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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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Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Used Books & Materials
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Avenging the Owl
by Melissa Hart
from Sky Pony Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bambi
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Joe
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Marshall Saunders
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Joe
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Marshall Saunders
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
from Candlewick Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell, Illustrated by Lucy Kemp-Welch
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Walter Seaton
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by William Steinel
from Golden Books
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by John Beer
from Barnes & Noble
for 3rd-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Everyman Children's Classics
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Lucy Kemp-Welch
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Macmillan Classics
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by John Groth
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty (abridged)
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Chiara Fedele
from Miles Kelly Publishing
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty / Call of the Wild
by Anna Sewell, Jack London, illustrated by E. Raymond Kintsler & Lee Gregori
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Black Gold
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Black Stallion
Black Stallion #1
by Walter Farley
from Random House Books for Young Readers
Realistic Animal Fiction for 5th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Black Stallion Adventures - Boxed Set
by Walter Farley
from Yearling
Realistic Animal Stories for 5th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Black Stallion Revolts
Black Stallion #9
by Walter Farley
from Scholastic Press
Realistic Animal Fiction for 5th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Black Stallion's Filly
Black Stallion #8
by Walter Farley
from Random House
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Black Stallion's Ghost
Black Stallion #18
by Walter Farley
from Random House
Realistic Animal Fiction for 5th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Blind Colt
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Blind Colt
A World Famous Horse Story Library selection
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bonny's Big Day
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Boy and His Bear
by Harriet Graham
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
from Rand McNally
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
By Pond and River
Eyes and No Eyes #2
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Cassell
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Champion Dog Prince Tom
Weekly Reader Children's Book Club
by Jean Fritz and Tom Clute, Illustrated by Ernest Hart
from Coward McCann
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Chipmunk Terrace
by John Oldrin, illustrated by Kurt Wiese
from Viking Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Chucaro
by Francis Kalnay
from Walker and Company
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Dipper of Copper Creek
by Jean Craighead George, John George
from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
DK Classics: Black Beauty (adapted & annotated)
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Victor Ambrus
from DK Children
for 4th-8th grade
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Duff: The Story of a Bear
by William Marshall Rush, illustrated by Gardell Dano Christensen
from David McKay Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Eddie the Dog Holder
by Carolyn Haywood
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Every Living Thing
by Cynthia Rylant
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Flip
by Wesley Dennis
from Scholastic Book Services
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Follow My Leader
by James B. Garfield
from Puffin Books
Animal Stories: Realistic for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Frightful's Mountain
by Jean Craighead George
from Puffin Books
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$14.00 (2 in stock)
Ginger Pye
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Good Comrades
by Felix Salten
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Green Grass of Wyoming
Flicka #3
by Mary O'Hara
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Hank the Cowdog #08
Hank the Cowdog #8
by John R. Erickson
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Hank the Cowdog (Location: SER-HANK)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Hero
by Walt Morey
from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Home is the North
by Walt Morey
from Blue Heron Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Honk, the Moose
by Phil Stong; illustrated by Kurt Wiese
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
1936 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
House on Deer-Track Trail
by Marty Kelly
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
House on Deer-Track Trail
by Marty Kelly, illustrated by Ronald Himler
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Hunted Horses
by Glen Rounds
1st edition from Holiday House
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Incredible Journey
by Sheila Burnford, illustrated by Carl Burger
7th printing from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Island Stallion
Black Stallion #4
by Walter Farley
from Random House
Realistic Animal Fiction for 5th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George
from Scholastic Inc.
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by John Schoenherr
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Julie's Wolf Pack
"Julie" Trilogy Book 3
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Julie's Wolf Pack
by Jean Craighead George
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Junket
by Anne H. White, illustrated by Robert McCloskey
2nd printing from Viking Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Justin Morgan Had a Horse
G&D Famous Horse Stories
by Marguerite Henry
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Justin Morgan Had a Horse
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
1958th edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Kavik the Wolf Dog
by Walt Morey
from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Kensuke's Kingdom
by Michael Morpurgo
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
King of the Wind
by Marguerite Henry
1950th edition from Rand McNally
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
1949 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Lewis and Clark and Me
by Laurie Myers
from Henry Holt and Company
Fictionalized Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Little Horse
by Betsy Byars, illustrated by David McPhail
from Henry Holt and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Living Free (abridged)
by Joy Adams
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Lone Muskrat
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Looking-for-Something
by Ann Nolan Clark
from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Man O' War
Black Stallion #16
by Walter Farley
from Random House
for 5th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Mishmash
by Molly Cone, illustrated by Leonard Shortall
3rd printing from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Misty of Chincoteague
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$1.60 (12 in stock)
Misty Of Chincoteague
by Marguerite Henry
Deluxe from Simon and Schuster
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$11.20 (1 in stock)
Misty of Chincoteague
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (2 in stock)
Misty of Chincoteague
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Misty of Chincoteague
by Marguerite Henry
Book Club Edition from Rand McNally
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
National Velvet
by Enid Bagnold
from Avon Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
On the Far Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George
from Dutton Children's Books
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Owen & Mzee
by Craig Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, Paula Kahumbu
First Edition from Scholastic Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Rascal
by Sterling North
from Puffin Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
1964 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Rascal
by Sterling North
from Puffin Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
1964 Newbery Honor Book
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Return of the Wolf
by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, illustrated by Jared Taylor Williams
from Clarion Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Runaway Stallion
by Walt Morey
1st edition from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Sancho the Homesick Steer
by Helen Rushmore, illustrated by Jack Hearne
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Sandy and the Rock Star
by Walt Morey
1st edition from Dutton Children's Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Scout's Distant Journey
Scout Series
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.95 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Secret Journey of the Silver Reindeer
by Lee Kingman, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Seven True Dog Stories
by Margaret Davidson
from Hastings House
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Shiloh
Shiloh #1
by Phyllis R. Naylor
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 5th-8th grade
1992 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Shiloh
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
from Atheneum
for 5th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Shiloh Christmas
Shiloh #4
by Phyllis R. Naylor
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Animal Stories for 5th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Smoky the Cow Horse
by Will James
August 1928 printing from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Smoky the Cow Horse
by Will James
1930 printing from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 4th-7th grade
1927 Newbery Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Son of the Black Stallion
by Walter Farley
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Son of the Black Stallion
by Walter Farley
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Songbird
by Nancy Lohr
from Bob Jones University Press
for 5th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Stormy, Misty's Foal
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Stormy, Misty's Foal (pictorial hardcover)
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (2 in stock)
Summer of Riley
by Eve Bunting
from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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