Animal Stories: Realistic

Realistic animal stories are usually more about the humans involved than about the animals. This isn't always true (London's Call of the Wild is a notable exception), but anyone who's read The Yearling, James Herriot's 5-volume memoir, or most of Marguerite Henry's books knows that the main characters are people, and the animals are the primary concern of those characters.

That's not to suggest that the animals are incidental, just that what readers are supposed to take away aren't simply facts about horses or dogs, but what all good literature offers, insight and commentary on the human condition. The reason we like stories involving animals so much is that humans and their furry companions are able to forge unique bonds predicated on innocence and loyalty that rarely exist in strictly human relationships.

What sets realistic animal stories apart from fantasy animal stories is that the animals in them are real animals, not talking, clothes-wearing, pipe-smoking people in animal costumes. Dogs bark, horses gallop, cows give birth to calves (it happens a lot in Yorkshire, apparently), and the world is very much as we experience and know it to be.

Children are particularly drawn to these stories, not because they like animals more than adults do, but because their imaginations still recognize everything as fair game. Animal tales show the world from an often unfamiliar perspective, and the appeal is especially great for those whose own perspective is still largely unformed.

A lot of these make great read-alouds for really young kids, or good books for budding readers to practiceon their own. Just because they're in the kids' fiction section doesn't mean they're only intended for children, either, and plenty of adults are still as much into animal novels as they were thirty years ago. Our selection is intentionally broad, and steadily growing—we may or may not be included in that last group.

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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Akiak
by Robert J. Blake
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Angus Lost
by Marjorie Flack
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Animal Realistic for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Benjy and the Barking Bird
by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Blossom Comes Home
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
by Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle
from Henry Holt and Company
Word Books/Animal Stories for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$8.99 $5.00 (4 in stock)
Bufo
by Robert M. McClung
from William Morrow & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Christmas Cat
by Efner Tudor Holmes, Tasha Tudor (Illustrator)
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Cow Who Fell in the Canal
by Phyllis Krasilovsky
from Doubleday & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Coyote Raid in Cactus Canyon
by Jim Arnosky
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Dick King-Smith's Animal Friends
by Dick King-Smith, Anita Jeram (Illustrator)
from Candlewick Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Eddie's Menagerie
by Carolyn Haywood
1st edition from Troll Associates
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Fox Eyes
by Margaret Wise Brown
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
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Fritz and the Beautiful Horses
by Jan Brett
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
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$7.99
Giraffe Trouble
by Jean Craighead George
1st edition
for Preschool-3rd Grade
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Gorilla Baby
by Pearl Wolf
from Scholastic Book Services
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in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Hanna's Cold Winter
by Trish Marx & Barbara Knutson
from Purple House Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$11.95
Harry and the Lady Next Door
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Gene Zion
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Harry and the Lady Next Door
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Gene Zion
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Harry the Dirty Dog
by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Have You Seen My Cat?
by Eric Carle
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Henry Explores the Jungle
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
Anniversary from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.95
Henry Explores the Mountains
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
Anniversary from Purple House Press
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$18.95
Henry the Explorer
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
45th Anniversary Edition from Purple House Press
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$18.95
Henry the Explorer
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$16.99
I'll Always Love You
by Hans Wilhelm
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-2nd grade
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Little Donkey Close Your Eyes
by Margaret Wise Brown
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Lucky Ducklings
by Eva Moore& Nancy Carpenter
from Orchard Books
for Preschool-1st grade
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Lysbet and the Fire Kittens
by Marietta D. Moskin & Margot Tomes
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Make Way for Ducklings
by Robert McCloskey
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Moses the Kitten
by James Herriot, illustrated by Peter Barrett
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Mr. Putter and Tabby Pick the Pears
by Cynthia Rylant, Arthur Howard
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Mr. Putter and Tabby Spin the Yarn
by Cynthia Rylant
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
My Pony
by Susan Jeffers
First Scholastic Printing, November 2004 from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Only One Woof
by James Herriot, illustrated by Peter Barrett
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm
by Alice and Martin Provensen
from Aladdin Paperbacks
New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$9.99
Over in the Meadow
by Ezra Jack Keats
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Pinkerton, Behave!
by Steven Kellogg
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Clearance: Picture Books (Location: ZCLE-PIC)
Puppy Who Wanted a Boy
by Jane Thayer, Illustrated by Lisa McCue
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-1st grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Reuben and the Blizzard
by Merle Good; illustrated by P. Buckley Moss
from Good Book Company
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Reuben and the Fire
by Merle Good; illustrated by P. Buckley Moss
from Good Book Company
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Rfaud Tastes Wisdom
Plain Proverbs Book #1
by Martin D. Carlson
1st edition from BoCook Publishing
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.95
Ski Pup
by Don Freeman
from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Sneakers, the Seaside Cat
by Margaret Wise Brown
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Song of Creation
by Paul Goble
from Eerdmans
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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Story of Ferdinand
by Munro Leaf
from Puffin Books
Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Story of Ferdinand
by Munro Leaf
from Viking Press
Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Summer Noisy Book
by Margaret Wise Brown
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
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Tenth Good Thing About Barney
by Judith Viorst
1st edition from Atheneum
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Tim's Friend Towser
by Edward Ardizzone
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
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What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
2004 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Where the Buffaloes Begin
by Olaf Baker
from Dover Publications
for Preschool-2nd grade
1982 Caldecott Honor Book
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$16.95
Year at Maple Hill Farm
by Alice and Martin Provensen
from Aladdin Paperbacks
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$9.99
Year at Maple Hill Farm
by Provensen
Children's Choice Book Club Edition from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Young Kangaroo
by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Jennifer Dewey
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)