Welcome to the first edition of the CVK Rainy-Day Book Club.

A while back, in the midst of pulling together portions of our Rainy-Day Survival Guide, I was out cruising local book stores and ran into a pal who said that she’d stopped reading with her young kiddos because she had no idea how to find the great books in a sea of those that end up in a box, at a thrift store or just plain old unread. Not to mention, she didn’t want to shell out $20 bucks for something the family may or may not like.

Being a professional writer myself, I was dutifully horrified until I wandered into Laughing Oyster Books in downtown Courtenay and found myself similarly overwhelmed by the whack of choices in the children’s section.

That’s when it came to me – we need a kiddo book club that reads, reviews and makes recommendations on some of the reading goodness floating around out there.

So, I contacted authors, publishers and organizations throughout North America and started brushing up on the latest and greatest in the children’s book universe.

Oh have I read some donuts in the last bit, and found some truly magical gems in the mix as well.

Well-supplied with awesome storytelling and a stronger connection to the book community, CVK will now be here every other Saturday bringing you a new family-friendly book to dig into around the fire on those cold, rainy days that make Vancouver Island winters a tough sell to the kiddo crowd.

And with that, I bring you The Rainy-Day Book Club:

When I wandered into the bookstore recently looking for some spookytacular masterpieces, I had no idea I’d discover the lost science of Monstrology.

There, tucked in the stacks of pumpkins, witches and ghouls was a guide to the spookynatural.

Senior Monstrologist Johan Olander set out long ago on a quest to document these elusive monster types.

He lets us peek into their world, and learn how they jump around in ours, with a charming, silly and particularly entertaining book: A Field Guide to Monsters: Googly-Eyed Wart Floppers, Shadow-Casters, Toe Eaters, and Other Creatures.

Get the low-down on monsters of all kinds. Pick up tips on how to avoid the spooky, how to hang out with the fun, where to spot them, what to look for.

It says the book is for 8 to 12 year olds – and if your kiddos are monster-wary, I’d stick to that guideline. But, our toddler totally dug everything from the drawings to the monster details. She’s still running around pretending to be the Googly-Eyed Wart Flopper and even though she had a crazy dream about him last night, still wants more. She’s totally digging Monster X (the harmless monster who loves kiddos) and busy vacuuming up the Domestic Dust Devil.

For any kiddo with an explorer streak and a bit of the Halloween bug in them, this book is the perfect combination of silly, weird and freaky. Reading it as a family could lead to all kinds of fun including making up stories about each monster, taking a Monster Walk night hike or even taking up the study of monstrology as a profession:)

Olander wrote this spooky gem with his daughter in mind. So, you know it is lighthearted, fun and a great distraction from the very real fear that Halloween can provoke in some tiny people.

With 25 previously undocumented monsters, he wows us with unprecedented monster knowledge. I have to say, my writing life combined with my husband being a professional illustrator, we tend to be a tough crowd in terms of quality. But, Olander’s witty writing and funky illustrations are mind-bendingly fun and gorgeous. You can’t go wrong. This Brooklyn-based writer and illustrator is magic.

I also particularly love that he keeps up with his Monstrology blog, which I will now have to add to our CVK faves.

So, for a fantastic Halloween collection of frightful fun, the CVK Rainy-Day Book Club makes a most serious recommendation for A Field Guide to Monsters: Googly-Eyed Wart Floppers, Shadow-Casters, Toe Eaters, and Other Creatures

You can pick this gem up at Laughing Oyster Books in downtown Courtenay and Blue Heron Books in downtown Comox.

If you’re planning ahead and don’t mind the wait, you can also pick it up at Chapters On-Line or Amazon.ca

(Photos courtesy of Johan Olander)