Rachel is a writer from Arkansas, most at home surrounded by forests and animals much like a Disney Princess. She spends most of her time writing stories and playing around in imaginary worlds. You can follow her writing at rachelbrittain.com. Socials: @rachelsbrittain
Oh, are you here for the Monster Mash? Well, you’re a little early, but maybe I can interest you in some kids’ graphic novels all about monsters in the mean time? My library’s full of them and definitely haunted.
No, I said not haunted; what did you hear? Right this way, up the creaky stairs and through the veil. Don’t mind the cobwebs– the spiders never clean up after themselves. Just take a seat over by the piano that’s mysteriously playing itself and put up your feet while you wait. The ghost librarians will pick out exactly what you need. I’ll be back in a jiff. Just have to freshen up my fangs first. You do like books about monster kids and cursed vampires and Halloween parties, right? Of course, you do. You wouldn’t be here at my haunted mansion otherwise! Enjoy your reading. I’m sure you’ll have a hauntingly good time.
Masks by Margaret Rae, Beck Kubrick, Thomas Philipson, and Brian Nathanson
Three monster kids, Poe, Rice, and Shelley, discover there might actually be a place for them in the human world that doesn’t involve hiding when they’re inadvertently whisked away to a Halloween party. Poe may be an expert at hiding ever since her parents were killed by monster hunters when she was a kid, but her siblings Rice and Shelley are tired of living life in the shadows. Could this human holiday all about dressing up and celebrating the macabre and the weird be the chance they’ve been looking for all along?
The Accursed Vampire by Madeline McGrane
In this adorable graphic novel, a trio of little vampires go on a quest to find a spellbook in a small town. Right now that spellbook is in the hands of a witch and a vampire who seem suspiciously nice. In all of Dragoslava’s hundreds of years alive, they’ve never met anybody that nice for no reason–especially not the witch who cursed them to follow her every command or be turned into a pile of worms. So what’s the deal? Are Sara and Ayesha really that good? Even if they are, will they be able to convince Drago and their friends to maybe, finally, be good, too?
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Yelp! Yeti! Chaos in Kathmandu by Sneha Pradhan and Promina Shrestha
There’s a yeti loose in Kathmandu, and Dev’s seen it! But no one will believe him. Now the yeti is wrecking the kitchen and eating all the snacks while Dev’s parents threaten to send him away for the summer if he can’t put a stop to this naughty behavior. Maybe if Dev and his cat Tuna can figure out some way to capture the yeti, his parents will see that the creature of chaos they’re annoyed at isn’t Dev–it’s a real-life yeti.
Saving Chupie by Amparo Ortiz and Ronnie Vazquez
On a trip to visit her grandmother in Puerto Rico, Violeta stumbles across the famed chupacabra– and he isn’t exactly the deadly legend he’s been made out to be. In fact, Chupie is more like a puppy than a monster. But with her new friends proving difficult to convince and a bunch of animal traffickers trying to track Chupie down for their own nefarious purposes, Violeta will have to make everyone see that this adorable little creature is worth fighting for.
Summer Vamp by Violet Chan Karim
What would you do if you accidentally found yourself at a summer camp for vampires? Unfortunately, Maya is going to have to figure out an answer to that question fast, because her dad’s girlfriend accidentally signed her up for the wrong camp. Now, instead of baking cake or cooking pasta with garlic, she’s going to have to figure out how to survive among a bunch of vampire kids. Will they all want to suck her blood? Or are these vamps looking for friends, just like the rest of us?
Anzu and the Realm of Darkness by Mai K. Nguyen and Diana Tsai Santos
When Anzu runs away from her family’s Obon celebrations, she accidentally slips into the spirit world. She’d always thought her obaachan’s stories about the Shinto underworld were just that– stories. But now she’s in it, surrounded by creatures and face-to-face with the queen of the underworld. Queen Izanami informs her that if she can’t get home before sunrise, she’ll be stuck here forever. But before she can even think about going home, she’ll have to break a curse and help free all the other kids trapped in the underworld.
English (US) · 