April 2022 'TWISTED TALES' Magazine

By: Shanleigh Klassen
A brown-skinned gnome with a red hat and purple hair sits atop a saddled brown rabbit. The two figures are surrounded by tall grass and two orange toadstools to their left. White text in the top right reads Twisted Tales April 2022.
MagazineMonthly ThemeTwisted Tales

"Appearances are always deceiving . . ."

Ready yourself to enter an enchanted wood where nothing is what it seems in our April 2022 TWISTED TALES OwlCrate Jr box. You may think you know where this path will lead, but there are twists lurking around every corner. 

Below, you'll find our April 2022 monthly magazine featuring an interview with our April author, a fairy tale-themed word search, and more!

Scroll down to check out this magazine below, or download the complete magazine HERE.

Careful! There be spoilers ahead!

A brown-skinned gnome with a red hat and purple hair sits atop a saddled brown rabbit. The two figures are surrounded by tall grass and two orange toadstools to their left. White text in the top right reads Twisted Tales April 2022.

Our favourite illustrator Melanie Demmer does it again with this whimsical cover illustration that certainly throws a twist on the classic hero's journey. I mean, what's better than a loyal rabbit-steed and a larger-than-life adventure? Thank you, Melanie, for this delightful cover art, as always!

- - - - - - - - - -

 What sweet goodies did we include? Well, take a peek for yourself!

Bottom right corner shows the shadow-y figure of a small gnome holding a lantern aloft as they march towards a pine tree forest. A rabbit happily looks on from behind two orange toadstools towards the figure. Text at the top reads Twisted Tails Spoiler Alert April 2022. Body text describes items from the April 2022 OwlCrate Jr box in detail. From top down, those items are: A copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, scented candy-shaped highlighters, a tote bag, a pack of puffy stickers, a bookmark, and the featured book, The Mirrorwood by Deva Fagan.

- - - - - - - - - -

We are so happy we could feature Deva Fagan's latest publication, The Mirrorwood, in our April 2022 box! The Mirrorwood is a thrilling fantasy that follows a girl without a face as she battles a deadly enchanted forest and learns the truth behind her world’s fairy tales. This story is truly an enchanting read from beginning to end.

Read this interview with Deva Fagan to learn what inspired the story, which scene was the most challenging to write, and for some great book recommendations!

Author interview with Deva Fagan, page 1. Author photo of smiling white woman with long dark hair and black rimmed glasses, wearing a green button-up shirt and green earrings featured in a circle in the top left of the page. Interview is in a white text box with the interview questions in magenta and author answers in black font.   Author interview with Deva Fagan, page 2. Interview is in a white text box with the interview questions in a magenta and author answers in black font. Middle of the page shows two side-by-side images of the book The Mirrorwood, the OwlCrate Jr cover on the left and the regular bookstore edition on the left. Below that and separated by a dark purple rectangle with font that describes the OwlCrate Jr Book Club are three book covers which are (from left to right): Blackberry Blue, A Tale Dark and Grimm, and Rival Magic.

Our OwlCrate Jr Book Club Read-Along for The Mirrorwood starts next week on Monday, May 16th and will run until Friday, May 27th. Our reading schedule will be as follows:

  • May 16 — Chapters 1 - 8
  • May 18 — Chapters 9 - 17
  • May 20 — Chapters 18 - 26 [End]

**Remember, anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate Jr box! Winners will be selected on Friday, May 27th.**

- - - - - - - - - -

It's a double-the-fun activity this month with our April Creativity Corner! First unscramble the list of fairy tale words, then find them in the word search.

White text at top reads Creativity Corner. Below that in a purple rectangle reads Twisted Tales Scramble Search in white font. Below is a large word scramble, and below that is a list of 15 scrambled words in bolded black text. A pale teal rectangle frames the whole page.

Download PDF here.

- - - - - - - - - -

For our April 2022 Community Feature, we interviewed Sarah Reed, a freelance brand content creator and homeschooler. You can find Sarah on Instagram at @sarahtreed.

White font reads Sarah Reed, with a darker teal font below reading Community Feature. In the top right corner is a circular photo showing a family of four and a black dog. Each of the humans are white with long hair, and each is wearing the same white pajama set with small details and a cable knit toque in various colours.

- - - - - - - - - -

Don't forget about our April box photo challenge, on now until tomorrow!

Over on the OwlCrate Jr Instagram page, we are proud of our young readers community and we want to show it. We absolutely love seeing you all opening up boxes, taking reading selfies and having fun with your new OwlCrate Jr goodies.

Didn’t receive a box? No problem! Show us your favorite place to read and who knows, you may just win a box to show off for next month.

To enter: post up to three different photos on Instagram spotlighting your love of reading middle grade. Please use the hashtag #OCJRTWISTED so we don't miss your entries. Accounts must be public on the day we select our winners, which will be chosen at random. We'll select a series of photos from the entries to win a free OwlCrate Jr box on May 13th!

Image shows a fantasy forest at night, with the silhouette of a cat in the foreground. Trails of magical sparkles travel upwards towards the silvery moon, partially hidden behind a tree branch. Yellow cursive font in the top center of the image reads April Box Photo challenge. The below white font describes how to enter the photo challenge. The same info can be found directly above this image.

 

Be sure you tune in next week on Wednesday, May 18th at 3:00 PM PT / 6:00 PM ET on Instagram Live for our monthly OwlBabble live author chat with Deva Fagan!

Now's the perfect time to dive into The Mirrorwood so you can join in on the conversation. 

White font at top of image reads OwlBabble with Author, and below in a white banner in pink font, Deva Fagan. An arrow points down from Deva's name to the book cover of The Mirrorwood. In a circular photo next to the book cover is a smiling white woman with long dark hair and wearing black framed glasses. The woman is wearing a green button-up shirt and matching green earrings. Back colours are two different tones of green, darker on top with the text and lighter on the bottom.

- - - - - - - - - -

Thank you to the incredible team that puts together our beautiful magazines each and every month, Michelle Gray and Melanie Demmar! We'd also like to thank Cade from Hey Atlas Creative for creating our monthly theme reveal images. 

Subscribe to OwlCrate Jr today at www.owlcratejr.com!

Use code JRBLOG15 to save 15% off any new subscription purchase.

Pick up your own TWISTED TALES box in the OwlCrate Jr Shop now!

Next Post

10 Must-Listen Middle Grade Audiobooks for All Ages