Children love books about creatures.  Illustrated, diary-style chapter books are one of the hottest trends in youth literature today.  The Mystic Phyles combines these two elements to tell the story of Abigail Thaddeus, an outsider who is asked by a cat to research mythical creatures.  The presentation of this book couldn’t be much more attractive.  The whole book is in full-color, and pictures, clippings, photographs, and “hand-written” notes fill its pages.  Abigail tells her story in journal form, including the event of the mysterious request that she learn about mythical creatures, and records her findings in this book.  The information about creatures varies in length – some entries have only a single spread, some have pages of alternate illustrations and theories about the history of the creature in question.  This title would be stronger if the information on the creatures was more consistent.  The appeal factors override the weak elements however, and kids will eagerly look forward to the next installment of Abigail’s story.