80 books like The Thing about Yetis

By Vin Vogel,

Here are 80 books that The Thing about Yetis fans have personally recommended if you like The Thing about Yetis. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Mysterious Tadpole

Vikki VanSickle Author Of If I Had a Gryphon

From my list on non-dragon and unicorn magical creatures.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I worked at a children’s bookstore I noticed there were tons of books about dragons and unicorns, but not a lot of picture books about other kinds of mythological creatures. I thought this was strange, especially since Harry Potter was so popular and those books were full of magical creatures. I have always loved pets and mythology, so I thought maybe I could write a primer on magical pet care. I also noticed how much the kids at storytime loved rhyming books, so I put all of these things together and If I Had a Gryphon was born!

Vikki's book list on non-dragon and unicorn magical creatures

Vikki VanSickle Why did Vikki love this book?

Tadpoles aren’t known for being very exciting pets…unless they’re from Lock Ness, the most mysterious lake in Scotland! A little gift turns into a big surprise when a family discovers they may be harbouring a baby Loch Ness monster. I love how the family must come up with practical but inventive solutions to house their growing monster, which was an approach I also used with the pet care in If I Had a Gryphon.

By Steven Kellogg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Mysterious Tadpole 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?

It's Louis's birthday and Uncle McAllister has brought him a very special gift&150a tadpole all the way from Scotland! Louis can hardly wait for Alphonse to grow into a frog. But it soon becomes clear that Alphonse is not turning into any ordinary frog. First Alphonse outgrows his jar, then the sink, and then the bathtub! This new edition of The Mysterious Tadpole boasts reimagined story twists and entirely new illustrations. The lovable giant of a tadpole has grown into something even more wonderful!


Book cover of Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent

Vikki VanSickle Author Of If I Had a Gryphon

From my list on non-dragon and unicorn magical creatures.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I worked at a children’s bookstore I noticed there were tons of books about dragons and unicorns, but not a lot of picture books about other kinds of mythological creatures. I thought this was strange, especially since Harry Potter was so popular and those books were full of magical creatures. I have always loved pets and mythology, so I thought maybe I could write a primer on magical pet care. I also noticed how much the kids at storytime loved rhyming books, so I put all of these things together and If I Had a Gryphon was born!

Vikki's book list on non-dragon and unicorn magical creatures

Vikki VanSickle Why did Vikki love this book?

I love stories about sea monsters and this was one of my favourites as a kid. It’s hard being Cyrus. Humans are afraid of sea monsters like him, and Shark thinks he’s too cowardly to sink ships. But the kindly sea serpent resists peer pressure and saves the day when he comes to the rescue of a ship in need. A sweet and surprising story about kindness and being true to yourself from a real legend of children’s literature, Bill Peet.

By Bill Peet,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

A shark accuses Cyrus of cowardice because he won't sink any ships. The kindly sea serpent almost succumbs to peer pressure, but learns at last to be himself.


Book cover of Eric

Vikki VanSickle Author Of If I Had a Gryphon

From my list on non-dragon and unicorn magical creatures.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I worked at a children’s bookstore I noticed there were tons of books about dragons and unicorns, but not a lot of picture books about other kinds of mythological creatures. I thought this was strange, especially since Harry Potter was so popular and those books were full of magical creatures. I have always loved pets and mythology, so I thought maybe I could write a primer on magical pet care. I also noticed how much the kids at storytime loved rhyming books, so I put all of these things together and If I Had a Gryphon was born!

Vikki's book list on non-dragon and unicorn magical creatures

Vikki VanSickle Why did Vikki love this book?

This quirky, slightly surreal, and thought-provoking story is classic Sean Tan. A family takes in an unusual exchange student named Eric. He is unlike anyone or anything they have ever known. But despite his small size and unpredictable behaviour, Eric makes a lasting impact on the family. This lovely and moving story will spark lots of conversation about acceptance and perspective.

By Shaun Tan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Eric as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Eric is a foreign exchange student who comes to live with a typical suburban family. Although everyone is delighted with the arrangement, cultural misunderstandings ensure, beginning with Eric's insistence on sleeping in a pantry cupboard rather than a specially prepared guest room.

This is a small, Eric-sized edition of the story that originally appeared in Tales from Outer Suburbia, edited with some new artwork and layout design.


Book cover of Monsters 101

Vikki VanSickle Author Of If I Had a Gryphon

From my list on non-dragon and unicorn magical creatures.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I worked at a children’s bookstore I noticed there were tons of books about dragons and unicorns, but not a lot of picture books about other kinds of mythological creatures. I thought this was strange, especially since Harry Potter was so popular and those books were full of magical creatures. I have always loved pets and mythology, so I thought maybe I could write a primer on magical pet care. I also noticed how much the kids at storytime loved rhyming books, so I put all of these things together and If I Had a Gryphon was born!

