Creatures and Critters

Awarded Second Place for Nonfiction Books for Adults—Humor by the Woman’s Press Club of Indiana, 2021 Communications Contest

Who’s in your garden?

Gardening. It’s one of the most peaceful activities you can enjoy. The solitude of the plants, the sun, fresh air, and the fragrance of flowers.

Then you look around. “Wait,” you say. “Who took a bite out of that tomato?” “What was that sting on my leg?” “Did I just see a Garden Fairy disappear behind a flower?” “Is that a dinosaur?”

You are not alone!

Turns out, you’re never really alone in the garden, and in Creatures and Critters, the fifth book from author Carol J. Michel, she explains why that’s a good thing. Usually. It depends on the critter. And the circumstance. Helpfully, Carol gives tips for which animals to welcome with an open gate and which ones might be relocated elsewhere (such as the neighbor’s yard).

Welcome those critters!

You might be wondering: just how do you welcome or ward off those creatures and critters? Well, with plants, of course! In this book, you’ll learn how Hosta ‘Empress Wu’ protects her subjects (chipmunks) and what to grow to entice rabbits to eat in the lawn, not the vegetable patch. You’ll learn about the magical powers of the common columbine growing in your mixed border and what to plant as your dinosaur’s preferred tree cover.

Watch out for rabbit holes!

But wait — there’s more! Gardens are, in fact, busy places. Creatures and Critters isn’t just about furry or feathered friends. It’s also about you, dear reader. It’s about the books you might enjoy paging through after you encounter wild things in your garden, the stories that bubble up inside of you when you hear about Carol’s sister’s iguana, and the flowers and shrubs, worms, trees, and songbirds that you start noticing outside your window.

You’ll change your whole gardening attitude.

One thing’s certain: after reading Creatures and Critters you’ll never experience your garden in the same way again, because suddenly, you’ll know it isn’t just a garden. It’s an entire universe waiting to be discovered.