The best middle grade books about friendly freaks, monsters, and cryptids

Travis Nichols Author Of The Terribles: A Witch's Last Resort
By Travis Nichols

Who am I?

I’m a lifelong monster fiend. I love horror and sci-fi, and I especially love stories that really dig into characters and how they smash into each other. My favorite scary books (and movies, etc.) are funny, and my favorite funny books are kinda scary. It can be super healing and empowering to read books about terrible things that are handled with a heaping scoop of empathy and humor and absurdity.


I wrote...

The Terribles: A Witch's Last Resort

By Travis Nichols,

Book cover of The Terribles: A Witch's Last Resort

What is my book about?

The Terribles: A Witch’s Last Resort is the second book in The Terribles series. In this follow-up to Welcome to Stubtoe Elementary, there’s a new kid in town. Her name is Elise, and she’s visiting her mom, who runs a seasonal resort for witches. Also in this volume (the Terribles books are collections of illustrated short stories, comics, etc.), Quade (a sasquatch) and Frankie (a human fringe scientist) build a greenhouse for bigfeet (bigfoots?), Vlad (a vampire) gets braces, and you (as a wereskunk) have a sleepover in a 2nd-person path-choosing story with eight different endings.

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The books I picked & why

Re-entry

By Dave Roman,

Book cover of Re-entry

Why this book?

The Astronaut Academy series is so silly and exciting.

Re-entry is the second book in the series, and I really love how each chapter focuses on a different character. Each chapter starts with a variation of “My name is ____ and I ____ Astronaut Academy.”

Those tiny bits do a lot of character building, because sometimes it’s “and you bet I go to…” and sometimes it’s “and I’m the richest and most pretty girl in all of…” It’s just an immediate Oh here we go, you know?

This book has it all: space walking, epic sports, cute romance, bazooka-fisted bears, and a mysterious monster. The whole series was recently repubbed in full color (color on this one by Fred C. Stresing), and they’re gorgeous.

Re-entry

By Dave Roman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Re-entry as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hakata Soy still has a lot to learn!

It's a new semester at Astronaut Academy and everyone is excited for the Fireball championship-especially Hakata's cranky roommate, Tak Offsky. But lurking in the shadows is a shape-shifting, heart-stealing monster, and it might just knock the Fireball team out of the competition!

Can Hakata and Tak put aside their differences, lead the team to victory, and save the lives of their classmates?

Beautifully updated with fresh color, this new edition of the engaging and delightful Astronaut Academy series will have readers dreaming of space adventures, friendship, and Dinosaur driving lessons.


Star Beasts

By Stephanie Young, Allyson Lassiter (illustrator),

Book cover of Star Beasts

Why this book?

Epic sci-fi with a cast of Earth-protecting animals.

Star Beasts is told through the POV of Bandit, the newest captain on the team, so we get to learn the ropes along with him (perfect way to tell a story, eh?). It’s as rad as it is cute. Alien animals!

Ancient relic collecting! Stinky lemurs! And if you’re anything like me, you will absolutely geek out when you see the Novataur.

I first read this book in self-pubbed form when I met the creators at WonderCon a few years ago. Nicest people on earth, coolest vision for their work, hilarious merch.

Also, Allyson is a fellow gardener, which is maybe not important to mention here, but it makes me happy.

Star Beasts

By Stephanie Young, Allyson Lassiter (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Star Beasts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Wanna know the real reason Pluto isn't a planet anymore?

Bandit is a pup on Earth who leaves his family to join the secret order of the Star Beasts - cosmic creatures sworn to protect Earth and spread goodness throughout the universe. Only thing is, he's having trouble fitting in. But when powerful relics are suddenly stolen, the Star Beasts must band together to find the deadly galactic fossils before Pluto's evil emperor, Khaos Krill - he wants to build the Novataur, an ancient monster that could wipe out all of Earth's species!

Captain Bandit leads the crew on a…


Meet the Bigfeet

By Kevin Sherry,

Book cover of Meet the Bigfeet

Why this book?

