Liberty Hardy is an unrepentant velocireader, writer, bitey mad lady, and tattoo canvas. Turn-ons include books, books and books. Her favorite exclamation is “Holy cats!” Liberty reads more than should be legal, sleeps very little, frequently writes on her belly with Sharpie markers, and when she dies, she’s leaving her body to library science. Until then, she lives with her three cats, Millay, Farrokh, and Zevon, in Maine. She is also right behind you. Just kidding! She’s too busy reading.
Twitter: @MissLiberty
I would love to tell you that watching the 2014 Cartoon Network miniseries Over the Garden Wall every year around Halloween is one of my traditions, but it’s not…because I watch it ALL THE TIME. Cheese and crackers, I love this series so much! And I know I’m not alone, since its popularity only seems to grow every year. There are comics, and cosplay at cons, and I am pretty sure all the different merch from the show is what keeps Hot Topic afloat.
Over the Garden Wall is about two half-brothers, Wirt and Greg, who get lost in the woods on Halloween night and encounter many unusual characters as they search for their way home. But The Beast is also in those woods, and they must avoid him if they ever want to leave. It’s so weird and funny, with tons of famous voices, and it has little songs, too. It’s definitely a perfect Halloween show, but it’s also great for any time of year.
One of the things that makes Over the Garden Wall so special is that there isn’t much like it, but there are lots of things that have similar vibes. If you’re a fan, you’ll find a lot to love below with the six books I chose. And if you’ve never seen it, you’ll still find six great books to check out (and you should watch it ASAP!) All of these are middle grade reads, except for Elatsoe and Mage, which might be better for young adults.
Win a shiny library cart for your home! Let the good reads roll on its durable build and lockable wheels. Easily roll your current reads, favorite literary journals, or your entire TBR list from room to room.
All Access members, read on for six recommendations of books with Over the Garden Wall vibes.
Liberty Hardy is an unrepentant velocireader, writer, bitey mad lady, and tattoo canvas. Turn-ons include books, books and books. Her favorite exclamation is “Holy cats!” Liberty reads more than should be legal, sleeps very little, frequently writes on her belly with Sharpie markers, and when she dies, she’s leaving her body to library science. Until then, she lives with her three cats, Millay, Farrokh, and Zevon, in Maine. She is also right behind you. Just kidding! She’s too busy reading.
Twitter: @MissLiberty
As far as age-appropriate viewing of the series…I am not quite sure. I don’t have kids, and I am literally wearing a Shirt Tales T-shirt with a pair of Freddy Krueger pajama pants as I write this, so I am all over the map. It’s definitely scary in places, but I bet elementary school kids can handle it with no problem. It’s hard to guess what scares kids when they’re young. (I was scared to death of Mr. Boogedy.)
Twistwood Tales by AC Macdonald
This webcomic, collected here for the first time, might be the most similar to OTGW in general. It’s about the adventures of Bucket Boy, Loghead, the Fairy Gourd-Mother, Dr. Crowley, and more as they live and play in the woods.
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
A young woman with the ability to talk to spirits must figure out what happened to her cousin, after his ghost tells her he was murdered. With the help of her best friend, Jay, and her ghost dog, Kirby, Elatsoe tries to get to the bottom of things in a creepy town.
Mage and the Endless Unknown by SJ Miller
This is a wordless graphic novel, in which a young mage (dressed similarly to Wirt) who wakes up in a meadow and discovers a dark and scary world has come through a door, and the mage and their companions must work to hold back the monsters.
Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen
In this adorable graphic novel, the sentient vegetable inhabitants of a farm begin to worry when word reaches them that a vampire has moved into the abandoned castle nearby. So they decide that Garlic should be the one to knock on his door and find out what he’s doing in their town.
Wizkit: An Adventure Overdue by Tanya J. Scott
This is a very funny story of a lazy wizard’s apprentice named Wizkit. To teach her a lesson about responsibility, the wizard sends Wizkit on a journey to the Library to return an overdue book that they find crying in their house. But Wizkit thinks this is a drag, because she would rather stay home, and because the pathologically positive-thinking book chatters incessantly.
The Wondrous Wonders by Camille Jourdy, translated by Montana Kane
Last, but not least, is this beautiful book, translated from French. Like Wirt, Jo is having trouble adjusting to her parents’ divorce, but she decides to run away. In the woods, she meets a talking fox, elves, ponies, and more. The woods might seem fun now, but is it where Jo really wants to live?
Join All Access to read this article
Get access to exclusive content and features with an All Access subscription on Book Riot.
- Unlimited access to exclusive bonus content
- Community features like commenting and poll participation
- Our gratitude for supporting the work of an independent media company
Okay, star bits, now take the knowledge you have learned here today and use it for good, not evil. If you want to know more about books, I talk about books pretty much nonstop (when I’m not reading them), and you can hear me say lots of adjectives about them on the BR podcast All the Books! and on Instagram.
English (US) · 