My Account Wish List Shopping Cart Log In
Store Location

Animal Stories

There aren't too many kids who don't like animals, which makes stories about them a great way to communicate truths about human nature to young readers. All kinds of animal stories have been written, and a lot of them are just about animals doing animal-y things, but some of the best aren't really about animals at all.

The Wind in the Willows, for instance—sure, Ratty and Mole have whiskers, and Badger is as grumpy as any badger whose hole does not include a well-stocked library, but they're essentially human characters with human emotions and human ambitions who grow the way humans ought. Even Mr. Toad is no more animal than Oliver Twist or Laura Ingalls.

Okay, you might say, but that's not really an animal story, then. What about Black Beauty? or Bambi? They're written from the perspective of real animals who don't talk (at least, not to people) or wear clothes or eat buttered toast; how can they be about human nature?

In the case of Black Beauty, the horse narrator has a surprisingly firm grasp of human emotion, and understands the behavior of her owners to an extent many homo sapiens would not. As for Bambi, while he acts like a real deer, he's also sentient and able to have relationships with his fellow forest animals that closely resemble those enjoyed by members of the human race.

Another kind of animal story is really about people, and simply uses animals as the hook, or as a foil for the humans in the story. The Black Stallion or Billy and Blaze books, for instance, are more about the boy heroes than the horses, though the bond between animal and rider is also explored. Jim Kjelgaard's dog stories are similar, chronicling the adventures of boys with their beloved dogs.

As with any genre, animal stories should be read primarily to be enjoyed. It is only then that the deep wisdom found in the best of them can speak to us as readers, can open up our minds and hearts to see more than just furry or scaly creatures do things they may or may not do in the real world. Besides, who's to say there isn't a talking monkey or cat somewhere in the real world? As far as books are part of the real world, there are plenty such animals, and plenty of opportunities to meet and be changed by them.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
Did you find this review helpful?
Parent Categories
Subcategories
471 Items found Print
Filter
Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, Isaac Bashevis Singer
from International Collectors Library
for 6th-10th grade
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Harry Rountree
from Gallery Books
for 3rd-9th grade
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Macmillan
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$14.99
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$13.59
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)
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry
from Aladdin Books
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$15.99
All Creatures Great and Small
James Herriot Series Book 1
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$18.00
All Things Bright and Beautiful
James Herriot Series Book 2
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-12th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$18.00
All Things Wise and Wonderful
James Herriot Series Book 3
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.99
Along Came a Dog
by Meindert DeJong & Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1959 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Along Came a Dog
by Meindert DeJong & Maurice Sendak
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Animal Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1959 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Animal Stories
by Joel Chandler Harris, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 2nd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Animal Stories
by Edited by Walter de la Mare
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Annotated Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
At Home with Beatrix Potter
by Susan Denyer
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 6th-9th grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
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's Children
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Erna Pinner
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Bambi's Children
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
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)
Bel Ria
by Sheila Burnford
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Bellmaker
Redwall #7
by Brian Jacques
from ACE Publishing
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Bellmaker
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Bellmaker
Redwall #7
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Big Red
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Holiday House
Realistic Animal Stories 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
Whole Story Series
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by William Geldart
from Viking Press
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
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
Puffin Classics
by Anna Sewell
from Puffin Books
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
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
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by John Speirs
from Julian Messner
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Black Beauty
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 Christian Birmingham
from Candlewick Press
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$24.99
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
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)
$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
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 Fawn
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Black Gold
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Gold
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Black Gold (pictorial cover)
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Stallion
by Walter Farley
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
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; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.39
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)
Boxen
by C. S. Lewis, Major Warren Hamilton Lewis
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
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)
Bulu: African Wonder Dog
by Dick Houston
from Yearling
for 5th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Call of the Wild
Whole Story Series
by Jack London, illustrated by Philippe Munch
from Viking Press
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Call of the Wild
Puffin Classics
by Jack London
2008th edition from Puffin Books
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Call of the Wild
Dover Thrift Editions
by Jack London
from Dover Publications
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00 $2.00 (1 in stock)
Call of the Wild
Puffin Classics
by Jack London
from Puffin Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$2.50 (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
1st 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, Michael Clay Thompson
from Royal Fireworks Press
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts (Location: GRA-MCT)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Chronicles of Narnia - Deluxe Hardcover Boxed Set
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$139.63
Chronicles of Narnia - Mass-Market Boxed Set
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$55.00
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
Chronicles of Narnia - Quality Softcover Set
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
Clockwork Twin
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Collected Poems of Freddy the Pig
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Come on Seabiscuit
by Ralph Moody
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$35.00
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris, retold by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
from Dial Press
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$50.00
Critter and Other Dogs
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Day No Pigs Would Die
by Robert Newton Peck
from Random House
Realistic Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Day No Pigs Would Die
by Robert Newton Peck
1994 Printing from Random House
Realistic Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
12345
Sign Up!

Shop

Support

Hours & Directions

Learn more about our store location and hours

Connect

503.655.1951

hello@exodusbooks.com

19146 Molalla Ave,
Oregon City, OR 97045