Sunday, October 26, 2014

Return of the Cryptids

A Mini Travel Log by Bigfoot

Maybe you noticed BIGFOOT READS hasn’t had new posts since the spring. Maybe you were too busy all summer long reading comic books and making sandcastles to notice my friends and I were gone for seven months. Whether or not you noticed, we were far, far away in a place with no Wi-Fi—a planet called Zeenton.

Here’s what happened. Last March we cryptids were winter weary. After months of ice and snow, Morzant’s constant nagging for us to visit his home planet—a place that’s mostly desert—seemed like a great idea.

It wasn’t.

Have you ever taken a road trip with your family? Remember the car-sickness? The bickering? Your dad refusing to make stops because you’re making good time? Imagine that, but you’re in a spaceship with a tone-deaf sea monster who sings to the radio even when she doesn’t know the words. Then there’s this half-invisible turtle who repeats the same three knock-knock jokes over and over. You’re traveling at the speed of light, so forget about passing time watching out the window. And don’t get me started on the spacesick guinea pig.

Knowing Morzant, when he said we’d only be gone a week I should have guessed he was measuring time by Zeenton’s standards. Jot this down for future reference: 1 Zeenton week = 7 Earth months

The worst part? Somehow I’d gotten the idea I might be able to take photographs on Zeenton. Nope. My photography impediment made the trip with me. Too bad. There really were a lot of spectacular things to see. Here are some of the pictures I tried to take.

This is a big bird. A really big bird. Size-of-an-elephant big. I can’t remember what it’s called and I’m not about to ask Morzant or I’ll get an hour-long lecture about this freaky bird’s habitat, favorite foods, and the molecular structure of its beak. And I’m talking a Zeentonian hour, not an Earth one.



You’ve probably seen plenty of blurry photographs of U.F.O.s. Here’s another. Only this flying object isn't “unidentified.” It’s Morzant’s ship. It definitely wasn't designed to comfortably transport nine cryptids and a guinea pig across three galaxies.



This is a Motrozalavian egg farm. Morzant was thrilled that we arrived right as the giant eggs were hatching. Want to know what came out? Hint: Not chickens. Our visit there will haunt my nightmares until the day I die, and probably after.



Too bad somebody without a photograph impediment didn’t take this photograph of the whole group at Zovtak Cave.





What a trip. And, oh goodie. Look at the calendar. We got back just in time for the start of winter. At least being cooped up inside will give me time to catch up on my reading.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Briar’s Journal (March 1 to 25, 2014)


Dream Entry*
May 6, 2005

I can only remember fragments of my dream:

Beverly and Penny throwing waffles at the side of a blue house.

Norman and Bigfoot teaching Morzant how to whistle.

A walrus handing out books to my friends, a duck, and three puppies.


The books the walrus gives BIGFOOT:

HUNG UP
by Kristen Tracy
[YOUNG ADULT]
Simon Pulse-Simon & Schuster
March 4, 2014

PRINCESS LABELMAKER TO THE RESCUE!
by Tom Angleberger
[MIDDLE GRADE—FIFTH IN THE
ORIGAMI YODA SERIES]
Amulet-Abrams
March 4, 2014

DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT
by Sarah Mlynowski
[YOUNG ADULT]
Delacorte-Random House
March 11, 2014

HOPE IS A FERRIS WHEEL
by Robin Herrera
[MIDDLE GRADE]
Amulet-Abrams
March 11, 2014

PROMISE OF SHADOWS
by Justina Ireland
[YOUNG ADULT]
Simon & Schuster
March 11, 2014

30 DAYS OF NO GOSSIP
by Stephanie Faris
[TWEEN]
Aladdin-Simon & Schuster
March 18, 2014

THE EDGE OF FALLING
by Rebecca Serle
[YOUNG ADULT]
Simon Pulse-Simon & Schuster
March 18, 2014

SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY
by Julie Murphy
[YOUNG ADULT]
Balzer & Bray-HarperCollins
March 18, 2014

THE CRACKS IN THE KINGDOM
by Jaclyn Moriarty
[YOUNG ADULT—SECOND IN THE
COLORS OF MADELEINE TRILOGY]
Arthur A. Levine-Scholastic
March 25, 2014

THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO
by Gae Polisner
[YOUNG ADULT]
Algonquin
March 25, 2014

THE UNDERTAKING OF LILY CHEN
by Danica Novgorodoff
[YOUNG ADULT—GRAPHIC NOVEL]
First Second-Roaring Brook
March 25, 2014


