Fans pick 100 books like Re-entry

By Dave Roman,

Here are 100 books that Re-entry fans have personally recommended if you like Re-entry. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Travis Nichols Author Of A Witch's Last Resort

From my list on friendly freaks, monsters, and cryptids.

Why am I passionate about this?

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.

Travis' book list on friendly freaks, monsters, and cryptids

Travis Nichols Why did Travis love 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.

By Louis Sachar, Tim Heitz (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. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

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…


Book cover of Meet the Bigfeet

Travis Nichols Author Of A Witch's Last Resort

From my list on friendly freaks, monsters, and cryptids.

Why am I passionate about this?

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.

Travis' book list on friendly freaks, monsters, and cryptids

Travis Nichols Why did Travis love 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.

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…


Book cover of Star Beasts

Travis Nichols Author Of A Witch's Last Resort

From my list on friendly freaks, monsters, and cryptids.

Why am I passionate about this?

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.

Travis' book list on friendly freaks, monsters, and cryptids

Travis Nichols Why did Travis love 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.

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. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

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…


Book cover of Bug Boys

Caitlin Rose Boyle Author Of Frankie and the Beastly Bog Song

From my list on creepy creature comics and picture books for kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in rural Southern Maryland, watching the bats wheel overhead at night. There were bugs under every rock, snakes winding their way through the small creek at the bottom of our backyard, and frogs that would suddenly jump up onto the glass window in the laundry room and scare the ever-living daylights out of you. I kept pet rats and caught jars full of fireflies. I live in a city now, on the opposite end of the continent, but my heart lives back home in the woods. This list is for the kids & kids at heart who love the creepy critters, the creechies who get a bad rap. 

Caitlin's book list on creepy creature comics and picture books for kids

Caitlin Rose Boyle Why did Caitlin love this book?

I wish I was a bug so I could live in this world. Knetzger’s book is a gorgeously illustrated graphic chapter book that clearly loves the natural world and refuses to talk down to young readers. The bugs in question are beautifully drawn, cartoony versions of themselves—Rhino-B and Stag-B live in a colorful world filled with both realistic bug facts and a quietly fantastic reality where different bugs coexist harmoniously.

A case in point: the boys regularly visit their friend and librarian, Dome Spider, who often makes comments about eating "meat" but never actually tries to eat the pair. The stakes in their world are not quite naturally realistic, but the emotions are always resonant. The boys experience a range of days—beautiful ones, sad ones, days they fight, and everything in between.

I’d love to give this book to an early reader to teach them that empathy should extend to…

By Laura Knetzger,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Bug Boys as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 7, 8, 9, and 10.

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…


Book cover of Destination Truth: Memoirs of a Monster Hunter

Richard Ratay Author Of Don't Make Me Pull Over!: An Informal History of the Family Road Trip

From my list on make you laugh while you learn.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love learning about how the world we know came to be the way it is. That’s another way of saying I love history. But not the dry, boring history we all remember from school. I want to know more about the entrepreneurial risk-takers, eccentric inventors, and strange circumstances that somehow shaped the world we know today. I want to be fascinated. What’s more, I want to laugh and be entertained while I’m reading and learning. I want every page to reward my attention with some amazing fact or a hearty laugh. That’s what the books on my list do. I hope you love them as much as I have!

Richard's book list on make you laugh while you learn

Richard Ratay Why did Richard love this book?

I want to believe. Yes, like just about everyone else who has ever been a kid (so, you know, everyone), I want to think somewhere out there there’s a Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster or random chupacabra just waiting to be discovered. But even if there isn’t, I want to be told fascinating stories about the lengths people will go to to find such mystifying creatures. And no one does it better than Josh Gates.

Combining fun facts, absorbing backstories, and his trademark wit, Gates takes readers along on an unforgettable expedition through the wild—and his own lifetime of enthralling adventures.

By Josh Gates,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Truth is stranger than legend . . . and your journey into both begins here.

World adventurer and international monster hunter Josh Gates has careened through nearly 100 countries, investigating frightening myths, chilling cryptozoological legends, and terrifying paranormal phenomena. Now, he invites fans to get a behind-the-scenes look at these breathtaking expeditions.

