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Animal Stories: Fantasy

If your dog put on trousers and brought you the morning paper and a cup of coffee, you probably wouldn't accept them quietly and start reading the sports page. While most characters in literature who encounter talking animals aren't that nonchalant about it, they seem a lot more accepting of bizarre phenomena than most real people would be. Is it just because they're characters in books? or is it because animals actually have quite a bit to tell us about human nature and the realities of the world we occupy?

There are real-life precedents for talking animals—parrots can speak, crows can acquire human vocabularies, and Balaam's donkey carried on a conversation with the reluctant prophet. Granted, birds with the vocal capacity for imitative speech and supernaturally gifted pack animals aren't really in the same league, but you get the idea. Just because most animals don't talk doesn't mean none of them can.

We're not suggesting Narnia is a real place, or rabbits actually have detailed mythologies, at least not in the sense most people would use words like "real" and "actual." But there are books about Aslan, and there are books about Bigwig and Fiver, Matthias the Mouse, and Mr. Toad, and in that sense those places and characters are real and actual. More importantly, what they tell us about life itself (through their stories, not over afternoon tea) is often true and real and actual.

Basically, stories about animals who apparel themselves in anything other than their own skin and fur, animals that fight with swords instead of claws and teeth, animals who bake their food rather than eating it raw or off the ground, animals that speak (either to humans or each other)—any story we carry of this kind will be found here. While animal fantasy shouldn't displace all other reading, it's important to remember that, in the end, there's very little meaningful difference between a character like Tom Sawyer and one like Abel the Mouse.

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: Nursery (Ages 2-4)
"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"
by Patricia Thomas
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, edited by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-2nd grade
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Avenel Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop
from Wordsworth Classics
for Nursery-2nd grade
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes
Book 22
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes
Book 22
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Babar's Picnic
by Laurent de Brunhoff, translated by Merle Haas
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$32.00 (1 in stock)
Beatrix Potter Mask Book
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
Caps for Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes
Book 23
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$6.99
Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes
Book 23
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Chick & the Duckling
by Mirra Ginsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Word Books for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (8 in stock)
Classic Tale of Peter Rabbit (abridged)
by Beatrix Potter, illustrated by Charles Santore
from Applesauce Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes
by Dubose Heyward
from Sandpiper Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Doctor Dolittle's Caravan
Doctor Dolittle #7
by Hugh Lofting
from Yearling
for 9th-12th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?
by Eric Carle
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Fish Out of Water
by Helen Palmer
from Random House
Animal Fantasy/Rhyming Stories for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Giant Treasury of Beatrix Potter
by Beatrix Potter
from Derrydale Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd
from Weekly Reader
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd
from Harper & Row
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Guess How Much I Love You
by Sam McBratney, illustrations by Anita Jeram
from Candlewick Press
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Happy Birthday, Moon
by Frank Asch
Revised from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Hedgie's Surprise
by Jan Brett
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hedgie's Surprise
by Jan Brett
from Putnam Juvenile
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
If You Plant a Seed
by Kadir Nelson
from Balzer & Bray
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Little Lamb to the Rescue
by Erica Briers, illustrated by Stephanie Boey
from The Templar Co.
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
by Audrey Wood
from Clarion Books
Fantasy for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Mystery of the Magic Meadow
by Margaret Friskey, Illustrated by Frances Eckart
from Children's Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Peter Cottontail's Surprise
by Bonnie Worth
from Unicorn Publishing House
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Polar Opposites
by Erik Brooks
from Two Lions
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever
by Richard Scarry
50th Anniversary Edition from Golden Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$16.99
Richard Scarry's Funniest Storybook Ever
by Richard Scarry
2017 edition from Golden Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.99
Rooster, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen
by Nova Nestrick (editor), illustrated by Bonnie & Bill Rutherford and Eulalie
from Platt and Munk Publishers
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Rosie's Walk
by Pat Hutchins
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (6 in stock)
Rosie's Walk
by Pat Hutchins
from Macmillan
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Runaway Chick
by Erica Briers, illustrated by Stephanie Boey
from The Templar Co.
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Springtime Treasury
by Sue Barraclough, illustrated by Simon Mendez
from The Templar Co.
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit
Book 20
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit
Book 20
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$6.99
Story of Miss Moppet
Book 21
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Tailor of Gloucester
Book 3
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tailor of Gloucester
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Tale of Benjamin Bunny
Book 4
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Ginger and Pickles
Book 18
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
Book 9
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse
Book 13
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Mr. Tod
Book 14
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Tale of Mr. Tod
Book 14
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
Book 6
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse
Book 11
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$6.99
Tale of Pigling Bland
Book 15
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$6.99
Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
Book 2
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies
Book 10
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan
Book 17
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Timmy Tiptoes
Book 12
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$6.99
Tale of Tom Kitten
Book 8
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$7.99
Tale of Two Bad Mice
Book 5
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$6.99
Ten Little Rabbits
by Virginia Grossman
from Chronicle Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
Ugly Duckling
by Hans Christian Andersen
from C. R. Gibson
for Nursery-1st grade
What Lily Goose Found
by Annabelle Sumera, illustrated by Lorinda Bryan Cauley
4th Printing 1980 from Golden Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
Winnie the Pooh Storybook Collection
by Adapted by Thea Feldman and Catherine Hapka, illustrated by Disney storybook artists
from Disney Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
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