Hi Everyone!

Back in 2018/2019, I had the idea of making a children’s ABC’s book with Mothman and a bunch of his West Virginia cryptid friends.

The book that came from that idea would turn out to be “Mothman Learns The ABC’s”. The book included Mothman’s friends the Grafton Monster, the Flatwoods Monster, the Snarly Yow, the Sheepsquatch, and the Vegetable Man and featured them learning the ABC’s at different locations across West Virginia.

The goal in my mind with this book was always to get kids interested in learning, with a focus on West Virginia kids especially. I wanted West Virginia kids to want to learn and to be proud of where they are from and the fascinating/strange stories that come from their beautiful state.

The book was a success, being sold at the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, West Virginia and state parks across the state of West Virginia. I was able to do a “library tour” with the book and hand out free copies to West Virginia public libraries, ensuring access for families who couldn’t afford to buy the book.

Making this book was never about making money; it was always about helping kids want to learn. I have volunteered at many events to have book readings/meet & greets/signings at public libraries and elementary schools. I am very proud of what was accomplished with this book with countless families coming up to me at events or writing to tell me that it is their child’s favorite book or even that it truly helped them learn their ABC’s.

In September of 2025, the sequel “Mothman Learns The Colors” came out but had to be shelved shortly after its release date. I had the same goals in mind as I had with “Mothman Learns The ABC’s,” and that was to get the book into as many kids’ hands as I could and into as many libraries as possible. This, sadly, never happened.

In 2026, I will be breathing new life into the series and will be updating the artwork in both “Mothman Learns” books with the help of the awesome Kentucky based artist Ashton Johnson AKA Fox And Brambles. She is someone I have known for a while and her love of cryptids and her vision match what I want in these reworked books. We don’t have a release date just yet as we are still in the early stages of getting this HUGE project up and running.

We will be working closely together on this to ensure that the new series is just as special as the original books. Some of the material in the reworked books will change, some of it will stay the same, but I can assure you that they will both still have education, West Virginia, and cryptid fun at their hearts.

So that gets us to here. We are starting this gofundme to help pay for Fox And Brambles and all the hard work/love she will be putting into these two books. We also will be using any extra money made to buy a bunch of books to donate to West Virginia public libraries (my dream is to get both of these books into every public library in West Virginia!). If we don’t reach the goal needed we will also be looking into a local West Virginia arts grant to possibly help with the funding of these books.

We are asking for your help in getting these books reworked so many generations of kids to come can learn from them.

Thanks so much everyone!

Your friend,

-Michael Strayer