Follow Gates from the inception of the groundbreaking hit show (at the summit of Kilimanjaro) to his hair-raising encounters with dangerous creatures in the most treacherous locations on earth. Among his many adventures, he unearths the flesh-crawling reality of the Mongolian Death Worm, challenges an ancient curse by…


Book cover of Another Kind

Barbara Perez Marquez Author Of The Cardboard Kingdom

From my list on to send your kid on an unforgettable adventure.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer, I strive to create stories that I wish I had found on shelves when I was younger. In that same way, every title on this list not only brings new ways to find adventures through reading, but will hopefully leave young readers with new skills to face the world around them. We often think just cause a story has fantastical elements that it makes them detached from reality, but give any of these a read and you'll find, the farther it is from real life, the brighter the common themes we all share shine through.

Barbara's book list on to send your kid on an unforgettable adventure

Barbara Perez Marquez Why did Barbara love this book?

Got a kid with a want for the supernatural? May and Bream's heartfelt approach to cryptids and the supernatural make a perfect mix to carry this compelling and page-turning book. Perfect to share among friend groups and explore what it is to belong and how we can all help each other even past our differences.

By Cait May, Trevor Bream,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Another Kind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

Six kids search for a new place to call home in this middle grade graphic novel debut by comic creators Cait May and Trevor Bream, for fans of Marvel's Runaways and The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag. Another Kind is not your average monster story.

Tucked away in a government facility nicknamed the Playroom, six not-quite-human kids learn to control their strange and unpredictable abilities. Life is good-or safe, at least-hidden from the prying eyes of a judgmental world.

That is, until a security breach forces them out of their home and into the path of the Collector, a…


Book cover of Near the Bone

James Pack Author Of The Hook

From my list on where real-life horror meets the supernatural.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always had a greater interest in supernatural horror compared to the other subgenres of horror. Another way to describe it is fantasy horror. However, sometimes the fantasy can take away from the overall story. I find the best stories with supernatural elements also have a lot of real-life horror to balance with the fantasy. Magic realism is also a trope of Post-Modern Culture and I find myself drawn to stories with post-modern elements versus those that don’t. These are my top five pics for the best “Real-Life Horror Meets Supernatural Horror” novels.

James' book list on where real-life horror meets the supernatural

James Pack Why did James love this book?

I’ve read several of Christina Henry’s books. I enjoyed them all, but this one is my absolute favorite. Mattie lives in the mountains with her abusive husband, and she has no memory beyond the last few years, and she lives in fear of her husband’s wrath. An unknown, large creature appears and makes things more complicated. Mattie has to escape her husband and a monster in the woods and try to remember her past. This novel is one of the best horror stories I’ve ever read. It’s suspenseful and you never know what will happen next. One of my favorite things about this novel is, despite the supernatural creature, it’s not over-the-top and everything feels real including the actions and choices of the characters. This is definitely a must-read.

By Christina Henry,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Near the Bone as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mattie can't remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they're not alone after all.

There's something in the woods that wasn't there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws.

When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.


Book cover of Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide

Bonnie Henderson Author Of The Next Tsunami: Living on a Restless Coast

From my list on Cascadia, unreal and real.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love the quirky, restless Pacific Northwest, also known as Cascadia, my home bioregion. Nonfiction is my jam, but I enjoy stories both unreal and real (stealing and tweaking Oregon author Ursula Le Guin’s use of the terms). I’m also an avid hiker. I’ve often wondered how I could provide folks heading here to hike the 400-mile Oregon Coast Trail (another passion of mine) with my personal book list introducing them to this landscape and its history, human and natural. Here is a start.

Bonnie's book list on Cascadia, unreal and real

Bonnie Henderson Why did Bonnie love this book?

