Animal Stories: Fantasy

If your dog put on trousers and brought you the morning paper and a cup of coffee, you probably wouldn't accept them quietly and start reading the sports page. While most characters in literature who encounter talking animals aren't that nonchalant about it, they seem a lot more accepting of bizarre phenomena than most real people would be. Is it just because they're characters in books? or is it because animals actually have quite a bit to tell us about human nature and the realities of the world we occupy?

There are real-life precedents for talking animals—parrots can speak, crows can acquire human vocabularies, and Balaam's donkey carried on a conversation with the reluctant prophet. Granted, birds with the vocal capacity for imitative speech and supernaturally gifted pack animals aren't really in the same league, but you get the idea. Just because most animals don't talk doesn't mean none of them can.

We're not suggesting Narnia is a real place, or rabbits actually have detailed mythologies, at least not in the sense most people would use words like "real" and "actual." But there are books about Aslan, and there are books about Bigwig and Fiver, Matthias the Mouse, and Mr. Toad, and in that sense those places and characters are real and actual. More importantly, what they tell us about life itself (through their stories, not over afternoon tea) is often true and real and actual.

Basically, stories about animals who apparel themselves in anything other than their own skin and fur, animals that fight with swords instead of claws and teeth, animals who bake their food rather than eating it raw or off the ground, animals that speak (either to humans or each other)—any story we carry of this kind will be found here. While animal fantasy shouldn't displace all other reading, it's important to remember that, in the end, there's very little meaningful difference between a character like Tom Sawyer and one like Abel the Mouse.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

 

Did you find this review helpful?
98 Items found Print
Active Filters: 8th grade (Ages 13-14), Hardcover
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, Isaac Bashevis Singer
from International Collectors Library
for 6th-10th grade
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Macmillan
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$14.99
Animal Stories
by Joel Chandler Harris, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 2nd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Animal Stories
by Edited by Walter de la Mare
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
At Home with Beatrix Potter
by Susan Denyer
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 6th-9th grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
Boxen
by C. S. Lewis, Major Warren Hamilton Lewis
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Collected Poems of Freddy the Pig
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris, retold by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
from Dial Press
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$50.00
Doomwyte
by Brian Jacques
1st edition from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy and the Bean Home News
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy and the Ignormus
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy the Pied Piper
by Walter R. Brooks
Fifth or Later Edition from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy the Politician
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Freddy's Cousin Weedly
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
High Rhulain
by Brian Jacques
1st edition from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Horse and His Boy
Chronicles of Narnia Book 5
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Book
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Maurice and Edward Detmold
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Book
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Book
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Book
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Jungle Book
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Kurt Wiese
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Jungle Books
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Stuart Tresilian
from Reprint Society
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Jungle Books - 2 Volumes
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Aldren Watson
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Legend of Luke
Redwall #12
by Brian Jacques
1st Us Edition from Philomel Books
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Loamhedge
Redwall #16
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Long Patrol
Redwall #10
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Lord Brocktree
by Brian Jacques
1st Us Edition from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Magician's Nephew
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Magician's Nephew
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Mariel of Redwall
Redwall #4
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Marlfox
by Brian Jacques
1st American Edition from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Martin the Warrior
by Brian Jacques
First American Edition from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Mattimeo
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Mistmantle Chronicles Book 3
by M. I. McAllister
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Mistress Masham's Repose
by T. H. White
from New York Review of Books
Fantasy for 7th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.50 (1 in stock)
Mossflower
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Mouse and His Child
by Russell Hoban, illustrated by David Small
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99
Outcast of Redwall
Redwall #8
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Pearls of Lutra
Redwall #9
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Prince Caspian
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Prince Caspian
Chronicles of Narnia Book 2
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Rakkety Tam
Redwall #17
by Brian Jacques
1st edition from Philomel Books
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Redwall
by Brian Jacques
Later Printing from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Sable Quean
Redwall #21
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Salamandastron
Redwall #5
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Silver Chair
Chronicles of Narnia Book 4
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Story of Doctor Dolittle
Books of Wonder
by Hugh Lofting (illustrated by Michael Hague)
from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Story of Freginald
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Taggerung
by Brian Jacques
1st U.S. edition from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Triss
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Trumpet of the Swan
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Chronicles of Narnia Book 3
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Chronicles of Narnia Book 5
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Chronicles of Narnia Book 3
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Chronicles of Narnia Book 3
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Watership Down
by Richard Adams
Reissue from Atheneum
for 10th-Adult
1972 Carnegie Medal
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
Willows At Christmas
by William Horwood, illustrated by Patrick Benson
First U.S. Edition from Thomas Dunne Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Wind in the Willows
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Dick Cuffari
from Grosset & Dunlap
Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
Thrushwood Book
by Kenneth Grahame
from Grosset & Dunlap
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Wind in the Willows
Sterling Classics
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Paul Cox
from Reader's Digest
for 8th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Peter Barrett
from Golden Books
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard
75th Anniversary Edition from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
Heritage Illustrated Library
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Heritage Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Patrick Benson
from St. Martin's Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Dick Cuffari
from Grosset & Dunlap
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by David Stone
from Golden Press
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
Children's Classics
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Paul Bransom
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Dick Cuffari
from Grosset & Dunlap
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Collins
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$24.95
Wind in the Willows
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Dick Cuffari
from Grosset & Dunlap
Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
Children's Classics
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Paul Bransom
from Longmeadow Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Anna Leplar
from Parragon Publishing
Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Wind in the Willows
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Dick Cuffari
from Grosset & Dunlap
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, abridged and illustrated by John Worsley
from Lemon Tree Press
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, abridged and illustrated by Inga Moore
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Helen Ward
from Borders Press
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by John Burningham
from Viking Kestrel Books
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Nancy Barnhart
from Barnes & Noble
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by James Lynch
from The Folio Society
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Charles van Sandwyck
from The Folio Society
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Joanne Moss
from Breslich & Foss
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Michael Foreman
from Harcourt
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard
from Methuen
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Thunder Bay Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Helen Ward
from Templar Books
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Dick Cuffari
from Grosset & Dunlap
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, abridged and illustrated by Eric Kincaid
from Brimax Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Sebastian Meschenmoser
from NorthSouth
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wind in the Willows
Willow Leaf Library
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Winged Colt of Casa Mia
by Betsy Byars, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Viking Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)