Category: books and reading

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading, television32 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! Another week, and here we are in July already! We are off to a rainy start this July and that is ok, Michigan needs it. We also were dodging extremely unhealthy air quality last week and spent so much time inside. We were among the worst in the world for air quality – it blows my mind that a fire 500 miles from us could have effects here but it shows how small the world really is sometimes.

Read Last Week:

We read more Wyatt books than mine last week, since we were trapped inside. I did manage to read one, and started listening to another.

I have been waiting and waiting for The House on Prytania to come in for me at the library and let me tell you, when I got the email, I headed directly there and did not pass go. It was so good, y’all~ I love Nola and Beau, but the other characters are just as interesting and fun to read. Jolene in particular is a hoot!

I also started listening to The Living Great Lakes on Libby, and I am really enjoying it! I mean, living in the Great Lakes state it is of particular interest to me, and I am learning so much about the lakes as I listen.

Reading This Week:

I am so excited to read this! I bought it all the way back in January but have held onto it until summer, because I am a nerd and since the book takes place in the summer, I wanted to read it in the summer. It sounds so good!

Posted Last Week:

Hello July!

What Wyatt’s Reading

Homeschool Curriculum Picks for 2023-2024

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Watching/Listening:

In TV land, Billy and I got sucked into the world of School Spirits. We were expecting something a bit cheesier or just not as well done as it is, for what it is. It is so good! And now we are out of episodes which is a huge bummer. I love Simon and Wally, such good characters!

We also have been filling in here and there with Death in Paradise, and we are on the Humphrey episodes. We had just watched Beyond Paradise in the spring, which is about Humphrey who is back in England after his stint on the islands so it was neat to go back and rewatch his origins again.

This week we also start our shark month movie marathon! Well, I guess not really marathon since we are spreading them out over a few weeks, but still..lots of shark movies beginning with Jaws on Tuesday!

In my YouTube world, I have been watching a lot of With Love, Kristina, and Alexis Dahl. With Love, Kristina does a lot of vintage (mostly vintage) videos but also declutter videos which are my weakness. They are so relaxing, just to watch things go from super cluttery to all nice and organized. Sigh. Alexis Dahl is a Michigander whose videos are all about science and history and they are awesome! I loved her most recent video about Henry Ford’s “utopian” towns in the U.P. It was so fascinating!

I already mentioned that I am listening to the audiobook of The Living Great Lakes by Jerry Dennis, which is fantastic. I have also been listening to the podcast Sinisterhood, which is true crime/horror but the two hosts Christina and Heather are hysterical and I actually laugh out loud at some of their comments. So far I have really enjoyed their episodes The Stanley Hotel and The Nain Rouge, which is a total Detroit thing!

What Wyatt’s Reading

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading11 Comments

At the start of this month, I set a goal for Wyatt and I for a summer reading challenge. I counted all books, whether he read them, I read them to him, or we read them together. For some reason, I felt like 20 was an appropriate number. I must have been crazy, because the challenge has already been completed and he received his first reward today, which was the Ghosts in the Attic Game from Peaceable Kingdom, his pick. The last week or so we haven’t really been able to do much outside, it has either been raining or like today, the air quality is too bad to leave the house for any length of time. We have been filling our time indoors with board games, and books, and of course, painting. However, this post is about books, so let’s get back to those. I can get carried away.

It was a pretty good month! So many insect books, I love it! There were some standout favorites out of this bunch, of course. Wyatt absolutely loved, loved, loved Snake’s Big Mistake, for many reasons. One thing we love to do is find characters in wheelchairs in books, and we were excited to spot a little hedgehog in a wheelchair in this one. But Wyatt also loved this book because it was about art and pottery. He loves art, and his grandma is a potter, with her own wheel and kiln and everything. I rarely read the author blurb to Wyatt in these books, but this one caught my eye. The author Sarah Kurpiel is herself a wheelchair user, and get this, a LIBRARIAN and an ARTIST. Wyatt’s two big loves, art and the library! It was very exciting. I saw that she also has a book, Lone Wolf, which of course Wyatt and wolves, so I will make sure we pick that up for him.