The books the walrus gives MORZANT:

AVIARY WONDERS INC. SPRING CATALOG
AND INSTRUCTION MANUAL
by Kate Samworth
[PICTURE BOOK]
Clarion-Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
March 4, 2014

THE SCRAPS BOOK: NOTES FROM A COLORFUL LIFE
by Lois Ehlert
[PICTURE BOOK—NON-FICTION]
Beach Lane-Simon & Schuster
March 4, 2014

A POND FULL OF INK
by Annie M. G. Schmidt,
illustrated by Sieb Posthuma
[PICTURE BOOK—POETRY]
Eerdmans
March 7, 2014

FIREFLY JULY AND OTHER VERY SHORT POEMS
by Paul B. Janeczko,
illustrated by Melissa Sweet
[PICTURE BOOK—POETRY]
Candlewick
March 11, 2014

GRANDFATHER GANDHI
by Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus,
illustrated by Evan Turk
[PICTURE BOOK—NON-FICTION]
Atheneum-Simon & Schuster
March 11, 2014

A BABY ELEPHANT IN THE WILD
by Caitlin O’Connell,
photographed by Timothy Rodwell
[PICTURE BOOK—NON-FICTION]
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
March 18, 2014

THE BEATLES
by Mick Manning and Brita Granström
[PICTURE BOOK—NON-FICTION]
Frances Lincoln
March 18, 2014

MAMA BUILT A LITTLE NEST
by Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Steve Jenkins
[PICTURE BOOK]
Beach Lane-Simon & Schuster
March 18, 2014

PRESIDENT TAFT IS STUCK IN THE BATH
by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
[PICTURE BOOK—NON-FICTION]
Candlewick
March 25, 2014


The books the walrus gives PENNY:

LET THE STORM BREAK
by Shannon Messenger
[YOUNG ADULT—SEQUEL TO
LET THE SKY FALL]
Simon Pulse-Simon & Schuster
March 4, 2014

NIL
by Lynne Matson
[YOUNG ADULT]
Henry Holt
March 4, 2014

PANIC
by Lauren Oliver
[YOUNG ADULT]
HarperCollins
March 4, 2014

ACID
by Emma Pass
[YOUNG ADULT]
Delacorte-Random House
March 11, 2014

LIV, FOREVER
by Amy Talkington
[YOUNG ADULT]
Soho Teen-Soho Press
March 11, 2014

THE MIRK AND MIDNIGHT HOUR
by Jane Nickerson
[YOUNG ADULT]
Knopf-Random House
March 11, 2014

RUINS
by Dan Wells
[YOUNG ADULT—FINAL IN THE
PARTIALS SEQUENCE SERIES]
Balzer & Bray-HarperCollins
March 11, 2014

ELUSION
by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam
[YOUNG ADULT—FIRST IN THE SERIES]
Katherine Tegen-HarperCollins
March 18, 2014

UNDER THE EGG
by Laura Marx Fitzgerald
[MIDDLE GRADE]
Dial-Penguin
March 18, 2014

THE RIVERMAN
by Aaron Starmer
[MIDDLE GRADE—FIRST IN THE
RIVERMAN TRILOGY]
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
March 18, 2014

NEARLY GONE
by Elle Cosimano
[YOUNG ADULT]
Kathy Dawson-Penguin
March 25, 2014


The books the walrus gives THE DUCK:

GILDED
by Christina Farley
[YOUNG ADULT—FIRST IN THE GILDED SERIES]
Skyscape-Amazon
March 1, 2014

DEATH SWORN
by Leah Cypess
[YOUNG ADULT]
Greenwillow-HarperCollins
March 4, 2014

HALF BAD
by Sally Green
[YOUNG ADULT—FIRST IN THE TRILOGY]
Viking-Penguin
March 4, 2014

THE ASSASSIN’S BLADE
by Sarah J. Maas
[YOUNG ADULT—PREQUEL TO THE
THRONE OF GLASS]
Bloomsbury USA
March 13, 2014

THE MARK OF THE DRAGONFLY
by Jaleigh Johnson
[MIDDLE GRADE]
Delacorte-Random House
March 25, 2014

THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER
by Leslye Walton
[YOUNG ADULT]
Candlewick
March 25, 2014

THE UNFAIREST OF THEM ALL
by Shannon Hale
[TWEEN—SECOND IN THE
EVER AFTER HIGH SERIES]
Little, Brown-Hachette
March 25, 2014


The books the walrus gives NORMAN:

