grown.  Pegasus was the lightning bearer for Zeus and the friend of the Muses.  After the gods Athena and Poseidon helped the hero Bellerophon catch Pegasus, Pegasus served as Bellerophon's mount and fought many other monsters, including chimera.  When Bellerophon grew arrogant and attempted to fly up to Olympus, he fell off of Pegasus' back and died.   Zeus placed Pegasus in the sky as a constellation.  Throughout the Renaissance, Pegasus was a symbol of wisdom and inspiration due to his association with the Muses.  Modern winged horses are called "pegasus" after the original Greek creature.

2. Leviathan

Gustave Dore, "Destruction of Leviathan," 1865

Believe it or not, dragons are in the Bible.  Real-life dragons!  And they're not allegorical, either.  Though scholars debate whether dragons actually existed or they were just exaggerated versions of dinosaurs, we have proof that at least one real dragon existed at some point.  In Job 41, here are some things God has to say about leviathan:

v8: If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!

v14: Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth?

v15-17: Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together, each so close to the next that no air can pass between them. They are joined fast to one another, they cling together and cannot be parted.

Of course, all of these could also be speaking of a dinosaur with very powerful scales, but once you read the next passage, there will be no doubt in your mind that leviathan was a dragon:

v18-21: Its snorting throws out flashes of light, its eyes are like the rays of dawn.  Flames stream from its mouth, sparks of fire shoot out.  Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.  Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.

It breathes fire!  Leviathan was a fire-breathing, water-dwelling, reptilian, fearsome monster.  That certainly sounds like a dragon to me!

"When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing." (v25).  Indeed! 

1. Dark Elves

A good rendition of Svartalfheim from Thor: The Dark World

In Norse mythology, light elves were the inhabitants of Alfheim (translated elf-home), also called Ljosalfheim (translated light-elf-home.)  They were benevolent, magical, and eternally youthful creatures that served the gods.  They could not touch cold iron or they would be burned.  Dwarves were stocky, ugly, immortal metal-smiths.  They lived in underground tunnels on Svartalfheim (translated black-elf-home).  Dwarves lived underground because if they were ever touched by a ray of sunlight, they would turn to stone.  Because they lived underground, they were often associated with death.  Some scholars believe the beings called "Svartalfar" (translated black-elves) are synonymous with dwarves, and they argue that they were called "black" because they lived underground.  Dark elves in Norse mythology, called Dokkalfar, were the hybrid children of these two races.  They inherited both the light elves' weakness to iron and the dwarves' weakness to sunlight.  Because of this, they lived underground with the dwarves.  Many of them were considered evil pranksters who prowled the land at night and caused trouble, but not all of them were like this.  Although some of them looked similar to traditional elves, other sub-species of dark elves were trolls, goblins, orcs, and more.  These elves have a special place in my heart because they were the main inspiration for my current work-in-progress, and my only completed draft so far.

Honorable mentions go to the phoenix, which Erin already posted about, unicorns, which Laura also posted about, and fairies, which can be so diverse and are interesting in all of their variations.  Read Erin's post about elves, centaurs, and phoenixes here, and Laura's post about hippogriffs, dragons, and unicorns here.  

What are your favorite mythical creatures? Do you think dragons really existed? What do you think about leviathan, and the other great beast mentioned in Job 41, the behemoth?  I encourage you to read Job 41 and check it out for yourself!

Attributions

Pegasus: http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/powerlisting/images/6/61/Pegasus_.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120118224226

Leviathan: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Destruction_of_Leviathan.png/250px-Destruction_of_Leviathan.png

Svartalfheim: http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/marvelcinematicuniverse/images/2/23/Svartalfheim.png/revision/latest?cb=20141019224402

Top 3 Mythical Creatures (Erin)

Happy Saturday! Since this is a fantasy blog, it's high time we take a look at our favorite mythical creatures. These creatures have lived in the collective imaginations of storytellers and authors for centuries, and these days, are often brought to life by filmmakers. What is it about these creatures that intrigues us and compels us to find out more? I hope, after you've read my post, you'll have time to tell us whether you agree with me, or whether there are other creatures that would make your Top 3 list.

3. Elves: Graceful, lithe, and lightning fast, these gentle warriors always inspire me to appreciate trees, green forests and wildlife. How can you read Tolkein and not want to learn Elvish and visit Rivendell?







2. Centaurs: I first fell in love with centaurs in Robert Siegel's now out-of-print book, Alpha Centauri. The heroic Cavallos rescues Becky, and her horse Rebecca, and keeps them safe.His chivalry and sacrificial love made him one of my heroes in elementary school. Then there was Chiron, in Percy Jackson (played by Pierce Brosnan in the first movie--ask your parents, if you don't know who Pierce Brosnan).  Skilled at archery, centaurs make fierce foes, but are also wise astronomers and capable of great joy.




1. The Phoenix, or Firebird: Known as the Phoenix in Greek myth and the Firebird in Russian folklore, this has to be my favorite mythical creature. The Phoenix burns completely in the fire, but rises triumphant, more beautiful than before, from the most bitter ashes. The embodiment of hope, the Phoenix, more than any other mythical creature, reminds us of the hope we have in Christ--that we will rise, no matter how desperate our circumstances seem.
 
This image is of an ornament I have hanging on my wall, of Prince Ivan and the Firebird. You can actually order one at the website listed!


Attributions:
3. https://pixabay.com/en/photos/elves/
2. https://pixabay.com/en/photos/?image_type=&cat=&min_width=&min_height=&q=centaur&order=popular
1. https://www.replacements.com/webquote/CO_PLKXMSORUT.htm