Animal Stories: Realistic

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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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8th grade (Ages 13-14),

Hardcover

	Bambi's Children Story of a Forest Family by Felix Salten, illustrated by Erna Pinner from Grosset & Dunlap for 3rd-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Bambi's Children Story of a Forest Family by Felix Salten, illustrated by Kurt Wiese from Grosset & Dunlap for 3rd-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Baree, Son of Kazan G&D Famous Dog Stories by James Oliver Curwood from Grosset & Dunlap for 5th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Bat-Poet by Randall Jarrell, illustrated by Maurice Sendak from Macmillan for 5th-10th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Beautiful Joe A Dog's Own Story 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 A Dog's Own Story 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)
	Bel Ria by Sheila Burnford 1^st edition from Little, Brown & Company for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard from Holiday House Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $17.99
	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 Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-8th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	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 Sterling Classics by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Scott McKowen Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co. Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Wesley Dennis from Garden City Books for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Charles Keeping from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	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 Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-8th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	Black Beauty Illustrated Junior Library Series 3 by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg from Grosset & Dunlap Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	Black Beauty Autobiography of a Horse Illustrated Junior Library Series 1 by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-6th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Dinah Dryhurst from Breslich & Foss Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Black Beauty Books of Wonder by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Lucy Kemp-Welch from William Morrow & Company Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	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 Rainbow Classics by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Wesley Dennis from World Publishing Company for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Black Beauty Children's Classics by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Edwin John Prittie from John C. Winston for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	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 in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $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 by Anna Sewell, illustrated by E. Raymond Kinstler from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-8th grade in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
	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 Stallion by Walter Farley, illustrated by Domenick D'Andrea Golden Anniversary Edition from Random House Books for Young Readers for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Black Stallion by Walter Farley from Junior Deluxe Editions for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	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)
	Bob, Son of Battle G&D Famous Dog Stories by Alfred Ollivant from Grosset & Dunlap for 5th-9th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Born to Trot by Marguerite Henry First Edition from Rand McNally for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Born to Trot by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis Reprint from Simon and Schuster for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	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)
	Call of the Wild Portland House Illustrated Classics by Jack London, illustrated by Paul Bransom from Portland House for 6th-10th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Call of the Wild by Jack London, illustrated by Wendell Minor 1^st edition from Aladdin Paperbacks for 6th-10th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Call of the Wild G&D Famous Dog Stories by Jack London from Grosset & Dunlap for 6th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Call of the Wild Children's Classics by Jack London, illustrated by Paul Bransom from Dilithium Press, Ltd. Realistic Animal Stories for 7th-10th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Call of the Wild Macmillan Classics by Jack London, illustrated by Karel Kezer from Macmillan Realistic Animal Stories for 7th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Call of the Wild by Jack London, illustrated by Lee Gregori from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-8th grade in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Call of the Wild & White Fang Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Jack London Unknown from Reader's Digest Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Call of the Wild & White Fang Sterling Classics by Jack London, illustrated by Scott McKowen Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co. Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Call of the Wild and Other Stories Illustrated Junior Library Series 4 by Jack London, illustrated by Kyuzo Tsugami from Grosset & Dunlap Realistic Animal Stories for 7th-10th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Call of the Wild and Other Stories Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 by Jack London, illustrated by Kyuzo Tsugami from Grosset & Dunlap Realistic Animal Stories for 7th-10th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Call of the Wild and Other Stories Illustrated Junior Library Series 1 by Jack London, illustrated by Kyuzo Tsugami from Grosset & Dunlap Realistic Animal Stories for 7th-10th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Call of the Wild and Other Stories Illustrated Junior Library Series 3 by Jack London, illustrated by Kyuzo Tsugami 1981 Printing from Grosset & Dunlap Realistic Animal Stories for 7th-10th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	Call of the Wild and Other Stories Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 by Jack London, illustrated by Kyuzo Tsugami from Grosset & Dunlap Realistic Animal Stories for 7th-10th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	Come on Seabiscuit by Ralph Moody from Houghton Mifflin for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Critter and Other Dogs by Albert Payson Terhune from Grosset & Dunlap for 3rd-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	ECL: Call of the Wild Educator Classic Library #11 by Jack London, illustrated by Ron King Complete and Unabridged Edition from Classic Press Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	ECL: Jungle Book Educators Classic Library #5 by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by William Dempster from Classic Press in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
	Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo from Feiwel & Friends for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Every Living Thing by James Herriot 1^st edition from St. Martin's Press for 8th-Adult in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $7.00 (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)
	Good Comrades by Felix Salten from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Great Dog Stories by Albert Payson Terhune from Dilithium Press, Ltd. for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	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)
	Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson from Grosset & Dunlap for 6th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Hound-dog Man by Fred Gipson First Edition L-X from Harper & Brothers for 6th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	James Herriot's Dog Stories by James Herriot 1^st edition from St. Martin's Press for 7th-Adult in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories by James Herriot First Printing from St. Martin's Press for 8th-Adult in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	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 by Jean Craighead George 1^st edition from HarperCollins for 4th-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $7.50 (2 in stock)
	Jungle Book Sterling Classics by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Scott McKowen from Sterling Publishing Co. Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Jungle Book Books of Wonder by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney from William Morrow & Company Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Earl Mayan from Grosset & Dunlap Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Jungle Book Calla Editions by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Maurice and Edward Detmold from Dover Publications Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Nicola Bayley from Candlewick Press Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Eric Kincaid from Brimax Books Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Jungle Books Macmillan Classics by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Robert Shore from Macmillan Animal Stories for 7th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $15.00 (1 in stock)
	Kazan the Wolf Dog G&D Famous Dog Stories by James Oliver Curwood from Grosset & Dunlap for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Lassie Come-Home Junior Deluxe Editions by Eric Knight, illustrated by Lilian Obligado from Junior Deluxe Editions for 3rd-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	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)
	My Friend Flicka Junior Deluxe Editions by Mary O'hara, illustrated by Don Sibley from Junior Deluxe Editions for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara from J.B. Lippincott Co. Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	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)
	Outlaw Red G&D Famous Dog Stories by Jim Kjelgaard from Grosset & Dunlap Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	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)
	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)
	Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague (pictorial hardcover) by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis from Rand McNally for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor from Atheneum for 5th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Snow Dog by Jim Kjelgaard from Holiday House Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Snow Dog G&D Famous Dog Stories by Jim Kjelgaard from Grosset & Dunlap Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Snow Goose by Paul Gallico from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for 7th-12th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $19.95 $14.00 (2 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)
	Thunderhead Flicka #2 by Mary O'Hara from Lippincott for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Tower by the Sea by Meindert Dejong from HarperCollins for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Way of a Dog by Albert Payson Terhune from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	White Fang Thrushwood Book by Jack London from Grosset & Dunlap Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	White Fang by Jack London, illustrated by Helen Ward from Templar Books Action/Adventure for 5th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	White Fang Scribner Illustrated Classics by Jack London, illustrated by Ed Young Unabridged from Atheneum Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB) $29.99
	White Fang G&D Famous Dog Stories by Jack London from Grosset & Dunlap Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Winter of the Fisher by Cameron Langford from W. W. Norton and Co. for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Wolfling A Documentary Novel of the Eighteen-Seventies by Sterling North from Sterling Publishing Co. for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Yearling Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings from Reader's Digest for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings from International Collectors Library Realistic Animal Stories for 6th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)

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