LOST IN BERMOODA
by Mike Litwin
[MIDDLE GRADE—FIRST IN THE
WELCOME TO BERMOODA! SERIES]
Albert Whitman
March 1, 2014

IN THE ZONE
by Lincoln Peirce
[MIDDLE GRADE—SIXTH IN THE
BIG NATE SERIES]
HarperCollins
March 11, 2014

SKY RAIDERS
by Brandon Mull
[MIDDLE GRADE—FIRST IN THE
FIVE KINGDOMS SERIES]
Aladdin-Simon & Schuster
March 11, 2014

THE LAST WILD
by Piers Torday
[MIDDLE GRADE]
Viking-Penguin
March 18, 2014

THE GLORKIAN WARRIOR DELIVERS A PIZZA
by James Kochalka
[EARLY READER—GRAPHIC NOVEL—
FIRST IN THE GLORKIAN WARRIOR SERIES]
First Second-Roaring Brook
March 25, 2014

MISS EMILY
by Burleigh Muten,
with illustrations by Matt Phelan
[CHAPTER BOOK]
Candlewick
March 25, 2014


The books the walrus gives BEVERLY:

SKIN AND BONES
by Sherry Shahan
[YOUNG ADULT]
Albert Whitman
March 1, 2014

A DEATH-STRUCK YEAR
by Makiia Lucier
[YOUNG ADULT]
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
March 4, 2014

I LIVED ON BUTTERLY HILL
by Marjorie Agosin,
with illustrations by Lee White
[MIDDLE GRADE]
Atheneum-Simon & Schuster
March 4, 2014

THE DANDELION’S TALE
by Kevin Sheehan,
illustrated by Rob Dunlavey
[PICTURE BOOK]
Schwartz & Wade-Random House
March 11, 2014

CAMINAR
by Skila Brown
[MIDDLE GRADE—NOVEL-IN-VERSE]
Candlewick
March 25, 2014

STAY WHERE YOU ARE AND THEN LEAVE
by John Boyne,
with illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
[MIDDLE GRADE]
Henry Holt
March 25, 2014


The books the walrus gives OLIVER:

CHEERS FOR A DOZEN EARS:
A SUMMER CROP OF COUNTING
by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky,
illustrated by Susan Swan
[PICTURE BOOK]
Albert Whitman
March 1, 2014

HANNAH’S NIGHT
by Komako Sakai
[PICTURE BOOK]
Gecko Press
March 1, 2014

POM AND PIM
by Lena Landström and Olof Landström
[PICTURE BOOK]
Gecko Press
March 1, 2014

STARRING ME AND YOU
by Geneviève Côté
[PICTURE BOOK—THIRD IN THE
PIGGY AND BUNNY SERIES]
Kids Can Press
March 1, 2014

CAT SAYS MEOW: AND OTHER ANIMALOPOEIA
by Michael Arndt
[PICTURE BOOK]
Chronicle
March 4, 2014

GOODNIGHT SONGS
by Margaret Wise Brown,
illustrated by various picture book artists
[PICTURE BOOK WITH CD]
Sterling
March 4, 2014

THE GREAT DAY
by Taro Gomi
[PICTURE BOOK]
Chronicle
March 4, 2014

PEEK-A-ZOO!
by Nina Laden
[BOARD BOOK]
Chronicle
March 4, 2014

PLEASE, LOUISE
by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison,
illustrated by Shadra Strickland
[PICTURE BOOK]
Paula Wiseman-Simon & Schuster
March 4, 2014

SOME BUGS
by Angela DiTeriizzi,
illustrated by Brendan Wenzel
[PICTURE BOOK]
Beach Lane-Simon & Schuster
March 4, 2014

TINY RABBIT’S BIG WISH
by Margarita Engle,
illustrated by David Walker
[PICTURE BOOK]
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
March 4, 2014

WE’RE GOING TO THE FARMERS’ MARKET
by Stefan Page
[BOARD BOOK]
Chronicle
March 4, 2014

THE ODD ONE OUT
by Britta Teckentrup
[PICTURE BOOK]
Big Picture Press
March 11, 2014

A WALK IN PARIS
by Salvatore Rubbino
[PICTURE BOOK]
Candlewick
March 11, 2014

AT THE SAME MOMENT, AROUND THE WORLD
by Clotilde Perrin
[PICTURE BOOK]
Chronicle
March 11, 2014

I SPY IN THE SKY
by Edward Gibbs
[PICTURE BOOK]
Templar-Candlewick
March 11, 2014

