SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

September 11, 2014 by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Review: The Yeti Files: Meet The Bigfeet

September 11, 2014 by J. Caleb Mozzocco   Leave a Comment

The Yeti Files: Meet The Bigfeet
By Kevin Sherry
Scholastic Press; $8.99

Not quite comics, but close enough that an argument could be put forth that this admixture of illustrations and prose by Kevin Sherry, in which the art far outweighs the verbiage (much of which appears in labels of the illustrations and dialogue placed near the talking characters but sans bubbles) is close enough to count as comics.

We’ll leave that argument to others, and instead simply review Sherry’s charming book about Blizz Richards, a rather affable yeti that Sherry renders as a sort of upright white ape with elephantine feet, somewhat devoid of detail thanks to Sherry’s very loose, cartoony style and the fact that Blizz, like many of the characters in this book, is covered in detail-obscuring fur.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Blizz, as he’s only too happy to explain, lives in a boss, Batcave-like secret headquarters in Nepal and is a cryptid. What’s a cryptid? Well, it’s an undiscovered animal. In the world of The Yeti Files, though, the cryptids all know one another, and stay in touch via social media, but they have all taken a very serious oath to never bee seen by the outside world, as “The secrecy keeps magic and mystery in the minds of humans.”

In this book, which certainly seems to be the first in a series, Blizz and his various assistants—a goblin named Gunthar, an elf that has seasonal work with Santa Claus named Alexander, an arctic fox named Frank—are on a mission to find Blizz’s missing cousin Brian.

Brian, a Bigfoot, apparently screwed up one day, and had his picture taken by the villain of the piece, a fame-hungry cryptozoologist  named George Vanquist (“Villain” may be a strong word for it, however; Vanquist is quite prickly to his dog/personal assistant Noodles, but is more hapless than evil, more of an Elmer Fudd antagonist than a Yosemite Sam type).

The embarrassment of being caught on film and accidentally betraying his cryptid oath sent Brian into hiding, and has kept him from socializing with his friends or  attending any Bigfoot family reunions of late. But Blizz and their shared family of hairy hominid-style cryptids seek him out and cajole them into an epic family reunion.

The stakes are pretty low, with most of the conflicts being of the gentle, personality clash type, and, unsurprisingly, it all works out well in the end.

Children are endlessly fascinated by monsters of all kinds, and there is perhaps something extra compelling about those like Bigfoots and Yeti and other cryptids, and this book therefore seems well-positioned to stoke that fascination. Yes, it’s silly and fun, but its gags all riff on that same subject matter.

Some children, I know from personal experience, never grow out of that fascination with monsters, particularly of the cryptid variety, and this book should please those former-children as well, with Sherry’s artwork, his fun comics and diagrams embedded within the more straight-forward, narrative portions of the chapters, and a few sly in-jokes about cryptozoology.

Sherry’s probably best-known for his inspired picture book about an arrogant giant squid, I’m The Biggest Thing In The Ocean. If The Yeti Files catches on like it has the potential to, then that book about a giant squid might end up being only one of the things he’s best-known for.

Filed under: Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Kevin SherryMeet The BigfeetScholasticYeti Files

About J. Caleb Mozzocco

J. Caleb Mozzocco is a way-too-busy freelance writer who has written about comics for online and print venues for a rather long time now. He currently contributes to Comic Book Resources' Robot 6 blog and ComicsAlliance, and maintains his own daily-ish blog at EveryDayIsLikeWednesday.blogspot.com. He lives in northeast Ohio, where he works as a circulation clerk at a public library by day.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

February 2023

The Archie Encyclopedia | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

January 2023

Monkey Prince Vol. 1: Enter the Monkey | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

January 2023

Young Agatha Christie | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

January 2023

Andy Warner's Oddball Histories: Pests and Pets | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

January 2023

My Sister, the Cat, vol. 1 | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Surprise! Announcing CABOOSE

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Jump Into this Guest Post by Shadra Strickland About Her Latest Book: Jump In!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

The Archie Encyclopedia | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

What’s Coming in 2023, A Feedback Poll, and Goodbye for Now…

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

WRITING FOR YOURSELF FIRST, a guest post by author M. K. Lobb

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Free Comics, and Resources on COVID-19, in Graphic Form

'Salt Magic,' 'The Legend of Auntie Po,' and 'Run: Book One' Among 2022 Eisner Award Winners

LGBTQIA+ Graphic Novels for Young Readers | Stellar Panels

Saturday Morning Comics | Stellar Panels

The 2019 Eisner Award Nominations, Reviewed

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023