This book is unconventional in that it is not intended as a listing of mythological creatures as such, but it is intended as a listing of creatures presumed by those engrossed in Harry Potter's magic world to actually exist. If there were a theme to be identified in the book it would have to be simply the validation that magic exists, and the underlying belief that wizards can encounter any of the creatures that grace these pages at any time.

In addition to the beasts themselves, the characters in the book are the Harry Potter characters who give these beasts reality. Included are Harry Potter, his friend Ron Weasley, Newt Scamander, Professor Dumbledore (who wrote the Foreword), and all of the peripheral characters who add validity to Rowling's world. Harry's friend Hagrid, for instance, also appears, as do Dumbledore's wife, Porpetina, and their pet...