He also really loved Are Pirates Polite?, which was super cute, and now when he does something I can say “Is that how pirates act?” or “Do pirates interrupt?” Interrupting is such a thing for him right now. He is finding his words and adding to his speech everyday and is in a hurry to say them all to us, at all times. We have not had to address interrupting until this point so it is a new struggle for us all. Hopefully pirates help us. And finally, his final favorite of the month, What About Worms? This was a cute book, where the tiger was afraid of worms and worms were afraid of spiders and Wyatt found it absolutely hysterical.

As for my favorites, let’s start with the book that made me teary. Does this happen to anyone else? We were reading “Love Makes a Garden Grow” and ugh, it was so beautiful and sentimental I started to tear up and cry. Wyatt stuck his little face in mine, and asked me if I was sad. I had to tell him not really, but I was more just overcome with emotions over the story. Garden books that get sentimental will probably forever make me cry; my uncle Art and I had a special bond over gardening and now he is gone and you know how these things sneak up on you and hit you in the heart. It was a very beautiful book, especially for those who garden with family. I also really enjoyed The Red Tin Box. It is about a little girl who buries her treasures in a little red tin box, and goes back years and years later with her granddaughter and digs it up. It was just very sweet and I loved the whole idea of it. We loved reading Evergreen together too! It is a longer picture book, with little chapters almost, and is about the adventures of Evergreen the squirrel and her quest to get her acorn full of restorative soup to a sick family member. It was really well done! Firefly Hollow is actually our current read aloud, so we are not done with it yet. It just seemed perfect for the summer. We read a chapter before bedtime every night, and I probably look forward to it as much as Wyatt.

And that just about wraps up June for what Wyatt and I have been reading! Every book we read was amazing and special, it was a great month spent with great books.

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading45 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! I hope the past week treated you well! We had an easier week, just one specialist appointment for Wyatt, and lots of playing, and nightly evening walks for Billy and I while Wyatt rides his little Rifton adaptive bike! Guys, he loves it so much! It took a doctor, a therapist, a social worker, and me a ton of paperwork to get it, but once that was all completed, we got it in two weeks! It was absolutely crazy how fast it was approved and got here!

Read Last Week:

This book was such a hoot! It cracked me up and also gave me a little anxiety. LOL.

Reading This Week:

I am waiting for this Karen White book to come in. The library shows it “in transit” on my account so it should be here soon, so I will start with This Wicked Fate, the sequel to This Poison Heart. For some reason all of my YA and Middle Grade holds are coming in to the library like crazy wildfire and piling up and my actual adult books are slowly trickling in.

Posted Last Week:

My Sorta, Kinda, Camping Shopping List

A Full Father’s Day: Classic Cars and a Picnic

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Watching and Listening:

Billy and I watched School Spirits, which was actually a lot better than we had thought it was going to be. I am sucked in and need answers! We also finished up the American version of Ghosts, which we also really like. (we were all about ghosts apparently this past week) We also are still continuing our rewatch of Death in Paradise. We are in the Humphrey Years right now.

We didn’t watch any movies but we have a fun cheesy campy July of movies coming up. We decided to fully embrace shark week this year, and are doing like a shark month. Jaws, The Meg, Shark Night, Deep Blue Sea… we are just going shark wild. Wyatt and I are starting a bit of summer school starting July 10th and we are going to do some shark stuff as part of our studies as well. I am pretty excited, I love a campy summer movie binge!

I am behind on some of my favorite YouTubers! Darling Desi, who I have mentioned before, Forgotten Way Farms, The Cottage Fairy, among others all have new videos that I haven’t watched. I am thinking Wyatt might get a trip to Grandma’s this week and I can stay home and fold laundry and catch up. Or I will tell Billy to go play video games at night or something and catch up. Either way, I am catching up!