Vikki's book list on non-dragon and unicorn magical creatures

Vikki VanSickle Why did Vikki love this book?

I love funny books! In Monsters 101, three hilarious professors share little-known, laugh-out-loud facts about monsters of all shapes and sizes. Readers will get a kick out of the non-fiction format and bright visuals. The author-illustrator of the book is the same illustrator of my book If I Had a Gryphon, so he knows a thing or two about drawing monsters!

By Cale Atkinson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Monsters 101 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Kids getting ready for Halloween will love this laugh-out-loud picture book that finally sets the record straight about monsters!

Monsters! They're so much more than just that scary thing under your bed. Join Professors Batula McFang, Blobbins, and Howlsworth, and their trusty lab assistant--a zombie named Tina--as they reveal eerie and frankly ridiculous monster facts, never uttered outside a crypt! For example:

Monsters love competitive board-game nights! Favorite monster foods include clam pudding with fish heads and pickled ant ice cream! In addition to cauldrons and spider gardens, monster homes often include homemade collages! Werewolves hate the sound of vacuum…


Book cover of Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life

Jeff Meldrum Author Of Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science

From my list on relict hominoids existence today.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, with a keen interest in the natural world and a particular fascination with our closest kin, the great apes. I was there when the famous Patterson-Gimlin film was aired in Spokane, Washington. That now iconic image was my first encounter with Bigfoot. I was captivated. In the pre-Internet age, finding books, articles, and newsletters to satisfy my curiosity about Bigfoot/sasquatch was in itself a challenge, and I eagerly consumed what few titles were available. Even today, the few serious treatments of the subject by scholarly objective authors stand out among the plethora of skeptical or self-published amateur books.

Jeff's book list on relict hominoids existence today

Jeff Meldrum Why did Jeff love this book?

This book was my encyclopedic introduction to the question of legendary man-like species existing around the world in the present day.

I was in my early teens the first time I read this book, returning again and again. I found inspiration in Sanderson as an unconventional scholar-adventurer who explored the planet and fostered my fascination with exotic and elusive species on the fringes and my appreciation of world biogeography. He was a founding figure of cryptozoology, the search for hidden animals. Through his synthesis, the legendary became zoology. 

By Ivan T. Sanderson,

Why should I read it?

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


Book cover of The Bigfoot Book: The Encyclopedia of Sasquatch, Yeti and Cryptid Primates

Nick Sullivan Author Of Zombie Bigfoot

From my list on Bigfoot to satisfy your creature feature cravings.

Why am I passionate about this?

My writer’s journey has been circuitous. Originally, I’d intended to become a screenwriter, until I was bitten by the acting bug. Appearing often in film, television, and on Broadway, I found myself drawn to audiobook narration. After so much exposure to so many genres from so many authors, I decided to return to writing. Zombie Bigfoot is a novelization of a screenplay of mine, inspired by SkyMall magazine I read during a scuba diving trip. One page had a Bigfoot garden statue… the adjacent page had a garden flagstone with a zombie coming up out of the ground. I looked at those two images and thought: “How has nobody done this?”

Nick's book list on Bigfoot to satisfy your creature feature cravings

Nick Sullivan Why did Nick love this book?

I felt I needed to include at least one non-fiction book in my recommendations, and this title is a favorite. It is truly “encyclopedic” in its scope, encompassing first-hand accounts from all over the globe, as well as historical context, cultural references, physical evidence, and more. 

The author specializes in a number of cryptid subjects, and the level of research is impressive. Organized alphabetically and packed with photos, The Bigfoot Book is a go-to reference for all things Sasquatch. At 685 pages in length, you get a lot of bang for your buck!

By Nick Redfern,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Does a hulking, hairy, 800-pound, nine-foot-tall, elusive primate roam the woods and forests throughout North America - and the world? Audio- recordings exist purporting to be the creatures' eerie chatter and bone-chilling screaming. Whether called Sasquatch, Yeti, Bigfoot or something else , bipedal primates appear in folklore, legends and eyewitness accounts in every state of the union and many places around the world. The fascination with the man-beast is stronger than ever in today's pop culture.


Book cover of Sasquatch: The Apes Among Us

Jeff Meldrum Author Of Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science

From my list on relict hominoids existence today.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, with a keen interest in the natural world and a particular fascination with our closest kin, the great apes. I was there when the famous Patterson-Gimlin film was aired in Spokane, Washington. That now iconic image was my first encounter with Bigfoot. I was captivated. In the pre-Internet age, finding books, articles, and newsletters to satisfy my curiosity about Bigfoot/sasquatch was in itself a challenge, and I eagerly consumed what few titles were available. Even today, the few serious treatments of the subject by scholarly objective authors stand out among the plethora of skeptical or self-published amateur books.

