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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116 Items found Print
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"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"
by Patricia Thomas
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Adventures of Paddy the Beaver
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #19
by Thornton W. Burgess
Unabridged from Dover Publications
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Among the Farmyard People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Yesterday's Classics
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$10.95
Among the Farmyard People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Living Book Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$13.99
Among the Forest People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Yesterday's Classics
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$10.95
Among the Forest People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Living Book Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$11.99
Among the Meadow People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Living Book Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$10.99
Among the Pond People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Yesterday's Classics
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$10.95
Among the Pond People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Living Book Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$11.99
Ant and the Elephant
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes
Book 22
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Arthur's Honey Bear
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Lillian Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Babar and Father Christmas
by Jean De Brunhoff
1st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Babar and His Children
by Jean De Brunhoff
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Big Bad Bruce
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Buford the Little Bighorn
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Caps for Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes
Book 23
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$6.99
Chester the Worldly Pig
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Chester's Way
by Kevin Henkes
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
from William Morrow & Company
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
from William Morrow & Company
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$32.00
Cowardly Clyde
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Curious George - Hardcover Boxed Set
by H. A. & Margret Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$39.99
Curious George Flies a Kite
by Margret Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Curious George Gets a Medal
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Curious George Goes to the Hospital
by H. A. & Margret Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Curious George Learns the Alphabet
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Curious George Rides a Bike
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Curious George Takes a Job
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins
by Barbara Kerley
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
2002 Caldecott Honor Book, NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.99
Dooryard Stories
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Living Book Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$8.99
Eli
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Ella
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Fables
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Preschool-3rd grade
1981 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Farewell to Shady Glade
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Father Bear Comes Home
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Else Minarik & Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.99 $2.50 (1 in stock)
Fire Cat
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Esther Averill
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Fish Out of Water
by Helen Palmer
from Random House
Animal Fantasy/Rhyming Stories for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Flotsam
by David Wiesner
from Clarion Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
2007 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Frederick
by Leo Lionni
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Frederick
by Leo Lionni
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Frog and Toad Collection
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$17.97
Gnats of Knotty Pine
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Grasshopper on the Road
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.99
Gregory's Shadow
by Don Freeman
from Puffin Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Guess How Much I Love You
by Sam McBratney, illustrations by Anita Jeram
from Candlewick Press
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Guess How Much I Love You
by Sam McBratney, illustrations by Anita Jeram
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$8.99
Happy Birthday, Moon
by Frank Asch
Revised from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Happy Day
by Ruth Krauss
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
1950 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$7.99
How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Huge Harold
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
by Laura Numeroff
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
If You Plant a Seed
by Kadir Nelson
from Balzer & Bray
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Jamberry
by Bruce Degen
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$9.99
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?
by Nancy White Carlstrom, illustrated by Bruce Degen
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?
by Nancy White Carlstrom
from Little Simon
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$8.99
Katy No-Pocket
by Emmy Payne, illustrated by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Kermit the Hermit
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Kiss for Little Bear
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Else Minarik & Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.95
Library Book for Bear
by Bonny Becker, Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Lightfoot the Deer
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #29
by Thornton W. Burgess
Unabridged from Dover Publications
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Little Bear
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Else Minarik & Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Little Bear's Friend
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Else Minarik & Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.99
Little Bear's Visit
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Else Minarik & Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
1962 Caldecott Honor Book
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.95
Little Fur Family
by Margaret Wise Brown
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy/Rhyming Stories for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$8.99
Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
by Audrey Wood
from Clarion Books
Fantasy for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Mister Dog
by Margaret Wise Brown
from Western Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$5.99
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present
by Charlotte Zolotow
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd grade
1963 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.95
New Shoes
from First Second
for Preschool-4th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Norman the Doorman
by Don Freeman
from Puffin Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Olivia
by Ian Falconer
from Atheneum
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
2001 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Paddington at St. Paul's
by Michael Bond, illustrated by R. W. Alley
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Pegasus
by Marianna Mayer & K. Y. Craft
1st ed from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Piggies
by Audrey Wood, Don Wood
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00
Pinkish, Purplish, Bluish Egg
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Poky Little Puppy
by Janette Sebring Lowrey & Gustaf Tenggren
from Golden Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$4.99
Polar Opposites
by Erik Brooks
from Two Lions
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever
by Richard Scarry
50th Anniversary Edition from Golden Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$16.99
Richard Scarry's Funniest Storybook Ever
by Richard Scarry
2017 edition from Golden Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.99
Runaway Bunny
by Margaret Brown & Clement Hurd
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Runaway Bunny
by Margaret Brown & Clement Hurd
from HarperFestival
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$8.99
Sheep in a Jeep
by Nancy E. Shaw
English Language from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit
Book 20
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$6.99
Story of Babar the Little Elephant
by Jean De Brunhoff
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Miss Moppet
Book 21
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Tacky the Penguin
by Helen Lester
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Tailor of Gloucester
Book 3
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Benjamin Bunny
Book 4
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Ginger and Pickles
Book 18
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
Book 9
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse
Book 13
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Little Pig Robinson
Book 19
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$6.99
Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher
Book 7
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$6.99
Tale of Mr. Tod
Book 14
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
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