Animal Stories: Realistic

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 practice on 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'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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52 Items found Print
Active Filters: Kindergarten (Ages 5-6), Hardcover
Adventures of Tim
by Edward Ardizzone
from Chancellor Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
$50.00 (1 in stock)
April's Kittens
by Clare Turlay Newberry
from Harper & Brothers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1941 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Armadillo's Orange
by Jim Arnosky
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bambi's Children
by Felix Salten, adapted by Allen Chaffee and illustrated by Phoebe Erickson
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Beaver Pond
by Alvin Tresselt, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
from Unknown Publisher
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Blossom Comes Home
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Blueberries for Sal
by Robert McCloskey
from Viking Press
Realistic Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1949 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
by Bill Martin Jr.; illustrated by Eric Carle
Second Edition, 25th Anniversary Edition from Henry Holt and Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bufo
by Robert M. McClung
from William Morrow & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Chester the Rooster
by Helga Moser, illustrated by Nadia Gura
from Christian Light Education
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas Cat
by Efner Tudor Holmes, Tasha Tudor (Illustrator)
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Cow Who Fell in the Canal
by Phyllis Krasilovsky
from Doubleday & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Coyote Raid in Cactus Canyon
by Jim Arnosky
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Dick King-Smith's Animal Friends
by Dick King-Smith, Anita Jeram (Illustrator)
from Candlewick Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Eddie's Menagerie
by Carolyn Haywood
1st edition from Troll Associates
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Elf Owl
by Mary & Conrad Buff
3rd Printing from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Finders Keepers
by Will and Nicholas
Reissue from Houghton Mifflin
for Kindergarten-4th grade
1952 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00
Fish Head
by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Marc Simont
2nd Edition, 1972 from Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Five O'Clock Charlie
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Fox Eyes
by Margaret Wise Brown
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Giraffe Trouble
by Jean Craighead George
1st edition
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Gorilla Baby
by Pearl Wolf
from Scholastic Book Services
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Grandfather Buffalo
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
by Jim Arnosky
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Harry and the Lady Next Door
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Gene Zion
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Henry Explores the Jungle
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
Anniversary from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Henry Explores the Mountains
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
Anniversary from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Henry the Explorer
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
45th Anniversary Edition from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
James Herriot's Animal Stories
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Little Donkey Close Your Eyes
by Margaret Wise Brown
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Lucky Ducklings
by Eva Moore& Nancy Carpenter
from Orchard Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Lysbet and the Fire Kittens
by Marietta D. Moskin & Margot Tomes
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Make Way for Ducklings
by Robert McCloskey
from Viking Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1942 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.99 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Manatee Winter
Smithsonian Oceanic Collection
by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
from Soundprints
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Oceanography & Marine Biology (Location: SCI-OCEAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Market Square Dog
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Moses the Kitten
by James Herriot, illustrated by Peter Barrett
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Only One Woof
by James Herriot, illustrated by Peter Barrett
from St. Martin's Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Oscar, Cat-About-Town
by James Herriot, illustrated by Ruth Brown
from St. Martin's Press
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Phantom, Son of the Gray Ghost
by C. W. Anderson
from Macmillan
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Pinkerton, Behave!
by Steven Kellogg
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Clearance: Picture Books (Location: ZCLE-PIC)
Reuben and the Blizzard
by Merle Good; illustrated by P. Buckley Moss
from Good Book Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Rfaud Tastes Wisdom
Plain Proverbs Book #1
by Martin D. Carlson
1st edition from BoCook Publishing
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.95
Skunk At Hemlock Circle
Smithsonian's Backyard
by Victoria Sherrow
from Soundprints
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Song of Creation
by Paul Goble
from Eerdmans
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Story of Ferdinand
by Munro Leaf
from Viking Press
Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Thy Friend, Obadiah (hardcover)
by Brinton Turkle
from Beautiful Feet Books
Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1970 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.95
Tim's Friend Towser
by Edward Ardizzone
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Where the Buffaloes Begin
by Olaf Baker
from Dover Publications
for Preschool-2nd grade
1982 Caldecott Honor Book
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$16.95
Wolves Are Back
by Jean Craighead George
from Dutton Juvenile
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Year at Maple Hill Farm
by Provensen
Children's Choice Book Club Edition from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Young Kangaroo
by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Jennifer Dewey
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)