Into the Woods: I Know Sasquatch by Jess Bradley

Everyone thinks they know what Sasquatch is like: He is...

VERY SMELLY!

VERY LARGE! VERY MEAN!

But who's afraid of the big, bad Sasquatch?

Not our girl--even though she's read scary things about him in a book.

Bravely she ventures forth into the woods behind her house, hoping for a spotting of the legendary "monster."

THEN SUDDENLY, I SPOTTED A MYSTERIOUS CLUMP OF FUR.

AND A LARGE FOOTPRINT!

Her first impulse is to scream and run, but as she takes to her heels, her Super Bub bubble gum packet spills behind her on the path. And when she finally turns for a quick look....

...I KNEW I HAD NOTHING TO FEAR.

Who could be afraid of a furry blue Bigfoot blowing an enormous Super Bub bubble as big as his head?

He politely presents his signed photo ID from the Society of Cryptids. Sasquatch then takes our girl on a genteel tour of the woodlands, introducing some of his friends, Yuri the Bear and Sandy the Bunny, not to mention the more, er, exotic cryptids Ogopogo and Jackalope. He shows off his family tree and points out that most of the media frenzy sightings are really those of his eccentric second cousin Murray. Over a tasty picnic he bemoans the bad press his family usually gets.

But our creative girl has a solution for that cryptid dilemma, too:

INVITE HIM TO MY HOUSE AND MAKE THIS BOOK!

Jess Bradley's just published I Know Sasquatch (Fiction Picture Books) (Capstone Books, 2015) offers young readers a light-hearted introduction to one of North America's most notorious legends. Her Sasquatch and main character are blackline cartoon characters collaged over photos of genuine woodlands and set against a blue-lined notebook background, and her kid-friendly soft blue, pink-nosed "monster" smells like blueberries (although he also apparently loves watermelon when he can get it). Big fun with Bigfoot!

Pair this one with Dan Santat's Caldecott Award-winning The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend or Kent Redeker's Don't Squish the Sasquatch! (see my review here) for more tales from the wild side.