RUN, DOG!
by Cecile Boyer
[PICTURE BOOK]
Chronicle
March 11, 2014

WHERE’S MOMMY?
by Beverly Donofrio,
illustrated by Barbara McClintock
[PICTURE BOOK—COMPANION TO
MARY AND THE MOUSE]
Schwartz & Wade-Random House
March 11, 2014

100 BEARS
by Magali Bardos
[PICTURE BOOK]
Flying Eye Books
March 18, 2014

COYOTE RUN
by Gaëtan Dorémus
[PICTURE BOOK]
Enchanted Lion
March 18, 2014

THE FOX AND THE CROW
by Manasi Subramaniam and Shobha Viswanath,
illustrated by Culpeo S. Fox
[PICTURE BOOK]
Chitra
March 18, 2014

HAVE YOU HEARD THE NESTING BIRD?
by Rita Gray, illustrated by Kenard Pak
[PICTURE BOOK]
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
March 18, 2014

LETTER LUNCH
by Elisa Gutiérrez
[PICTURE BOOK]
Owlkids
March 18, 2014

PRESTO CHANG-O: A BOOK OF ANIMAL MAGIC
by Édouard Manceau
[PICTURE BOOK]
Twirl-Chronicle
March 18, 2014

A TREE FOR ALL SEASONS
by Maryse Guittet
[BOARD BOOK]
Twirl-Chronicle
March 18, 2014

A LION IN PARIS
by Beatrice Alemagna
[PICTURE BOOK]
Tate
March 25, 2014

TAP TAP BOOM BOOM
by Elizabeth Bluemle,
illustrated by G. Brian Karas
[PICTURE BOOK]
Candlewick
March 25, 2014


The books the walrus gives LENNY:

SCARLATTI’S CAT
by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer,
illustrated by Carlyn Beccia
[PICTURE BOOK]
Carolrhoda-Lerner
March 1, 2014

SNOW DOG, SAND DOG
by Linda Joy Singleton,
illustrated by Jess Golden
[PICTURE BOOK]
Albert Whitman
March 1, 2014

NAT THE CAT CAN SLEEP LIKE THAT
by Victoria Allenby,
illustrated by Tara Anderson
[PICTURE BOOK]
Pajama Press
March 1, 2014

THERE ONCE WAS A COWPOKE WHO SWALLOWED AN ANT
by Helen Ketteman,
illustrated by Will Terry
[PICTURE BOOK]
Albert Whitman
March 1, 2014

I DIDN’T DO MY HOMEWORK BECAUSE…
by Davide Cali, illustrated by Benjamin Chaud
[EARLY READER]
Chronicle
March 4, 2014

NO SLURPING, NO BURPING!:
A TALE OF TABLE MANNERS
by Kara LaReau,
illustrated by Lorelay Bove
[PICTURE BOOK]
Disney-Hyperion
March 4, 2014

START YOUR ENGINES: 5-MINUTE STORIES
by various authors
[PICTURE BOOK—COLLECTION]
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
March 4, 2014

THE HOUSE THAT ZAC BUILT
by Alison Murray
[PICTURE BOOK]
Orchard Books-Scholastic
March 6, 2014

ERIC, THE BOY WHO LOST HIS GRAVITY
by Jenni Desmond
[PICTURE BOOK]
Blue Apple Books
March 11, 2014

OUT OF THE BOX
by Ethan Long
[EARLY READER—THIRD IN THE
SCRIBBLES AND INK SERIES]
Blue Apple Books
March 11, 2014

GOING PLACES
by Paul A. Reynolds,
illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
[PICTURE BOOK]
Atheneum-Simon & Schuster
March 18, 2014

MATILDA’S CAT
by Emily Gravett
[PICTURE BOOK]
Simon & Schuster
March 18, 2014

MONSTER CHEFS
by Brian Anderson,
illustrated Liam Anderson
[PICTURE BOOK]
Roaring Brook
March 18, 2014

SLAM!: A TALE OF CONSEQUENCES
by Adam Stower
[PICTURE BOOK]
Owlkids
March 18, 2014

HOW TO CHEER UP DAD
by Fred Koehler
[PICTURE BOOK]
Dial-Penguin
March 20, 2014

BOK! BOK!
by Cyndi Marko
[EARLY CHAPTER BOOK—SECOND IN THE 
KUNG POW CHICKEN SERIES]
Scholastic
March 25, 2014

