Monsters & Creatures (Dungeons & Dragons): A Young Adventurer's Guide (Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer's Guides) Hardcover – July 16, 2019

Great light reading and a fun intro to the world of Dungeons and Dragons for the uninitiated. I got these for my son, who was a big fan of the old "Practical Guide to..." series of books by Mirrorstone Books, which was like a spin-off line of books published by Wizards of the Coast back around 2007-2008. Those were aimed at young readers and featured a similar format to these new volumes. He was very pleased with both the Monsters & Creatures and Warriors & Weapons guides.I quickly read through each of the new volumes and enjoyed what I saw. These would be a great primer for bringing new players into the world of D&D (or any fantasy RPG for that matter). The key here is light reading and just a taste to spark the imagination and introduce them to the world and the character classes, races, creature concepts, etc. Great art direction and well-produced books. Will definitely get the next volume coming out later this year (Dungeons and Tombs).

Great for kids, great for people new to TTRPGs in general, great for giving a sense of what adventurers in a fantasy world would know about its denizens even without extensive study. I think I know what to do if I meet a mountain lion, despite the fact I will probably never meet one. It makes sense that even the most novice of adventurers would at least know two or three things to do in Owlbear territory.This can give a DnD campaign more life than the actual Monster Manual.

We loved this Junior reader book series for introducing our kids to the world of Cooperative Storytelling through playing Dungeons & Dragons. I got these books so they could familiarize themselves with the fantasy world of D&D and be better prepared for thier first adventure. We have three kids from 7 years old to 11, and they loved pouring over them. The books are beautifully illustrated and informative. It really got them amped up to play thier first game, which turned out to be very therapeutic for them. I highly recommend fantasy role-playing for kids & adults, and these books are a nice intro!

I received the first two books in this series (Warriors & Weapons and Monsters & Creatures). These small, hardback primers are beautifully illustrated. The language is appropriate for you readers.There are no game mechanics in this book!The Monster & Creature guide discusses 33 iconic monsters, as well as some unique individuals, and talks about the environments in which they are likely to be found. The descriptions are fairly brief, but effective, conveying the essentials about each.The book closes with some questions to prompt the budding dungeon master (or author) in crafting their games & stories.Though there are no game mechanics or rules, this series would compliment the D&D Starter Box (or similar introductory set, such as the D&D Basic Rules PDF) very well.

Let’s be clear – This series of books is NOT intended for teaching kids how to play D&D. There are no mechanics of any kind. **If you want to learn how to play D&D, you’ll need the Starter Set and some “actual play” videos online.**So what does this book and its counterparts do? It provides an introductory step into the “world” of D&D, introducing concepts like monsters, magic and classes, and illustrating them beautifully with some decent accompanying text. If a child isn’t ready for D&D – or you’re considering getting them ready for D&D – this is a good way to get kids accustomed to the thematics and story lore of the game.What kids are this intended for? Kids that collect Pokemon cards for the cool pictures but don’t play the game. Kids whose older siblings are playing D&D. Kids of parents who play/played D&D and want to expose them to some of the fun ideas without walls of text and confusing stat quantifications.What the writers intended to do, this series does the job well. But I’m baffled by the lack of clarity on the product itself explaining what it DOESN’T do…. This book series certainly could be interpreted as “D&D for kids,” but it’s very much NOT that. Nothing about these books teaches you the game, yet the product description doesn’t remotely imply this.I’m also baffled by the lack of a book in this series regarding mechanics and PLAYING the game. Seems like a specific entry distilling the basics of D&D for the under-10 set would be perfect here… What’s roleplaying? How does it work? What’s a D20? How does leveling and class-building compare/contrast to videogames? But TSR and WOTC have been fumbling that ball for decades. D&D isn’t hard, but the game’s presentation makes it appear that way, no matter what edition or decade you’re talking about.

I bought this for my son who has a growing interest in dungeons and dragons. He has enjoyed another book that was very similar in that it described beasts, what they do, and how to handle them.This book manages to draw upon classic D&D bestiary but has an art style that is slightly better for younger audiences. The best part is that it's just slightly adjusted but does not become a complete kiddy cartoon.The subjects are kept to two pages each. The beasts align with the game well.I do recommend this book!

We are introducing D&D to the kids (ages 6-12), this is the perfect resource for them to learn about various monsters & creatures. The books are super kid/beginner friendly - no stats, just the basic info & some "do this" "don't do this" tips for each monster/creature. It is perfect for kids & good for adults who are new to the game as well. We loved the first 2 books so much that we pre-ordered the 3rd & 4th even though they are many months away from release.