Listening. Old stuff still mostly. Wyatt has decided this is a new favorite song of his. Pretty sure I loved this one at his age too. I mainly put on a playlist and roll but Wyatt has actual requests, and this is a frequent one. Sometimes at 7 am.

And that is from around here! What has been going on in your world?

Stephen King Summertime Reads

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review, books and reading7 Comments

Stephen King and summertime go hand in hand for me. So many summers of my young adulthood were spent reading his books, scaring myself silly. I will always associate summer reading with Stephen King. I haven’t read as many of his books in recent years, I just can’t keep up anymore, but I do have a few on my list for this summer, that I hope to read. This list however, is of Stephen King books that I have read and loved and will always make me think of summer.

First up one of my two all time favorite Stephen King books – Bag of Bones.

I think this one flies under the radar a lot, and does not get the appreciation it deserves. It is fantastic, the story of a grieving man who retreats to his summerhouse to try to heal and write again, as he is a writer unable to write. While there, he meets a woman and her daughter, and..a ghost. I am all about a ghost book. I read this entire book out loud to Billy one summer, years after I had read it for the first time. There is a made for tv movie, but don’t watch it and don’t compare it to the book. The book is by far superior!

My second book on the list is my other favorite – another underappreciated King book, in my high opinion!

Joyland! I really can’t say it better than I said it in 2016 –

I loved this book so much; I didn’t want it to end! The feel of it was classic top of his game King. It put me in mind of Bag of Bones. Thinner, and The Body. The story was a sentimental and nostalgic coming of age story; there were triumphs and revelations and a bit of sadness too. The story is told from the point of view of Devin as a wistful older man, looking back at this summer, a monumental one that changed him forever.

It was weird reading this a bit, as two of the characters are named Erin and Devin, and my name is Erin and my brother’s name is Devin. Lol. I don’t usually encounter them too frequently in books, especially Devin, much less in the same book! (If you want to see my review that is on my old blog, click here!)

Ok the next ones are pretty classic!

Is there any horror fan out there who can think of summer without thinking of It? My cousin Brian and I read this the same summer and completely terrified ourselves!

These two go hand in hand! The Regulators, written under King’s pseudonym, and Desperation. Both are the same story, parallel universe type stuff, about the same monster. My brother and I for years and years would respond to each other in the language of Tak like complete nerds. We still do at times lol, most often thankee sai which is more Dark Tower. Anyways, I digress.

The next three were all part of compilations as either short stories or novellas.

I swear, this story is one reason I absolutely am terrified of swimming in open water. And I can’t see one of these rafts afloat in a lake without thinking of this story!! Originally part of Skeleton Crew, chockful of terrifying short stories…

Also known to my generation as the movie Stand by Me with River Phoenix (sigh..my young girl heart had such a crush). The story is just as compelling as the movie, and is another coming of age story like Joyland. Such a summertime Stephen King memory for me, especially renting this on VHS and watching it at slumber parties as a kid. Originally part of the Different Seasons book, which is one of my all time favorites of King’s as well.

Oy this book was so good but so terrible and made me cry. Why am I including it?? It is just sad. I could never revisit it now as an older person with a child. It would break my heart even more than it did before! However, I couldn’t leave it off of this list. It was originally published as part of the Bachman Books.

As for the books that are on my summer TBR, I have added the following two:

I am not a baseball fan, but I am a fan of baseball movies and stories. Blockade Billy just sounds so good and I am intrigued, what could be the secret in this one!! And 1922, eeek! I will probably not sleep for a few nights.

And since June is audiobook month, I’ve added Billy Summers to listen to – starting now!

I would love to reread Bag of Bones and Joyland this summer as well! I own all of his books except for those that came out in the past seven years, I think I may have to revisit my Stephen King collection after this meander down memory lane..

Book Review: A House with Good Bones

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review, books and reading10 Comments

Publisher Summary:

A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family.

“Mom seems off.”

Her brother’s words echo in Sam Montgomery’s ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.

She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps. Sam’s excited for this rare extended visit, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them, drinking boxed wine, watching murder mystery shows, and guessing who the killer is long before the characters figure it out.

