The Field Guide To North American Monsters

This unique field guide draws on modern sightings, folklore, urban legends, and mythology to give novices all they need to begin a fearless foray into the world of monsterology. 75 photos.

Folklore has been described as the unwritten literature of a culture: its songs, stories, sayings, games, rituals, beliefs, and ways of life. Encyclopedia of American Folklore helps readers explore topics, terms, themes, figures, and issues related to this popular subject. This comprehensive reference guide addresses the needs of multiple audiences, including high school, college, and public libraries, archive and museum collections, storytellers, and independent researchers. Its content and organization correspond to the ways educators integrate folklore within literacy and wider learning objectives for language arts and cultural studies at the secondary level. This well-rounded resource connects United States folk forms with their cultural origin, historical context, and social function. Appendixes include a bibliography, a category index, and a discussion of starting points for researching American folklore. References and bibliographic material throughout the text highlight recently published and commonly available materials for further study. Coverage includes: Folk heroes and legendary figures, including Paul Bunyan and Yankee Doodle Fables, fairy tales, and myths often featured in American folklore, including "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Princess and the Pea" American authors who have added to or modified folklore traditions, including Washington Irving Historical events that gave rise to folklore, including the civil rights movement and the Revolutionary War Terms in folklore studies, such as fieldwork and the folklife movement Holidays and observances, such as Christmas and Kwanzaa Topics related to folklore in everyday life, such as sports folklore and courtship/dating folklore Folklore related to cultural groups, such as Appalachian folklore and African-American folklore and more.

For today's huge cult of the supernatural, this companion to "The Field Guide of North American Monsters" explores the country's most haunted places and the stories behind them. 40 photos.

The very first work of fiction by the best-selling, acclaimed author of City on Fire--his piercingly beautiful treasure box of a novella about two families in the suburbs, now in a newly designed full-color edition For years, the Hungates and the Harrisons have coexisted peacefully in the same Long Island neighborhood, enjoying the pleasures and weathering the pitfalls of their suburban habitat. But when the patriarch of one family dies unexpectedly, the survivors face a stark imperative: adapt or face extinction. In sixty-three interlinked vignettes and striking accompanying photographs, the novella cuts multiple paths--which can be reconstructed in any order--through the lives of its richly imagined characters. Part art object, part Choose Your Own Adventure, A Field Guide to the North American Family is an innovative and deeply personal look at the ties that bind, as well as a poignant meditation on connection in a fragmented world.

Like a bird-watching guideà only for monsters Monsters represent the dark side of humanity–the primal, animal impulses that reside in every single one of us. They have preyed upon our imaginations and our fears since the dawn of civilization. North America is home to a wide array of fearsome beasts, including hairy monsters, flying monsters, lake monsters, and other unexplained phenomena. Monster Spotter's Guide geographically catalogs more than one hundred legendary monsters reported to inhabit the continent. From the mythical Sasquatch of the Pacific Northwest to the vicious Mexican goatsucker known as El Chupacabra, you'll read about the legends and major sightings of the most widely feared creatures reported to exist–plus a few you might have never heard of. Within these pages you'll find detailed pen-and-ink drawings, helpful quick-reference boxes for immediate identification of key monster traits, a glossary of cryptozoology terms, useful appendices, case studies and more. Let this book be your guide, and explore the legends for yourself. Anyone can be a monster spotteràwhen you start looking, you never know what you might find.

From the Altamaha-ha to Washingtons's Eagle, the lands, seas, and skies of North America are simply swarming with amazing animals yet unrecognized by science. Let Dr. Courtney A. Shepherd tell you how and where to find these mysterious creatures in this exciting new book! This essential guide contains more than 50 descriptions, over 25 illustrations, and information about collecting evidence, staying safe, and thoroughly documenting your discoveries.

William C. Morris YA Debut Award Winner! A hilarious YA contemporary realistic novel about a witty Black French Canadian teen who moves to Austin, Texas, and experiences the joys, clichés, and awkward humiliations of the American high school experience—including falling in love. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon, When Dimple Met Rishi, and John Green. Norris Kaplan is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A Black French Canadian, he knows from watching American sitcoms that those three things don’t bode well when you are moving to Austin, Texas. Plunked into a new high school and sweating a ridiculous amount from the oppressive Texas heat, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he meets: the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Making a ton of friends has never been a priority for him, and this way he can at least amuse himself until it’s time to go back to Canada, where he belongs. Yet against all odds, those labels soon become actual people to Norris…like loner Liam, who makes it his mission to befriend Norris, or Madison the beta cheerleader, who is so nice that it has to be a trap. Not to mention Aarti the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, who might, in fact, be a real love interest in the making. But the night of the prom, Norris screws everything up royally. As he tries to pick up the pieces, he realizes it might be time to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions and start living his life—along with the people who have found their way into his heart.

From the serpentine "Champie" of Lake Champlain to the venerable "Nessie" of Loch Ness, extraordinary-and un-explained-creatures of the deep have been reported in sightings throughout the twentieth century. Now, two of the world's leading cryptozoological investigators provide a globetrotting field guide to when, where, and what kind of mysterious aquatic beasts have gripped the public—and sometimes the scientific—imagination. Filled with comprehensive drawings, classifications, and maps, their book offers an invaluable and unusual resource for the intrepidly curious to investigate these sightings firsthand or to simply enjoy the fascinating accounts that others have given.