@denisegallagher.bsky.social joins us in the Enchanted Forest tomorrow to share all things folklore, seasonal myths, art, kidlit and her process with "How to Calm a Rain Bull" out in September! Stay tuned for a special reading of "The Candle Dragon" as well!

And finally, I read Glenn Dixon's "Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances" around the same time as the Artemis II Space Mission and I can't stop thinking about how and why humans create. Also made me very vary of smart homes. What are you reading for Book Day?

Nell O'Dell Hates Quests by Emily B. Martin is a fun middle-grade adventure following a reluctant heroine who just wants to tend to her chickens- NOT go on a quest. Denise Gallagher's How to Calm a Rain Bull features seasonal myths from all over the world coupled with gorgeous illustrations.

Happy World Book Day! What are you currently reading? I just finished Aicha by Soraya Bouazzaoui which is based on Moroccan folklore of Aicha Kandicha and the Siege of Mazagan (later El-Jadida) in 1769. While the world was lush, unfortunately the pacing and depth was lacking.

..but my favourite has to be the story of Amu Nowruz (Uncle Nowruz) and Nane Sarma/ Bibi Barfi (Grandmother Winter or Snow). How are you celebrating?

Eid and Nowruz fall on the same day so whichever you are celebrating, we hope you have a healthy and happy year! We have covered many Persian tales in the past from the Shahnameh to the Poor Prince: An Afghan tale... #EidMubarak #Nowruz

It's almost SPRING! While we are escaping the clutches of jackets worn for a cold morning, a goddess is escaping the underworld! But which one? Persephone? Or are the Oak King and Holly King gearing up for a fight? What is your favourite seasonal myth?

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy! It was a delight and source of great inspiration for episodes ahead.

Gorgeous artwork by @anniestegg.bsky.social & @kristinkwan.bsky.social n.bsky.social ties it all together with a lovely, detailed introduction by @terriwindling.bsky.social dling.bsky.social that promises magic ahead.

Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman have done remarkable work with their compendium of faefolk, "Fairylore." It is divine to see a thoroughly researched collection that not only details different folk, but addresses their role in story-telling and legends while also adding tales for each section…

and the royal tailor was sent for to make a replica! However, when they took the dress off the girl, she sprang up to life, alive and well. They lived happily ever after! There is also a vengeful Eagle and the stepmother is obsessed with a basil plant...but that is for a different day #MorbidMarch

and as soon as Ermellina put on the dress, she fell dead to the floor. The fairies had revived her once before and had already warned the girl, so they placed her in a glass casket. A wandering young king fell in love with her and married the girl in the casket... #MorbidMarch

There was a time when young Ermellina was driven from her father's home by her wicked stepmother. She was so lovely that fairies took her in, but her stepmother would not let her rest and came to her with tricks most foul. Once, she arrived as a tailor.. #MorbidMarch

How many of these mythical lovers can you name? Search deep within your fairytale, folklore and legends to give us your Valentine's trivia answers!

Luo Tou Shi (落头氏) Also known as the wandering heads is a group of supernatural beings (sometimes ghosts) that can detach their heads that can then fly away. While we couldn't find a lot of information on the Luo Tou Shi, we did find this image from Elaine Chow and Mayura Jain! #WyrdWednesday

The fairy cattle (the crodh sith) would emerge from the waves to graze on the fertile soils of Scorrybreck before being recalled. However, if you wanted to keep them for yourself then all you had to do was toss some churchyard soil between them and the sea. 🎨 Stephen Reid 📷 Robin Dessens

...they rewarded his carpentry skills by giving him fairy powers so that he could stay with his wife forever and teach them his craft! So powerful is he now that when he walks across the sky-land, we hear his footsteps as thunder! 📙"Maoriland Fairy Tales" by Edith Howes #FairytaleTuesday #Fairytales

Disguised as an old man, Tawhaki spent the days helping carry their tools & nights secretly working on the canoe. The fairies grew curious about the mysterious craftsmanship, so they hid one night and caught Tawhaki working on it! Except, instead of getting angry... 📙 Edith Howes #FairytaleTuesday

As he climbed to Cloud-land, he caused a flood on Earth, advised the eels to go down and pinched a mischievous Pukaki's birds nose so hard that nowadays all Pukaki's have red noses. When he finally arrived at fairyland, he found them busy making a canoe.... 🎨 Arthur Rackham #FairytaleTuesday

...until he came across an old woman holding a thread to the sky. She told him to find his wife, but if he lost courage or looked back then he would go plummeting to the Earth. Tawhaki did not hesitate & the old woman taught him a charm to sing if he felt afraid 📙 Edith Howes #FairytaleTuesday

Tawhaki had a reputation so great that a curious Sky-Fairy came down to see him for herself and fell in love immediately. However, the other fairies did not want her to live on Earth so they came down and snatched her up to Tawhaki's dismay! He wandered around... #FairytaleTuesday 🎨 Arthur Rackham

As Guðrún prepared to celebrate Christmas eve with her lover, the Deacon, she did not know he had drowned a few days prior. So she had nothing to fear when he appeared at her door that night... "The moon glides, Death rides, Seest thou not the white place In the back of my head, Garun, Garun?"

#BookologyThursday I love the Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden and how it weaves so many figures from Russian folklore and storytelling into the trilogy. Illumicrate special edition cover by @rudebeetle on Instagram Fanart by Rosiethorns88 on Instagram (@rosiethorns88.bsky.social)

She'll turn into a hare and haunt you, the baby you tried to murder will be saved and return one day, your wife will die, your legitimate son will spurn you and the witch-Lady of Godolphin you marry will try her best to sleep with said son...leading in lots of murder and magic at Pengersick Castle!

What happens when you seduce a "far east" Princess, abandon her during her country's civil war, return home to your WIFE and son and then try to toss said Princess and her baby (your bastard child) off a cliff when she comes knocking on your door? Well... Pengersick Castle, Cornwall

I love a good fireside spooky story telling (bonus points if its during a summer camp scene). Of course, we have Gravity Falls and What's New Scooby-Doo as our classic October rewatchs, and we've got The Sisters Grimm lined up, but any other good suggestions out there?

Looking for a haunted house tale that isn't spooky? Well, Alee of Cairo chooses to spend the night in a house haunted by a Jinn, but instead of breaking his neck like it did to the previous dwellers, the Jinn gives him gold and solves all of his money problems. The end. 🎨 William Harvey, 1001 Nights

Just discovered Weird Tales magazine and I'll be in a spooky rabbit hole for the rest of the month!

Just look at all the different versions! How can each cover be so lovely? 🧚 Fairyloot 🦉 Owlcrate 🌸 US First Printing 🧚 Fairyloot

Fiction Friday: I've just finished Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross and I gotta say, the myths and legends she writes are as gorgeous as the covers of her books. The concept of a Goddess coming into her own power and navigating the world of the Gods was enticing. Also can be read as a standalone!