5 CHILDREN'S BOOKS FOR KIDS WHO LOVE THE FANTASTIC

A week or so ago, I worked in the children's department of Barnes and Noble for the night and I had a blast reading with the kids. It was refreshing to see so many of  my old favorites still on the shelves, and what was particularly cool for me was the amount of books that now catered to children who had more magical interests. And yes, right now I know you're all shaking your head, but I'm serious! When I was little, I wasn't a fan of princess books or your regular run-of-the-mill little girl books. I wanted to read about monsters and witches and fantastical creatures, and to prove that, even my I Spy book was the spooky night version! Having said that, other childhood favorites were: Room on the Broom, and Strega Nona. And I'd be absolutely remiss if I didn't add my all time favorite children's book (which I still own and keep with me in my apartment): The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales.

Since it's been a while since I've read any of these books though, I wanted to catch up on what was out on the market these days, and to my excitement, I found quite a few that would have worked well in the Wytovich Household:

Here are my five recommendations this week:

Hey! That's MY Monster: This adorable little picture book talks about how the boy is upset that the monster under his bed--who helps him sleep by not letting him get out of bed at night--is moving on to now help his younger sister.

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend: What I loved so much about this book is the spin that it took on the imaginary friend story. Usually we have a child that is creating one, or looking for one, but in this case, the imaginary friend hasn't been assigned a child yet, so he goes looking for his best friend himself.

The Chupacabra Ate the Candlelabara: A fun book that teaches cultural legends in addition to relaying the message that just because you've been taught to be afraid of something, doesn't mean that it's scary. It put a lot of emphasis on learning to get someone before passing judgment.

Vampirina at the Beach: This would have been perfect for me as a child, especially because I'm so pale and was already being nicknamed vampira from a young age. This little number shows the whole monster gang having a fun day at the beach. The art is amazing, as are the characters and the way they interact with one another.

Dragons Love Tacos: This one made me laugh because the entire premise of the book is how much dragons truly love to eat tacos...as long as they aren't spicy. The best part? A sequel to it just came out, too!