Jeff's book list on relict hominoids existence today

Jeff Meldrum Why did Jeff love this book?

John Green combines the spirited curiosity of an investigative reporter with the incisive logic of the argument of a rhetorician and the articulation of a wordsmith.

I found that he skillfully painted the historical and anecdotal context for this intriguing mystery as an adept journalist, drawing me into the very scene, to become part of the actual experience. He also went to lengths to make the evidentiary case for the scientists to acknowledge and seriously consider the proposition. With that determination, he promoted and sponsored the launch of a venue to provide a platform for the dissemination of scholarly publications exploring the question of relict hominoids, with me as the editor-in-chief.

By John Green,

Why should I read it?

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


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 Imaginary Animals: The Monstrous, the Wondrous and the Human

Joseph Nigg Author Of The Book of Fabulous Beasts: A Treasury of Writings from Ancient Times to the Present

From my list on following mythical beasts through time.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ancient mythical animals are all around us in words and images. Following the transformations of such animals through literature and art across millennia has been my passion since the early ’80s. It was then, after years of writing and teaching, that I became intrigued by a winged and fishtailed lion figure on an antique oil lamp hanging in my study. That hybrid creature led me to the eagle-lion griffin and my first published book, The Book of Gryphons. I have followed a host of mythical beasts ever since. My most recent book, The Phoenix: An Unnatural Biography of a Mythical Beast, was published in a 2021 Chinese translation.

Joseph's book list on following mythical beasts through time

Joseph Nigg Why did Joseph love this book?

I love this lavishly produced 2013 book. It overarches my other recommended “best books for following mythical beasts through time.” Titles of early chapters—“What is an Imaginary Animal?” “Every Real Animal is Imaginary,” and “Every Imaginary Animal is Real”—encompass the book’s interplay between nature’s animals, imaginary ones, and human beings.

Open Imaginary Animals anywhere to get a glimpse of its variety and scope. Boria Sax’s interdisciplinary, learned, and conversational text sweeps across folklore, legends, myths, and natural history of worldwide cultures from antiquity to today. Accompanying art, much in color, spans a Lascaux cave painting and a photograph of a human-looking robot; throughout are fantastic creatures in paintings, early natural history engravings, and other pictorial forms.

As Dr. Sax writes, “Imaginary creatures can be overwhelming in their multiplicity.”

By Boria Sax,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Tales throughout the world generally place fabulous beasts in marginal locations - deserts, deep woods, remote islands, glaciers, ocean depths, mountain peaks, caves, swamps, heavenly bodies and alternate universes. Legends tell us that imaginary animals belong to a primordial time, before we had encompassed the world with names, categories and scientific knowledge.
This book traces the history of imaginary animals from Palaeolithic art to the Harry Potter stories, and beyond. It shows how imagined creatures help us psychologically, giving form to our subconscious fears as 'monsters', as well as embodying our hopes as 'wonders'. Nevertheless, their greatest service may be…


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

Benjamin Radford Author Of Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore

From my list on (real-life) monsters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated by monsters. Growing up I saw television shows and read books about famous ones like Bigfoot and Nessie, and always wanted to search for them and discover the truth. That led me to a degree in psychology to learn about human cognition and perception, and a career in folklore to understand how legends and rumors spread. But I also wanted field experience, and spent time at Loch Ness, in Canadian woods said to house Sasquatch, to the Amazon, Sahara, and the jungles of Central America looking for the chupacabra. Along the way became an author, writing books including Tracking the Chupacabra, Lake Monster Mysteries, Big—If True, and Investigating Ghosts

Benjamin's book list on (real-life) monsters

Benjamin Radford Why did Benjamin love this book?

Like Jay Smith’s book, Loxton and Prothero dig deep into the world’s most famous monsters, and help separate fact from fiction.

Everyone has seen the famous 1967 film clip of a Bigfoot—but do you know the story behind it?  From sea serpents to the Loch Ness monster and modern-day dinosaur reports, Abominable Science applies science and critical thinking to the mysteries. Even better, the book includes a very useful discussion on the field of cryptozoology—the search for hidden (and possibly mythical) creatures.

I have personally investigated many of these monsters—including in the field—and learned a lot from this book. Though they take a scientific and skeptical approach, they advocate for taking the topic seriously and doing good research. A fascinating and indispensable book for any monster lover. 

By Daniel Loxton, Donald R. Prothero,

Why should I read it?

2 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…


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