THE LOCH MESS MONSTER
by Helen Lester,
illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
[PICTURE BOOK]
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
March 25, 2014


The books the walrus gives VIOLET:

THE SHORT GIRAFFE
by Neil Flory, illustrated by Mark Cleary
[PICTURE BOOK]
Albert Whitman
March 1, 2014

STONE SOUP WITH MATZOH BALLS:
A PASSOVER TALE IN CHELM
by Linda Glaser,
illustrated by Maryam Tabatabaei
[PICTURE BOOK]
Albert Whitman
March 1, 2014

TOCAN CAN!
by Juliette MacIver,
illustrated Sarah Davis
[PICTURE BOOK]
Gecko Press
March 1, 2014

UPSIDE DOWN BABIES
by Jeanne Willis,
illustrated by Adrian Reynolds
[PICTURE BOOK]
Andersen Press USA
March 1, 2014

WATCH OUT FOR THE CROCODILE
by Lisa Moroni,
illustrated by Eva Eriksson
[PICTURE BOOK]
Gecko Press
March 1, 2014

PEGGY: A BRAVE CHICKEN
ON A BIG ADVENTURE
by Anna Walker
[PICTURE BOOK]
Clarion-Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
March 4, 2014

SNORING BEAUTY
by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen,
illustrated by Jane Manning
[PICTURE BOOK]
HarperCollins
March 4, 2014

TWO BUNNY BUDDIES
by Kathryn O. Galbraith,
illustrated by Joe Cepeda
[PICTURE BOOK]
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
March 4, 2014

BABY’S GOT THE BLUES
by Carol Diggory Shields,
illustrated by Lauren Tobia
[PICTURE BOOK]
Candlewick
March 11, 2014

LET’S DANCE, GRANDMA!
by Nigel McMullen
[PICTURE BOOK]
HarperCollins
March 11, 2014

POOR DOREEN: A FISHY TALE
by Sally Lloyd-Jones,
illustrated by Alexandra Boiger
[PICTURE BOOK]
Schwartz & Wade-Random House
March 11, 2014

ROOTING FOR YOU
by Susan Hood,
illustrated by Matthew Cordell
[PICTURE BOOK]
Disney-Hyperion
March 11, 2014

SPARKY!
by Jenny Offill, Chris Appelhans
[PICTURE BOOK]
Schwartz & Wade-Random House
March 11, 2014

TROLL SWAP
by Leigh Hodgkinson
[PICTURE BOOK]
Nosy Crow-Candlewick
March 11, 2014

BETTY BUNNY WANTS A GOAL
by Michael B. Kaplan,
illustrated by Stephane Jorisch
[PICTURE BOOK—BETTY BUNNY SERIES]
Dial-Penguin
March 18, 2014

PRINCESSES ARE NOT JUST PRETTY
by Kate Lum,
illustrated by Sue Hellard
[PICTURE BOOK—THIRD IN THE
PRINCESSES ARE NOT SERIES]
Bloomsbury USA
March 18, 2014

SHARE
by Sally Anne Garland
[PICTURE BOOK]
Owlkids
March 18, 2014

WHEN THE WIND BLEW
by Alison Jackson,
illustrated by Doris Barrette
[PICTURE BOOK]
Henry Holt
March 18, 2014

OLIVER’S TREE
by Kit Chase
[PICTURE BOOK]
Putnam-Penguin
March 20, 2014

SPROUT HELPS OUT
by Rosie Winstead
[PICTURE BOOK]
Dial-Penguin
March 20, 2014

THE GEESE MARCH IN STEP
by Jean-Francois Dumont
[PICTURE BOOK]
Eerdmans
March 21, 2014

HOW TO BABYSIT A GRANDMA
by Jean Reagan,
illustrated by Lee Wildish
[PICTURE BOOK—SEQUEL TO
HOW TO BABYSIT A GRANDPA]
Knopf-Random House
March 25, 2014

SHOE DOG
by Megan McDonald,
illustrated by Katherine Tillotson
[PICTURE BOOK]
Richard Jackson-Atheneum-Simon & Schuster
March 25, 2014

TIPPY-TIPPY-TIPPY, SPLASH!
by Candace Fleming, G. Brian Karas
[PICTURE BOOK]
Atheneum-Simon & Schuster
March 25, 2014




* The dream entries from Briar’s journal contain premonitions of books that will be published in the future. Briar’s dream self foresees the books’ summaries and knows which will likely appeal to each of her friends. Briar always wakes up before she can see whether her friends will enjoy the books.