But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home isn’t what it used to be. Gone is the warm, cluttered charm her mom is known for; now the walls are painted a sterile white. Her mom jumps at the smallest noises and looks over her shoulder even when she’s the only person in the room. And when Sam steps out back to clear her head, she finds a jar of teeth hidden beneath the magazine-worthy rose bushes, and vultures are circling the garden from above.

To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.

My Thoughts:

I loved this book! I knew I would, but I didn’t realize it was going to be so funny! The main character, Sam, cracked me up. I feel like if she were real we could hang. I also like bugs and wine and watching cozy British mysteries with rumpled detectives.

I don’t know if I would want to hang in that house though…. it sounded just a little bit creepy for me! On a scare scale, I would not put this way up there, but it did have this undercurrent of unease that made me well, uneasy.

There are vultures in this book y’all! And I was totally here for it. I didn’t realize vultures were so dang interesting! I see them circling in the sky, by the sides of the road, but they are not exactly my favorite birds. However, this book made me rethink vultures and my opinion of them. I am not sure I would want to run a vulture rescue/rehab like one of the characters in the book did, but I no longer think they are as yucky, and that is a win.

Sam has memories of living in the house as a child, growing up with her mom and brother, as her mom worked two jobs to support them after her father died. They lived with her grandmother in her childhood home while her mom tried to get the family back on their feet, and it does not exactly sound idyllic. Sam’s grandma was pretty frightening and darn right ghoulish at times. Sam’s mom is off too. Her normally laid back mom seems to have changed her entire personality, changing their home from how it had felt for the last twenty years, with funky art pieces, color, charm, into something cold and boring, lacking personality. More like something her grandma would like, in fact.

I absolutely devoured this book. It is a fast quick read, and a good one! Although, you may never look at a rose garden the same way again after reading it…

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading36 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! We had a pretty big week last week, lots of happenings and big decisions and fun things too! Wyatt and I finally have gotten back on track with our schedule. We have had a crazy two months and it was so nice to get back fully into our routine. Just in time for us to go on a mini-trip this weekend! We are heading to Indiana to see the wolves at Wolf Park. This was supposed to be Wyatt’s birthday gift but he was in the hospital so we rescheduled. I mentioned last week that I had started making journals through Amazon’s self-publishing program and I made a special one for our upcoming trip (as well as the rest of our trips throughout the rest of the year). It arrives today and I am anxious to get started writing in it. I am excited about our trip too, I think Wyatt will really love it!

I have not quite figured out all the logistics of selling these yet. Lol. They are available on Amazon but I haven’t been able to master how to show the interior pages on the Amazon page quite yet; however I have been making these informational type things that I post on the Fox & Firth Facebook and Instagram pages that do show the interior pages. The storefront itself is here.

Read Last Week:

Shady Hollow is so cute!!! I am not quite done with it but I should be today or tomorrow. I really love it. I mean, any book that references Watership Down in the little blurb I had to read, and while it is nothing like Watership Down, really, except for talking animals, it is a great book all on its own. I also finished listening to Braiding Sweetgrass. I loved the book when I read it a few years ago and loved it even more listening to it being read by Kimmerer. I highly recommend it, whether you read it or listen.

Reading This Week:

I know going into this week that I am not going to have too much time to read so I am choosing my books accordingly. The Wild and Free Family is a shorter book that I can take my time reading, picking it up here and there, probably while Wyatt is in physical therapy and speech. I LOVED the Call of the Wild and Free by Arment so I am excited to start this one. And then The Moth Keeper just looks beautiful. It is a middle grade graphic novel and I look forward to relaxing with it at night. (plus I love Luna Moths!)

Posted Last Week:

Book Review: The White Hare

The Spring of Cary Grant: An Affair to Remember

Wonderful Watership Down Covers

Watched Last Week:

In TV, we watched When Calls the Heart, which Billy is truly such a sport for watching with me. We also watched a few Murdoch Mysteries, and then last night the newest episode of Brokenwood Mysteries. Brokenwood is seriously one of my favorite shows. I am also waiting very impatiently for new episodes of Hotel Portofino (the first season was amazing!) and Beyond Paradise, although that last one I feel like I will be waiting for a while sadly.

