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.
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16 Items found Print
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Blaze Finds the Trail
by C. W. Anderson
from Macmillan
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bob, Son of Battle
by Alfred Ollivant
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
2nd edition from Little, Brown & Company
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Coppertop
by Bob Hunt, illustrated by Jeanne Manget
from Coward McCann
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
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)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Favorite Just So Stories
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by H. B. Vestal
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
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)
Margot Austin's Churchmouse Stories
by Margot Austin
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
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)
Nose for Trouble
by Jim Kjelgaard
2nd Printing from Holiday House
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Runaway Ralph
by Beverly Cleary, illustrated by Louis Darling
from Morrow Junior Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Smoke Above the Lane
by Meindert De Jong
from Harper & Row
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Tales From Fern Hollow: The Tortoise Fair
Tales From Fern Hollow
by John Patience
from Derrydale Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Valiant, Dog of the Timberline
by Jack O'Brien
from John C. Winston
for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Vulpes the Red Fox
by Jean Craighead George and John George
1996 Reissue from Dutton Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Wild Dog of Edmonton
by David Grew, illustrated by Ellen Segner
from Reynal & Hitchcock
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)