Behind the Legend: The Loch Ness Monster

Behind the Legend looks at creatures and monsters throughout history and analyzes them through a scientific, myth busting lens. Behind the Legend debates whether or not the sightings and evidence provided are adequate proof of the monsters’ existence.  

In The Loch Ness Monster, readers learn about all the sightings and proof of the Loch Ness Monster, from famous photographs to huge “footprints” found by the Loch. It also discusses the history surrounding the monster, such as how Nessie became a major figure in popular culture and other mythical beings that arose in Scotland. Complete with engaging anecdotes, interesting sidebars and fantastic illustrations, kids won’t want to put this book down! 

Author Erin Peabody uses a humorous and conversational tone that makes reading The Loch Ness Monster enjoyable. The oversized text and short passages are easy to read. Plus, large black-and-white illustrations appear on almost every page. The black and white drawings bring the legend to life. Scenes depicting the Loch Ness Monster attacking people are humorous, highlighting the lack of scientific evidence proving that the monster exists. The text does an excellent job of explaining how the culture of the 1900s helped reinforce belief in the existence of large creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster.  

Even though The Loch Ness Monster uses difficult vocabulary, the text is easy to understand since the book defines unfamiliar vocabulary and gives familiar examples. For instance, the root for cryptid is crypt, which “comes from the Greek word kryptos, and means ‘hidden’. . . There’s ‘Kryton,’” the home planet of Superman and Supergirl.  

In a time of fake news, The Loch Ness Monster explores how “pop culture, greed, and the temptation to trick and deceive can influence public opinion.” Thus, the book explains the importance of using scientific evidence in proving that a new species exists. Peabody also includes other sources readers can use to learn more about the Loch Ness Monster. 

The Loch Ness Monster uses many interesting stories and examples to explain why some people believe the monster still hides in the depths of the deepest loch in Scotland. The book includes sightings of the mysterious monster and explores how people have tried to gain proof of the monster’s existence. “Yet, despite all of the inventive, tech-savvy methods tried, not a single beastie bone, fossil, or other form of solid evidence ever turned up.” Even though there is no scientific evidence that the Loch Ness Monster is real, people are still trying to find proof of its existence.  

The Loch Ness Monster is a must-read for anyone who believes selkies, wizard shackles, or the Loch Ness Monster still find their home in Scotland. Spending an afternoon reading The Loch Ness Monster will be entertaining and educational. Plus, the book will give you many different ideas on how you can explore the legend of the Loch Ness Monster in more detail. 

Sexual Content  

• None

Violence  

• If a child got onto a kelpie’s back, “their fates were sealed. Instantly, the children would become stuck to the animal, which would then race into the water, not stopping until they’d dragged their poor victims to the bottom to drown. And then the kelpies would eat them.” 
• The only way a child could escape a kelpie was by “cutting off his own fingers.” 
• Scotland also has selkies, sinister shapeshifters, that lured “their victims into love affairs that would tragically end.”  
• In Scotland, the wizard shackle, a nine-eyed eel, would wait for a human or horse “then lunge, twisting itself around its victim’s ankles and dragging its prey underwater to drown. . . the leechlike slitherer would suck its victim’s blood.” 
• The boobrie is a carnivorous bird that “ambushes its victims [with its] large hook-shaped beak.” The boobrie eats lambs, calves, and children. 
• When writing King Kong, George Spicer used “an exact description of Nessie. And the Nessie look-alike in the film is quite terrifying. In one scene, it seizes a raft full of men in a lagoon, savagely killing them in its apparent thirst for blood.” An illustration shows Nessie eating a sailor. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None 

Language  

• None 

Supernatural 

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• None