Monsters have always scared and fascinated us humans. Whether they are real monsters like the dinosaurs that roamed the earth millennia ago…or imaginary creatures like the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot/Sasquatch that still haunt our dreams. There is a whole field of study dedicated to the search for monsters, real or imaginary – it's called cryptozoology!

Cryptozoology is defined as “the study of hidden animals.” Cryptozoologists search for evidence of the continued existence of animals once thought to be extinct, as well as evidence of the existence of creatures that might or might not be real! Cryptomundo is a great website about both these aspects of cryptozoology.

Check out some of the library’s books and movies to learn more about real and imaginary monsters!

From London, to the waterways aboard a Gyptian boat, from the frozen tundra, to the kingdom of the Warrior Bears, Lyra and Pan journey in search of her missing uncle Asriel and answers to the mysteries of Dust. Join Lyra and Pan and a myriad of other wonderful characters in The golden compass by Philip Pullman.

Flora Fyrdraaca is approaching 14, the age at which she becomes an adult, and preparing for her celebratory Catorcena. She lives in Crackpot Hall, a once-glorious but now decaying home with 11,000 rooms that randomly shift positions.

One morning Flora uses the forbidden elevator and encounters Crackpot Hall’s banished butler, Valefor, whose Anima is tied to the fortunes and fates of the Fyrdraaca family. Thus begins Flora’s quest to restore Crackpot Hall to its former glory. Along the way she encounters magical butlers, dainty pirates, warlords, eagle-headed warriors, and the wrath of the Commanding General…her mother! Join the adventure in Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce. If you’re missing the halls of Hogwarts, come wander the streets of Califa!