We of course also watched An Affair to Remember. This week our Cary Grant film of the week is Holiday! I have heard good things about that one and I am looking forward to it!

And that is about it from our around here today! I hope all is well in your world!

Wonderful Watership Down Book Covers

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading5 Comments

Last Friday, I mentioned I want to start collecting different copies of Watership Down. There are just so many out there! Billy got me a really cool one last year for Mother’s Day, and I asked him that if he was going to get me something this year, to maybe make it another version, to add to my collection. There are just so many to choose from! They also range in price, greatly in some cases! I found most of these on used book sites so you know I sent a few to Billy to peruse, you know, just in cases.

This 40th Anniversary Edition from Thrift Books ($7.00)

This Puffin Edition on Amazon ($24.19)

This edition found on AbeBooks ($13.55)

Another copy found on AbeBooks ($3.55)

This next one I am totally in love with but it is spendy!! This is the lowest price I found..

Ebay ($57.46)

This beautiful graphic novel on Amazon ($31.50)

Then this bad boy…. the creme de la creme…

A SIGNED FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION! Abe Books, only…. $1,249.35.

And there you have it! Obviously since most of these are available on thrift/used sites, the availability and prices may change.

Which is your favorite?

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading36 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! We had a very quiet week around here, and so far, a pretty quiet weekend. It’s been nice actually. I’ve been working on a new enterprise along with Billy, making journals that I sell over on Amazon through their self-publishing service, and I have been enjoying working on them whenever I can catch a moment. So far I have made camping and caregiver and medical journals to take to doctor’s appointments, as well as a line of nature journals that Wyatt designed the covers for. It’s been really fun!

I’ve also been making my final decisions on the curriculum that Wyatt and I are going to use next year. It is one of my favorite things to do! I’ve been toying with an idea of a YouTube channel to talk about homeschooling, and homeschooling a special needs child, our crazy life and adventures, but…I don’t know if I would feel comfortable being in front of a camera like that. I prefer being behind the scenes and behind the camera, but I feel like I get so much out of the YouTube channels I watch, information wise, that I wonder if I have something to offer with our experiences as Wyatt’s parents and how we all choose to live. It would also offer an opportunity for more conversation with other families like ours and opportunities to learn from. I don’t know though. And here I am just blathering on this morning, I guess I couldn’t wait for my coffee catch up day.

Let’s get to the books!!

Read Last Week:

So last week I ended up starting The White Hare and I absolutely am in love with it. I am not quite finished yet but I will finish today or tomorrow. It reminds me of a Barbara Michaels or Mary Stewart book and they are two of my favorite authors to read! I have also been listening to Braiding Sweetgrass. I read it a few years ago but there is something very special about listening to it as well. Robin Wall Kimmerer reads it herself and that adds such a lovely additional dimension, her words in her voice. I definitely recommend listening to it.

Wyatt and I FINALLY finished The Wild Robot. We had some big pauses in our nightly reading with his surgeries even though we tried a few times, but we finally got off that island. I do like that book and Roz and Brightbill but if you have a sensitive child I would recommend reading it yourself first to see if it will bother them.

Reading This Week:

I keep seeing so much about this Shady Hollow series that I am going to give it a go. I think I tried once before but didn’t end up reading it. And Wyatt and I have started Heartwood Hollow book 3, Better Together as our before bed read. I guess both of us are all about anthropomorphism.

