Favorite Animals

It would be easy to make a catalog of all the pets we've had over the years, but that's not the kind of "favorite animals" we're talking about. Favorite animals are those animals that have most thoroughly captured the imagination and love of humans. Okay, so maybe love is the wrong word to describe the dragon-craze or our enduring fascination with dinosaurs, but it surely applies to horses, dogs and cats.

The philosopher Plato had an idea that subsequent thinkers called "idealism." They didn't mean that Mr. Plato was an idealist in the way we'd call Rosa Parks or Gandhi idealists: the term idealism referred to the concept that for everything in the world (trees, chairs, noses), there was an ideal form or version of that thing in the spiritual realm.

According to Plato's theory, the azalea bush in your front yard is simply a physical representation of the perfect Azalea Bush floating who-knows-where in the infinite void. While we don't want to start any kind of philosophical war here, that's kind of the idea we're going for in this category. The animals you'll encounter in these stories, coloring books, and reference volumes embody "horseness," "catness," and "dragon-ness."

After all, the image Fred Gipson paints of Old Yeller is just a bit too good to be true. Sure, many of us have had a favorite dog who could do no wrong in our forgiving eyes, but Old Yeller is like every awesome dog who ever lived rolled into one mangy mutt. Which is the whole point—by creating a slightly unrealistic portrait of an old doggy, Gipson is able to celebrate doghood itself.

In a culture that generally looks only at the way things sometimes appear to be, however, it's easy to value animals too highly. Sure, they deserve our attention and care as representatives of creation, but no more. The Creator who made them is the only One deserving all our praise, glory and love; the animals He's made are simply avenues through which to show our worship and gratitude.

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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31 Items found Print
Active Filters: Library Binding
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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
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)
Chinese Mythology: The Four Dragons
from PowerKids Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Coyote
by Stephen R. Swinburne
from Boyds Mill Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Great Monster Hunt
by David C. Cooke & Yvonne Cooke
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 6th-8th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$35.00
Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - Deluxe Hardcover Collection
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Horse in Art
by Ruth Zuelke
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
How and Why Wonder Book of Prehistoric Mammals
by Martin L. Keen, illustrated by John Hull
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in How and Why Wonder Books (Location: VIN-H&W)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Lassie and the Secret Friend
by Kennon Graham, illustrated by Bob Schaar
from Golden Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Lipizzaner Horse
by Charlotte Wilcox
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Horses & Ponies (Location: SCI-MAMHOR)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Look at a Kitten
by Dare Wright
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Lord of the Rings Deluxe Hardcover Boxed Set OSI
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-12th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$125.00
No Roses for Harry!
by Gene Zion
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Nubber Bear
by William Lipkind, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Pegasus
by Marianna Mayer & K. Y. Craft
1st ed from Morrow Eagle
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Pet Dragon
by Christoph Niemann
First Edition first Printing from Greenwillow Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Peter Churchmouse
by Margot Austin
1958 Printing from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Pinto Horse
by Gail B. Stewart, Photography by William Munoz
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Horses & Ponies (Location: SCI-MAMHOR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Quarter Horse
by Gail B. Stewart, photography by William Munoz
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Horses & Ponies (Location: SCI-MAMHOR)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ralph S. Mouse
Mouse & the Motorcycle #3
by Beverly Cleary, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
from William Morrow & Company
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Rescue Dog of the High Pass
by Jim Kjelgaard; illustrated by Edward Shenton
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Runaway Elephant
by Ellen Tarry
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
San Domingo
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Robert Lougheed
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Sea Serpents Around Us
by Lois and Louis Darling
Stated First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Small One
by Zhenya Gay
from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from Harper & Row
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Babar the Little Elephant
by Jean de Brunhoff
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Two Hundred Rabbits
by Lonzo Anderson and Adrienne Adams
from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)