Big Foot and Little Foot: The Bog Beast, early chapter book fun

A nice, simple book that’s perfect for emerging readers is a tough thing to find. The chapters could be too short, or too long. The characters could be too juvenile, or just a bit too old for elementary readers. In short, it’s a very narrow line that books need to traverse if they’re targeting grades two through four. Our eight-year-old is right in this struggle. He can read sentences and is building vocabulary, but hasn’t made the jump to chapter books yet. Big Foot and Little Foot is a book series that’s tailor-made for this dapper young man.

Most importantly, kids love Sasquatch. He just discovered a non-fiction opinion blurb in his class where two students were debating the existence of Bigfoot. Our son is a young Fox Mulder and he wants to believe. As parents, we simply want him to read, and the Big Foot and Little Foot series is as close to hooking this crafty fish as we’ve seen yet.  

The Bog Beast is the fourth book in this series and checks off all of the boxes when it comes to a book that can capture-and hold his attention.

1. The chapters are all short. Each chapter is eight pages at the longest, which includes a full-page illustration or some smaller pictures.
2. Some chapters are even shorter. Some chapters are as short as four pages long, which include illustrations of various Big Foot, other monsters, plants or maps.
3. There are monsters. Has your early elementary school reader caught the Big Foot bug? I caught it when I was this age, about the time that Steve Austin fought Big Foot in that spinning tunnel thing. There’s also a Big Foot museum about two and a half hours away from my house that I am just itching to take the family to go see.
4. The story is fun and engaging to read. Obviously, that’s important to state because regardless of how short the chapters are or how many monsters are, kids won’t want to read it unless the story has zip.
5. There are pictures! Felicita Sala does the art in The Bog Beast and it goes a long way in making the book enjoyable to young readers. Readers will see one human boy, a couple of Big Foot, and a mysterious creature that just might be the Bog Beast.

In The Bog Beast, Hugo and Gigi are a Sasquatch who are embarking on Bimbling Day. This is that special day in a young Sasquatches life where they explore the wood on their own without their parent. Boone, their human friend is left to find adventure on his own while his hairy friends earn their stripes. They might not be alone in the woods though. There is a rumor about a Bog Beast that lives near the marsh who’s quite vile and something that even a Sasquatch wouldn’t trifle with.

Ages 8 through 10 will love this book. If you have a seven-year-old who is reading on their own they’ll enjoy it too. This is the great, feel-good kind of book that gives kids support and encouragement because they are able to read a chapter book on their own. It’s the kind of book that our almost nine-year-old needs to read, he’s just lacking some confidence. We’re going to read this book with him in the coming week and will let you know how he does.

Big Foot and Little Foot: The Bog Beast is by Ellen Potter with illustrations by Felicita Sala and on Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams Books.

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