Posted Last Week:

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

The Spring of Cary Grant: My Favorite Wife

Book Review: Watership Down

Watching and Listening:

We have been watching When Calls the Heart (Billy, you are such a good guy), and The Brokenwood Mysteries. I am so excited Brokenwood has a new season, I just love that show. Then Lisa from Boondock Ramblings mentioned that Newhart is on Amazon and when Billy told me he had NEVER EVER watched it, we had to add it to our line up. We watch it when we need to watch something quick and funny because Bob Newhart always cracks me up with his deadpan delivery. I remember watching it when I was real little kid with my mom and dad – just like Wyatt does now. I wonder if he will grow up wanting to live in New England in an old home in a small town, sort of like I did? I am pretty sure Newhart influenced me (but better Newhart than Dallas which I also watched with my mom…)

We also watched My Favorite Wife as part of our Spring of Cary Grant.

I haven’t been listening to podcasts since I have been listening to Braiding Sweetgrass.

Musically, we generally ask Alexa to play Classic 70s Folk, and that is our go-to. Although I always always skip Joni Mitchell because her voice is beautiful but sounds so mournful to me, and also that Cat’s in the Cradle song that always makes me want to sob.

And that is it from around here! What is going on in your world?

Books That Feel Like Spring!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review, books and reading20 Comments

Spring! It is not quite here in Michigan yet, but it is coming. The crocuses are popping up, birds are happily chirping in the morning and evenings, the sun streams through my windows until much later in the day, and I am soaking it all up. I love fall and winter, but I appreciate spring for all it brings. The sunny days with warm breezes, not too hot but just perfectly warm, the return of the color to the landscape, and even rainy days too. Worms and birds and rabbits, and flowers and picnics and afternoons in the garden. I can’t wait for it to be fully spring here but until then, I have books!

Wind in the Willows is the first book I read to Wyatt when he got home from the hospital as a teeny baby. The windows were open, letting in a slight slight breeze, I could hear the wind chimes, and I held my sweet preemie and read to him. I will always associate this book with Wyatt and spring.

How to be a Wildflower by Katie Daisy is a wonderful journey! It is a field guide and journal that allows you to dream away lazy afternoons. Billy got me this one Mother’s Day and I love taking it on all of our spring and summer adventures.

This next one I haven’t read but I just discovered! I am not sure how I missed this as a kid because Mandy looks like a book I definitely would have read – and I plan on doing just that this spring.

Things to Look Forward To doesn’t need much explanation. Spring is about hope and dreaming and small joys, and this book is all about those little joys. I love Sophie Blackwall and this book is so fun. (also $1.49 on kindle!)

The Secret Garden. Of course. Because what spring book list can be complete without it? One of my childhood favorites!

If you read here often then you know that I love Watership Down. It’s my favorite book of all time and I reread it every spring. These courageous, clever rabbits are always so inspiring.

Those rainy days of spring deserve some magic and maybe even a little mystery. Mary Stewart is one of my go-to comfort reads for life and Thornyhold is one of the best in my opinion. If you like a cozy mystery with a bit of edge, I highly encourage you to read Mary Stewart, although some of the ideas may be considered a bit old fashioned these days.

The Cottingley Secret – I love this book. I love fairies and have always been fascinated by the real story behind the Cottingley fairies, especially Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s belief in it!

Sarah Addison Allen is always a must read for me too, and Garden Spells was the first book I read of hers. It is magical realism and cozy and just fun. It definitely gives me springtime feels.

These two are actually in progress over here. I checked out Hill House Living from the library because I love Paula Sutton’s Instagram account. Her life is just so beautiful! And I have A Poem for Every Spring Day on order from Amazon to add to our collection. That cover! I am in love!

Are there any books that sing of spring to you? Nostalgic reads, or new reads, or just anything that speaks to you? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Our Favorite Magical Creatures Picture Books

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading9 Comments

So for as long as I can remember, I have been enchanted by the idea of faeries and other magical creatures. The magic and whimsy, the thought that there are wee little creatures living in my flower garden, that could fly and drank out of acorn cups and slept inside flowers. I loved fairy tales, Tinkerbell, and all magical type creatures – elves and gnomes and pixies, even dragons. They are just so fun to daydream about, you know? It is probably why I am really enjoying this whole new cozy fantasy movement in books right now. My little niece seems to take after her aunt, because she is completely enamored with fairies and mermaids and unicorns too; Wyatt has his favorites too, dragons for one. And gnomes, but gnome picture books are weirdly hard to find. And Yetis. And since March is a magical month, with leprechauns and pots of gold and rainbows, I thought I would share a few magical creature favorites!

