Croaky: Search for the Sasquatch
Book 1 of 4 in CroakyView the full series
Croaky the frog and the Mossbridge Scouts are on a mission: find the legendary Sasquatch. An action-packed, brilliantly silly illustrated chapter book that works perfectly for reluctant readers, packed with energy, comic chaos, and characters children want to follow for the whole series.
- Best for5–8
- FormatIllustrated
- Length96 pp
- Read aloud~1 hr20 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Comedic
- Onomatopoeic
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Exciting
- Adventurous
- Whimsical
- Absurdist
- Warm
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Croaky is a frog and a proud member of the Mossbridge Scouts. When the troop sets out to find evidence of the Sasquatch, what follows is a quest full of slapstick mishaps, absurd dangers, and the kind of friendship-under-pressure comedy that Matty Long excels at. The format is perfectly calibrated for the 5–8 age group: chunky illustrations, short chapters, plenty of visual gags, and a pace that never lets the reader get ahead of the action. Long brings the same chaotic energy as Super Happy Magic Forest but focuses it through a single frog protagonist whose determination is funnier than her competence. The scout group setting gives the book its particular flavour, the mix of earnestness and chaos, badges and disasters, and provides a cast of supporting characters whose individual personalities are as enjoyable as Croaky herself. An excellent gateway to independent reading for children who find long blocks of text intimidating.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 5–8
- Read aloud · 5–8
- Independent · 6–9
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
High
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Reading together
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
3 / 5 · Mostly fine
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Reluctant readers
- Laugh out loud
- Strong characters
- Gift book
Avoid if
No common reasons to avoid this one — a rare clean sweep on the sensitivity flags.
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Struggling with reading
- Making friends
- Low self esteem
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A funny, action-packed early adventure series — a reluctant-reader pick and classroom-library staple.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific delight is Croaky's determination outrunning her competence — the Mossbridge Scouts on a mission to find evidence of the Sasquatch, slapstick mishaps and absurd dangers, chunky illustrations packed with visual gags. The Croaky opener for a reluctant reader who finds long blocks of text intimidating.
- Adventure and freedom
- Animal companions
- Friendship and belonging
- Surviving danger
Why parents love it
The Matty Long Croaky debut — Super Happy Magic Forest energy focused through a single frog protagonist, scout-group cast each with their own comic personality. Excellent gateway from picture books into independent reading.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
- Bedtime appropriate
In the series
Croaky.
4 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Matty Long.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
When you buy through the links above, we may earn a small commission — it never costs you more, and it never changes the books we choose. How we’re funded →