If I Had a Gryphon by Vikki Vansickle is a book that the kids and I just adored this week. We found it in the new section at the Delaware County Library, lured by it’s unique cover art and gripping title. It definitely didn’t disappoint. The Littles, usually swept up in the world of princesses and occasional construction trucks, surprisingly couldn’t put this one down. From manticores, to unicorns, chupacabras, to dragons, this book covered literally every mythical creature in existence… even ones I didn’t know of! The art pulled them in as they learned all the names of the creatures (with the exception of the phoenix because there was a giant manticore mouth being flossed on the accompanying page and well, who can ignore the appeal of saying, “EWWW” over a firey bird?). This book was delightful. I took a few minutes when we returned it to see if the library held anything else by the author without any luck, so I believe this may be her debut book–and a stellar one at that! It captivated us from the start and saddened us when we put it back in the drop box. I don’t doubt it will be widely enjoyed, and I wanted to take a moment to help spread the word because it deserves every borrow and purchase. Well done Vikki, please, keep writing! 🙂
Writing Concepts 