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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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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)
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)
Black Fawn
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Brave Davy Coon
by Laurence Hyde
from Harper & Brothers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
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)
$139.93
Church Mouse
by Graham Oakley
from Kane Miller
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Come and Have Fun
by Edith Thacher Hurd, illustrated by Clement Hurd
1990 Reprint from HarperCrest
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Frederick
by Leo Lionni
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Frog and Toad All Year
An I Can Read Book
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCrest
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Frog and Toad Are Friends
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1971 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
George and Martha Rise and Shine
by James Marshall
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Gobble It Up!
by Jim Arnosky
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Grouchy Uncle Otto
by Alice Bach, illustrated by Steven Kellog
from HarperCrest
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
House on Deer-Track Trail
by Marty Kelly
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
If You Give a Moose a Muffin
by Laura Numeroff
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Incredible Detectives
by Don & Joan Caufield, illustrated by Kiyo Komoda
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Jumanji
by Chris Van Allsburg
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1982 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Just So Stories
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-6th grade
$18.00
Make Way for Ducklings
by Robert McCloskey
1966 printing from Viking Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1942 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Mousekin's Woodland Sleepers
by Edna Miller
from Prentice Hall
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mr. Sipple and the Naughty Princess
by Jan Slepian and Ann Seidler, illustrated by Richard E. Martin
from Follett
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
One Silver Second
by Daphne Doward Hogstrom, illustrated by Gordon Laite
Stated First Printing from Rand McNally
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Pegasus
by Marianna Mayer & K. Y. Craft
1st ed from Morrow Eagle
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Peter Churchmouse
by Margot Austin
1958 Printing from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Rosie's Walk
by Pat Hutchins
from Macmillan
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$3.00 (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)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Ski Pup
by Don Freeman
from Viking Press
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)
Story of Babar / Heidi
by Jean de Brunhoff, translated by Merle S. Haas, Heidi by Johanna Spyri, adapted by Florence Hayes and illustrated by Erika Weihs
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (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)
Stuck with Luck
by Elizabeth Johnson
from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Thy Friend, Obadiah (hardcover)
by Brinton Turkle
1972 Seafarer Edition from Viking Press
Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1970 Caldecott Honor Book
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Two Hundred Rabbits
by Lonzo Anderson and Adrienne Adams
from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
Books of Wonder
by Hugh Lofting, illustrated by Michael Hague
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
40th printing from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
40th printing from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.99
Where's Wallace
by Hilary Knight
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Wilfred the Rat
by James Stevenson
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Wind in the Willows
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
$20.00
Winnie-the-Pooh: A Tight Squeeze
by A. A. Milne, illustrated by The Walt Disney Studio, adapted by Al White
1974 printing from Golden Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Young Kangaroo
by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Symeon Shimin
from William R. Scott Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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