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.

 

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Adventures of Jimmy Skunk
by Thornton W. Burgess, illustrated by Harrison Cady
1920 Printing from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Avenel Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Heidi Holder
1st edition from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Angelina and Alice
by Katharine Holabird
1st edition from Clarkson Potter Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
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Angelina's Baby Sister
by Katharine Holabird; illustrated by Helen Craig
1st edition from Clarkson Potter Publishers
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Angelina's Birthday
by Katharine Holabird; illustrated by Helen Craig
First Edition from Pleasant Company Publications, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Babar and His Children
by Jean De Brunhoff
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$18.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Babar's Picnic
by Laurent de Brunhoff, translated by Merle Haas
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
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$32.00 (1 in stock)
Baby Sister for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from Atlas Editions
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bear Circus for Our Friends the Kangaroos
by William Pene du Bois
from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
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Charlie at the Zoo
by Marcus Pfister
from North-South Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from The Folio Society
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
from Greenwillow Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Curious George Flies a Kite
by Margret Rey
from Weekly Reader
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
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Day with Whisker Wickles
by Cynthia Jameson, illustrated by James Marshall
from Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Dear Friends
by Zhenya Gay
from Harper & Brothers
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Dear Peter Rabbit
by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Leslie Tryon
from Macmillan
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Delver's Danger
Smithsonian Wild Heritage Collection
by Susan Thompson-Hoffman, illustrated by Eileen Major Buzzanco
from Trudy Corporation
for 1st-4th grade
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$5.00 (2 in stock)
Detective Dinosaur
by James Skofield
from Barnes & Noble
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Doctor Dolittle and the Pirates
by Al Perkins
from Random House
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?
by Eric Carle
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-2nd grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Elephant's Child
by Rudyard Kipling
2nd Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 2nd-3rd grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Eric Carle's Animals Animals
by Eric Carle
First Edition from Philomel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Fables of Aesop
by Aesop, selected & illustrated by David Levine, translated by Patrick & Justina Gregory
from Gambit
for 2nd-4th grade
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Farfallina & Marcel
by Holly Keller
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Frog and Toad Are Friends
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1971 Caldecott Honor Book
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George and Martha Back in Town
by James Marshall
from Houghton Mifflin
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George and Martha Encore
by James Marshall
from Houghton Mifflin
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George and Martha Tons of Fun
by James Marshall
from Houghton Mifflin
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Great Big Elephant & the Very Small Elephant
by Barbara Seuling
from Crown Publishers
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Harvey's Hideout
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from Parents Magazine Press
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Harvey's Hideout
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from Four Winds Press
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Hippo Lemonade
by Mike Thaler
WRBC from HarperCollins
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Horton Hears a Who!
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
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I'm Not Moving, Mama!
by Nancy White Carlstrom, Illustrated by Thor Wickstrom
from Macmillan
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If You Give a Moose a Muffin
by Laura Numeroff
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
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Infamous Ratsos: Project Fluffy
by Kara LaReau, Illustrated by Matt Myers
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Invisible Moose
by Dennis Haseley, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
from Dial Books for Young Readers
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Just So Stories
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Safaya Salter
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-6th grade
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$9.00 (2 in stock)
Katy No-Pocket
by Emmy Payne, illustrated by H. A. Rey
from Weekly Reader
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
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Little Whistle's Dinner Party
by Cynthia Rylant, Illustrated by Tim Bowers
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Lovable Lyle
by Bernard Waber
from Scholastic Inc.
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Marzipan Pig
by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Quentin Blake
from New York Review of Books
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Mercy Watson Fights Crime
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
Library Binding from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Mercy Watson to the Rescue
by Kate DiCamillo
1st edition from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Misoso
by Verna Aardema
illustrated edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
More About Paddington
by Michael Bond
from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-5th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mr. and Mrs. Bunny - Detectives Extraordinaire!
by Mrs. Bunny, translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
from Schwartz & Wade
for 2nd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
New Shoes
from First Second
for Preschool-4th grade
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Olivia Forms a Band
by Ian Falconer
from Atheneum
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Paddington Abroad
by Michael Bond, illustrated by Peggy Fortnum
Book Club Edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-4th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Paddington Marches On
by Michael Bond
Book Club Edition from Houghton Mifflin
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Perfect Present
by Michael Hague
1st edition from Morrow Junior Books
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Puppy Who Wanted a Boy
by Jane Thayer, Illustrated by Lisa McCue
from William Morrow & Company
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Rainbow Fish
by Marcus Pfister
from North-South Books
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
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$18.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Babar the Little Elephant
by Jean De Brunhoff
from Random House Books for Young Readers
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Tailor of Gloucester
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Tales of Mr. Pengachoosa
by Caroline Rush, illustrated by Dominique M. Strandquest
First Edition from Crown Publishers
for 2nd-4th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Tassel's Mission
Smithsonian Wild Heritage Collection
by Susan Thompson-Hoffman, illustrated by Eileen Major Buzzanco
from Trudy Corporation
for 1st-4th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
by Eugene Trivizas
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 1st-5th grade
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Timothy Goes to School
by Rosemary Wells
from Sun Dial Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Two Bad Ants
by Chris Van Allsburg
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-3rd grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Uncle Wiggily Book
by Howard Garis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Preschool-3rd grade
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$8.00 (2 in stock)
Uncle Wiggily's Story Book
by Howard Garis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (3 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Personification for 1st-4th grade
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams, illustrated by Michael Green
from Running Press
Personification for 1st-4th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams, illustrated by Allen Atkinson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Personification for 1st-4th grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams
from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
for Preschool-3rd grade
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
When We Were Very Young
by A. A. Milne, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard
1961 Redesigned from E.P. Dutton & Co.
Poetry for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Who's Zoo
by Conrad Aiken, illustrated by John Vernon Lord
from Jonathan Cape
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Wild About Books
by Judy Sierra, Marc Brown
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Willie Was Different
by Norman Rockwell
from Berkshire House Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
World of Christopher Robin
by A. A. Milne
from Dutton Children's Books
Animal Stories: Fantasy for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)