Fairies!

The Fairy Garden is about a little girl who wishes and wishes for fairies to live in her garden. I feel ya girl! Maybe this is still why I plant a garden…. And Backyard Fairies by Phoebe Wahl is fantastic. I love anything by her. This book is about another little girl searching for fairies. Are they there?

Dragons!

Franklin’s Flying Bookshop is an adorable story about a little girl named Luna and a dragon named Franklin who love books and reading, just like Wyatt does. (and me) These two start a flying bookshop to share the love.

Dragons Love Tacos. Well, Wyatt loves dragons and I love tacos. Wyatt loves me. Dragons love tacos. Does this make me a dragon? Maybe. Anyway, this book is all about dragons and how to lure them to your party by providing tacos. Although, maybe keep the salsa hidden from them.

There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon. This one takes me back! I read this book when I was little, and then I read it to Wyatt too. He loved it, I love it. There are so many books out there, new books, that sometimes I have to remind myself of all the wonderful stories I read as a kid to share them with Wyatt.

Zog. This one is a big hit around here. Wyatt loves the Julia Donaldson books and when we studied Scotland a few summers ago, we did a whole big unit on her and on Zog. It was super fun, and Zog remains a favorite.

Mermaids!

Tallulah Mermaid of the Great Lakes is a definite favorite around here! For one, it’s the Great Lakes, not the ocean, and we are soooo much closer to the Great Lakes being in Michigan. Have we seen Tallulah yet? No, but we will keep looking!

Oona. Oh my gosh is this one adorable. Oona and her little otter (squee!) Otto are the best of friends. Oona is a mischief, jut like my Wyatt, and the illustrations are amazing. There are three books in this series as well!

Pearl. A simple story of a mermaid given a small task which under her care becomes something more. This one is so beautiful too, all shiny and glam and pearlescent.

Nessie and Gnomes!

Nessie Baby. I actually just bought this for my new niece, who hasn’t even arrived yet! It is just super cute and while it will be a bit before she enjoys it I couldn’t resist. This may be the first book she ever gets!

Nessie the Loch Ness Monster. This was another book we discovered during our Scotland study! This was probably Wyatt and Mermaid Girl’s favorite section, learning about dragons and the Loch Ness Monster. And this book was so darn cute as well as containing actual history about the legend.

No, No, Gnome. Wyatt cracked UP when we read this book the first time. This gnome has a lot of enthusiasm but also causes a lot of trouble! Wyatt also enjoyed yelling “No, No” along with the book.

Tomtens and Yetis!

Tomten and the Fox. I almost put this one with gnomes, because it does really belong there. But, it is also a snowy book and I felt like the Yeti needs company, so here we are. This is one of the books we read multiple times a year, but especially in the quiet winter months. It’s a quiet story, and while the fox doesn’t get exactly what he came for, he was taken care of. Everyone is happy. I bought this all the way back when Wyatt was only a year old, and we still love it. It’s the sequel to The Tomten which is good but we love this one.

Yeti and the Bird. This poor Yeti is lonely! (told you, poor Yetis) But one day, this lonely Yeti makes a friend when it lands smack on his noggin. I love this message of not judging people (or magical creatures) based on appearance!

Dear Yeti. These intrepid hikers set out in search of Yeti, who is feeling shy. They send him letters, that are brief updates reminiscent of telegrams from old timey explorers, and yep, a bird delivers them. When the hikers run into some trouble, Yeti comes to their rescue. Super cute, and Wyatt loved it for the yeti, and because he loves mail and letters.

The inspiration for this post comes from Wyatt, who when asked said I should post about books – and my head is still in the Cerulean Sea, and thus, this post was born.

Do you like magical creatures and fantasy? What is your favorite creature?