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 Bob White
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #23
by Thornton W. Burgess
Illustrated from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00
Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #13
by Thornton W. Burgess
Revised ed. from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Happy Jack
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #25
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 1st-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.00
Adventures of Johnny Chuck
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #6
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 1st-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00
Adventures of Mr. Mocker
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #9
by Thornton W. Burgess
Illustrated from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Old Mr. Toad
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #16
by Thornton W. Burgess
Revised ed. from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00
Adventures of Peter Cottontail
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #7
by Thornton W. Burgess
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 3rd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Prickly Porky
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #17
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00
Adventures of Sammy Jay
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #14
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #8
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 1st-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00
Aesop's Fables for Children
by Aesop, illustrated by Milo Winter
Pap/Com from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.99
Amos and Boris
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Ant and the Elephant
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Archer's Cup
by S. D. Smith
from Story Warren Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.95
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
Babe the Gallant Pig
by Dick King-Smith
1st edition from Yearling
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99 $4.50 (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
Billy Mink
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #33
by Thornton W. Burgess
Illustrated from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Birthday for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Blue Cat of Castle Town
by Catherine Coblentz, illustrated by Janice Holland
Dover 2017 from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
1950 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.95
Bread and Jam for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd 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
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$12.95
Charlotte's Web - Full Color Edition
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Chester Cricket's Pigeon Ride
by George Selden
1st edition from Square Fish Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
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
Chicken Little
by Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Chronicles of Narnia - Quality Softcover Boxed Set
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$90.93
Cowardly Clyde
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Cross-Country Cat
by Mary Calhoun & Erick Ingraham
from Mulberry Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Doctor De Soto
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1983 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Doctor De Soto Goes to Africa
by William Steig
Reprint from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99 $4.89 (1 in stock)
Dragons of Blueland
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #3
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
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
Elmer and the Dragon
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #2
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Eugenia Lincoln and the Unexpected Package
Tales from Deckawoo Drive Book 4
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Fables of Aesop
Dover Evergreen Classics
by Joseph Jacobs
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
$5.99
Farewell to Shady Glade
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Flora & Ulysses
by Kate DiCamillo
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
2014 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Gnats of Knotty Pine
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Green Ember
by S. D. Smith
from Story Warren Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$14.95
Harry Kitten and Tucker Mouse / Chester Cricket's Pigeon Ride
by George Selden
from Square Fish Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Harry's Mad
by Dick King-Smith
from Yearling
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
House on East 88th Street
by Bernard Waber
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$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
Island of the Skog
by Steven Kellogg
from Puffin Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Kenny & the Dragon
by Tony DiTerlizzi
from Simon and Schuster
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Kermit the Hermit
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Last Archer
by S.D. Smith
from Story Warren Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.95
Library Lion
by Michelle Knudsen
1 Reprint from Candlewick Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
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
Lovable Lyle
by Sherri Brooks Vinton, Ann Clark Espuelas
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
by Bernard Waber
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Mercy Watson Fights Crime
Mercy Watson #3
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride
Mercy Watson #2
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
2007 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig
Mercy Watson #5
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson to the Rescue
Mercy Watson #1
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
1 Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise
Mercy Watson #4
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mercy Watson: Something Wonky this Way Comes
Mercy Watson #6
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mice of the Herring Bone
by Tim Davis
from Bob Jones University Press
Animal Adventure for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Mice of the Nine Lives
by Tim Davis
from Bob Jones University Press
Animal Adventure for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Mice of the Seven Seas
by Tim Davis
from Bob Jones University Press
Animal Adventure for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Mice of the Westing Wind Book One
by Tim Davis
from Bob Jones University Press
Animal Adventure for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Mice of the Westing Wind Book Two
by Tim Davis
from Bob Jones University Press
Animal Adventure for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Millions of Cats
by Wanda Gág
from PaperStar Books
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Mistmantle Chronicles Book 1
by M. I. McAllister, illustrated by Christine Enright
from Purple House Press
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$16.99
More About Paddington
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Mother West Wind's Animal Friends
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #3
by Thornton Burgess
from Dover Publications
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.00
Mother West Wind's Children
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #2
by Thornton Burgess
Reprint from Dover Publications
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.50
Mother West Wind's Neighbors
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #4
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 1st-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.00
Mouse Called Wolf
by Dick King-Smith
Reprint from Yearling
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Mr. and Mrs. Bunny - Detectives Extraordinaire!
by Mrs. Bunny, translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
from Yearling
for 2nd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.99
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
My Father's Dragon
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #1
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1949 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.95
Nuts to You
by Lynn Rae Perkins
from Greenwillow Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99
Old Granny Fox
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #28
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00
Old Mother West Wind
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #1
by Thornton W. Burgess
Revised Edition from Dover Publications
Animal Fantasy for 1st-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00
Once a Mouse
by Marcia Brown
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1962 Caldecott Medal Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Paddington at Work
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Paddington Goes to Town
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Paddington on Top
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Paddington Takes the Air
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Pinkish, Purplish, Bluish Egg
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Poppy
Poppy Stories #2
by Avi
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Poppy and Ereth
Poppy Stories #6
by Avi
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Poppy's Return
Poppy Stories #5
by Avi
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Prince Lander and the Dragon War
Old Natalia #3
by S.D. Smith, illustrated by Zach Franzen
from Story Warren Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.95
Redwall Cookbook
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
for 2nd-8th grade
in Literary Cookbooks (Location: COOK-LIT)
$21.24
Rescuers
by Margery Sharp
from New York Review of Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.99
Rogue Crew
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Secrets at Sea
by Richard Peck
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$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
Simple Art of Flying
by Cory Leonardo
from Simon and Schuster
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.99
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