Cryptids? Gnomes? Maps and charts? I’m in heaven.

I don’t know Kevin, but he feels like a kindred spirit who grew up on the same set of references. The Yeti Files books are hilarious and cool with a huge cast of cryptids (check the endpapers for a roll call). Marlon the skunk ape is my favorite.

I love the way the story of Blizz attending his family reunion and thwarting George the cryptozoologist is told: illustrated spreads, whooshing panels, Indiana Jones-esque dotted line traveling interludes, etc.

The rhythm and pace surf you from page to page. Reluctant readers don’t stand a chance.

Meet the Bigfeet

By Kevin Sherry,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Meet the Bigfeet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Yetis, Bigfeet and goblins abound in this hilarious new illustrated
series from a bestselling author/illustrator!

Blizz Richards is a great guy, a caring boss and a loyal friend.
Oh, yeah ... he's also a yeti! He's made it his life's mission to
study cryptids like him; hidden animals who have taken a powerful
oath to never be seen by the outside world.

So when a photo of Cousin Brian becomes a media sensation, Brian
can't handle the guilt and disappears. But it's time for the annual
Bigfoot family reunion, and it won't be the same without him.
Luckily, Blizz and…


Sideways Stories from Wayside School

By Louis Sachar, Adam McCauley (illustrator),

Book cover of Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Why this book?

What can I say? It’s the goated friendly freaks book.

This collection of super short connected stories stars one kid per tale. The kids are weird and wild, and something that has really stuck with me my whole life is that some of the kids are rotten and stay rotten. Not everyone needs to grow and change in 120 pages.

Let a character stink. Let a kid be a wet rat. Let a nasty teacher be eaten. Anyway, there’s this incredible way that the author employs a third-person limited POV that gets me every time, even on the hundredth read.

A few illustrators have graced the pages of this all-time favorite. I grew up reading an edition illustrated by the amazing Julie Brinkloe. I also have a copy illustrated by Adam McCauley, which I also really love.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School

By Louis Sachar, Adam McCauley (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Sideways Stories from Wayside School as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There has been a terrible mistake. Instead of having thirty classrooms side by side, Wayside School is thirty storeys high! (The builder said he was sorry.) Perhaps that's why all sorts of strange and unusual things keep happening - especially in Mrs Jewls's classroom on the very top floor.

There's the terrifying Mrs Gorf, who gets an unusually fruity comeuppance; Terrible Todd, who always gets sent home early; and Mauricia, who has a strange ice-cream addiction. Meanwhile, John can only read upside down, and Leslie is determined to sell her own toes.

From top to bottom, Wayside is packed with…


Bug Boys

By Laura Knetzger,

Book cover of Bug Boys

Why this book?

Bug Boys started as (award-winning) self-pubbed minicomics and made their way to gloriously full-color graphic novels. Rhino-B and Stag-B are adorable bugs who explore the forest, escape terrifying giants, and dive deep into the world under our feet (and ponder if there are even more worlds out there).

The collected stories (I really have a thing for that, it seems) span from sweet and meditative to temporarily terrifying to high fantasy, and the colors by Lyle Lynde match the moods along the way. This whole series is so rad and kind.

Bug Boys

By Laura Knetzger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bug Boys as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Join two bug friends as they learn about the science of the world around them and the meaning of friendship in this early graphic novel series perfect for fans of Narwhal and Jelly!

Rhino-B is a brash, but sweet guy. Stag-B is a calm and scholarly adventurer. Together these two young beetles make up the Bug Boys, best friends who spend their time exploring the world of Bug Village and beyond, as well as their own -- sometimes confusing and complicated -- thoughts and feelings.

In their first adventure, the Bug Boys travel through spooky caves, work with a spider…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in cryptozoology, astronauts, and best friends?

8,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about cryptozoology, astronauts, and best friends.

Cryptozoology Explore 17 books about cryptozoology
Astronauts Explore 51 books about astronauts
Best Friends Explore 62 books about best friends

And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

We think you will like Matilda, The Terrible Two, and Sam & Dave Dig a Hole if you like this list.