Fast Five Fiction: Cryptid books for our inaugural Tween Reading Challenge

It's Friday and time for Fast Five Fiction! Each week I share five fiction books: new books, notable books, books around a common theme. The theme for our inaugural Tween Reading Challenge is Cryptids so today I'll be sharing five cryptid themed books. 

If you haven't already registered for the Tween Reading Challenge you can sign up here.

Click the title to be directed to the book in our catalog. Book descriptions are from Goodreads. 

Bigfoot & Nessie: The Art of Getting Noticed

Meet Bigfoot and Nessie! Yes, that Bigfoot and Nessie. Only...Well, things are a little complicated right now.

Bigfoot is having trouble fitting in with his family. He can never quite manage to get himself into the picture, much to the disappointment of his mom, dad, and sister, who always want to be in the spotlight. When he meets Nessie, who's equally desperate to get away from the cameras, he begins to ask himself the ultimate question: What's the price of fame after all?

Imaginary Veterinary series by Suzanne Selfors

When Ben Silverstein is sent to the rundown town of Buttonville to spend the summer with his grandfather, he's certain it will be the most boring vacation ever. That is, until his grandfather's cat brings home what looks like . . . a baby dragon?

Amazed, Ben enlists the help of Pearl Petal, a local girl with an eye for adventure. They take the wounded dragon to the only veterinarian's office in town -- Dr. Woo's Worm Hospital. But as Ben and Pearl discover once they are inside, Dr. Woo's isn't a worm hospital at all -- it's actually a secret hospital for imaginary creatures.

After Ben accidentally leaves the hospital's front door unlocked, a rather large, rather stinky, and very hairy beast escapes into Buttonville. Ben and Pearl are tasked with retrieving the runaway creature, and what started out as an ordinary summer becomes the story of a lifetime.

Suzanne Selfors delivers a wild journey filled with mythical creatures and zany adventures that are anything but imaginary.

The Area 51 Files by Julie Buxbaum

When Sky Patel-Baum is sent to live with her mysterious uncle, she didn't imagine she'd end up here: Area 51. A top-secret military base with a bajillion rules and so classified not even the president knows its secrets.

Also, it turns out the place is full of aliens. Lots and lots of aliens. But they prefer to be called Break Throughs, thank you very much.

As Sky sets out to explore her extraordinary new home with her pizza-obsessed pet hedgehog Spike, she meets her otherworldly next-door neighbor Elvis and his fluffy pup, Pickles. But something mysterious is afoot in Area 51. Some of the Break Throughs have gone missing... at the exact same time Sky arrived.

Where could they be? How can Sky and her uncle convince everyone they had nothing to do with the disappearance? And why does the macaroni and cheese at Area 51 Middle have eyeballs in it? New best friends Sky, Elvis, Spike, and Pickles try to crack the case, but the clock is ticking...

Big Foot and Little Foot series by Ellen Potter

Hugo is a young Sasquatch who longs for adventure. Boone is young boy who longs to see a Sasquatch. When their worlds collide, they become the unlikeliest pair of best friends.

At the Academy for Curious Squidges, Hugo learns all manner of Sneaking-after all, the most important part of being a Sasquatch is staying hidden from humans. But Hugo dreams of roaming free in the Big Wide World rather than staying cooped up in caves. When he has an unexpected run-in with a young human boy, Hugo seizes the opportunity for a grand adventure. Soon, the two team up to search high and low for mythical beasts, like Ogopogos and Snoot-Nosed Gints. Through discovering these new creatures, together, Big Foot and Little Foot explore the ins and outs of each other's very different worlds but learn that, deep down, maybe they're not so different after all.

When an Alien meets a Swamp Monster by Cornelius Van Wright

Could two little boys who scare each other silly ever become friends?

When Alik and Boi accidentally bump into each other at the pond, they aren’t exactly thrilled. In fact, they’re terrified! Boi thinks Alik is a swamp monster, and Alik thinks Boi is a space alien. Both run home in a panic to share their news, but their families don’t believe them. If only Alik and Boi can drum up the courage to venture back outside, they just might cross paths again and realize how much they have in common.

With an encouraging message about second chances and looking past appearances, this delightfully absurd story about two very different-looking adventurers is full of laugh-out-loud, action-packed fun

Happy Friday and happy reading!