Pyle is a leading butterfly expert and a brilliant natural history writer. And he happens to be bigfoot-curious. As am I. The past few years have seen Sasquatch—at least images of the mythical-or-not-mythical beast—cropping up widely in this region, usually to try to sell something. Pyle takes it more seriously, without being boring or sensationalist. In this telling, Pyle packs his rig with camping gear (and plenty of IPA) and—with his expansive knowledge of nature, his keen skills of observation (of all species, us included), and his humor—heads into southwest Washington’s Dark Divide to try to clear up what, exactly, he heard decades earlier on a camping trip in this remote corner of Cascadia. As to what he finds, you be the judge. 

By Robert Michael Pyle,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Where Bigfoot Walks as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The inspiration for the film The Dark Divide starring David Cross and Debra Messing, one of America’s most esteemed natural history writers takes to the hills in search of Bigfoot―and finds the wildness within ourselves.

Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to investigate the legends of Sasquatch, Yale-trained ecologist Dr. Robert Pyle treks into the unprotected wilderness of the Dark Divide near Mount St. Helens, where he discovers both a giant fossil footprint and recent tracks. On the trail of what he thought was legend, he searches out Indians who tell him of an outcast tribe, the Seeahtiks, who had not fully…


Book cover of Bigfoot!: The True Story of Apes in America

Ernest Solar Author Of Spirit of Sasquatch

From my list on believing in Bigfoot.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been fascinated by the subject of Bigfoot ever since I was a child when my father drove through West Virginia and told me to search the woods for the elusive creature. From that point forward I wanted to spend as much time in the forest as I could. Over the years I have developed a fondness for the wild, the trees, and nature. For the past ten years, I’ve traveled around the country searching for Bigfoot in Washington, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The searches may have been hit or miss, but more importantly, I was able to experience the wonders and beauty of the wild forest.

Ernest's book list on believing in Bigfoot

Ernest Solar Why did Ernest love this book?

Loren Coleman is one of the original researchers from the ’60s & ’70s. His knowledge of the subject is unparalleled, which makes Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America, one of the best books written on the subject. With his extensive experience, Coleman takes a historical, scientific, and personal approach in developing a valid argument for the existence of Bigfoot in North America.

By Loren Coleman,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Bigfoot - the name used for any large, hairy biped reported in every state of the United States and every Canadian province - has long baffled casual tourists and experienced scientists. Now readers can examine the evidence for this elusive creature and take a journey into the realm of crytozoology, or hidden animals, with the number one author in the field of Bigfoot study, Loren Coleman. Readers will travel with Coleman during his forty-year study as he investigates, interviews and conducts fieldwork on these incredible beasts. From ancient Native traditions to today's Internet databases that record the sightings almost as…


Book cover of Abominable Science! Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids

Ben Hubbard Author Of What Do We Know About the Yeti?

From my list on Yetis for every age.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a full-time non-fiction author since 2012 and have over 170 titles to my name. My Yeti book is one of several children’s books I’ve been lucky enough to write for Penguin Random House. My other titles in this series include: the Donner Party, Nazca Lines, the Roswell Incident, the Kraken, and Crop Circles. I have written another children’s book on the Yeti called Hunting for Yetis, which is a first-person account that tracks the creatures around the world. 

Ben's book list on Yetis for every age

Ben Hubbard Why did Ben love this book?

I found this to be an excellent handbook, which explores the legend of the Yeti alongside other mysterious cryptid creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot.

The authors present an entertaining and educational compendium on cryptids and give good arguments both for and against their existence. Seeing these opposing sides of the Yeti debate is great, and I highly recommend this book!

By Daniel Loxton, Donald R. Prothero,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Abominable Science! Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Throughout our history, humans have been captivated by mythic beasts and legendary creatures. Tales of Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the Loch Ness monster are part of our collective experience. Now comes a book from two dedicated investigators that explores and elucidates the fascinating world of cryptozoology. Daniel Loxton and Donald R. Prothero have written an entertaining, educational, and definitive text on cryptids, presenting the arguments both for and against their existence and systematically challenging the pseudoscience that perpetuates their myths. After examining the nature of science and pseudoscience and their relation to cryptozoology, Loxton and Prothero take on Bigfoot; the…


Book cover of Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Book cover of Meet the Bigfeet
Book cover of Star Beasts

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