The Fabled Stables

I miiiiiiight have been a little un-busy at a bookfair this morning so I figured I'd get a small book off of my TBR pile. Here's Jonathan Auxier's (author) and Olga Demidova's (illustrator) The Fabled Stables series. These stories were some that Jonathan used to tell his children before bed and during longer car trips, turned into physical form for every family to enjoy.

Willa the Wisp: ["Auggie Pound is eight years old and has the greatest job of all time: he cares for all the animals in the Fabled Stables. The Fabled Stables house the rarest creatures in existence--all of them one-of-a-kind. Auggie's job is to care for these creatures, as well as track down and safely capture endangered magical beasts in the wild. Some mornings, he arrives to find an empty stall with the name of a new creature to rescue. One day, the Stables rearrange themselves out of the blue, creating a new stall. The sign over the gate says, "Wisp." But what is a wisp and where is it? All Auggie can see is a moonlit swamp stretching out before him. Then a hungry HOWLLLLLLL rings out in the darkness. It's up to Auggie to go into the swamp to find the wisp before it's too late."]

Trouble with Tattle-Tails: ["Auggie and his magical companions are tending to the Fabled Stables when the building shakes and shudders to make room for a new arrival: the Tattle-Tail. Auggie and friends travel through the portal to a town called Rainbow’s End in search of this mysterious creature. Auggie assumes that the Tattle-Tail is in danger, but he learns that it’s actually the town that needs rescuing . . . from an infestation of Tattle-Tails! // These talking tails have taken over, attaching themselves to every backside in town (including Auggie’s!). The Tails tattle on whomever they’re attached to: She picked her nose! He just double-dipped! The constant stress of being tattled on has thrown all of Rainbow’s End into chaos! // Soon, Auggie and friends hatch a plan to collect the Tattle-Tails and bring them safely to the Stables—foiling a pair of evil bank robbers along the way."]

Belly of the Beast: ["Auggie loves his job at the Fabled Stables, but he fears the day when it will come to an end. Fen keeps dropping hints that caretakers don’t stay forever, and it’s giving Auggie the grumps. Thankfully, there always seems to be a new stall to fill. This time, the stables set Auggie on a quest to rescue a beast called the Shibboleth—but the portal leads Auggie and Fen to the lair of the evil Rooks! // In the dark, damp dungeon, they meet one mysterious girl and one very hungry monster. It’s already gobbled up all of the Rooks, and Auggie and Fen are next unless they figure out the one way to calm the creature. Will they be able to work together to complete the mission before it’s too late?"]

I looooved Olga's illustrations in this! There was so much color and dynamics and character in each page. There was so much storytelling and plot in just setting the scene and illustrating Auggie and his friends. 

And the story itself?! Adorable and moving. I loved the simple but hilarious play on words with each character's name (and how they were drawn); it was sooooo clever and perfect.

#willathewisp #troublewithtattletales #bellyofthebeast #jonathanauxier #olgademidova #thefabledstables #thefabledstablesseries #books #childrensbooks #childrensclassics #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks