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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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364 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Hardcover
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fables for 2nd-6th grade
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Randolph Caldecott, Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane, and Alexander Calder
from Chronicle Books
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Harry Rountree
from Gallery Books
for 3rd-9th grade
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fables for 2nd-6th grade
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Macmillan
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$14.99
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Album of Dogs
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry
from Aladdin Books
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$15.99
All the Mowgli Stories
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Richard M. Powers
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Animal Stories
by Joel Chandler Harris, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 2nd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Animal Stories
by Edited by Walter de la Mare
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Animal Story Book
Young Folks Library
from Auxiliary Educational League
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Armstrong
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Bambi
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Girard Goodenow
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Bambi
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Bambi's Children
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Erna Pinner
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Bambi's Children
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Kurt Wiese
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Baree, Son of Kazan
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by James Oliver Curwood
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bat-Poet
by Randall Jarrell, illustrated by Maurice Sendak
from Macmillan
for 5th-10th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Beautiful Joe
by Marshall Saunders
1965 Edition from Harper & Brothers
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beautiful Joe
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Marshall Saunders
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Joe
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Marshall Saunders
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bel Ria
by Sheila Burnford
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Bellmaker
by Brian Jacques
from Philomel Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Bhimsa, the Dancing Bear
by Christine Weston, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
1946 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Big Goose and the Little White Duck
by Meindert DeJong, illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Big Red
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Jim Kjelgaard, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Big Red
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Holiday House
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$17.99
Big Red
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Holiday House
for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Big Red
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Jim Kjelgaard, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Beauty
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell, Illustrated by Lucy Kemp-Welch
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Sterling Classics
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Garden City Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell
from Parragon Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Charles Keeping
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Black Beauty
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Walter Seaton
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Black Beauty
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Black Beauty
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Dinah Dryhurst
from Breslich & Foss
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Black Beauty
Books of Wonder
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Lucy Kemp-Welch
from William Morrow & Company
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by John Beer
from Barnes & Noble
for 3rd-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Rainbow Classics
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from World Publishing Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Beauty
Children's Classics
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Edwin John Prittie
from John C. Winston
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Beauty
Everyman Children's Classics
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Lucy Kemp-Welch
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Macmillan Classics
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by John Groth
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by E. Raymond Kinstler
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Beauty (abridged)
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Chiara Fedele
from Miles Kelly Publishing
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty / Call of the Wild
by Anna Sewell, Jack London, illustrated by E. Raymond Kintsler & Lee Gregori
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Black Gold
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Gold (pictorial cover)
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Stallion
by Walter Farley
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Black Stallion
by Walter Farley, illustrated by Domenick D'Andrea
Golden Anniversary Edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Black Stallion
by Walter Farley
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Stallion
Black Stallion #1
by Walter Farley
from Random House Books for Young Readers
Realistic Animal Fiction for 5th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Black Stallion's Filly
Black Stallion #8
by Walter Farley
from Random House
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Blind Colt
Weekly Reader
by Glen Rounds
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Blind Colt
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Blind Colt
A World Famous Horse Story Library selection
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bob, Son of Battle
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Alfred Ollivant
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-9th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Bonny's Big Day
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Born to Trot
by Marguerite Henry
First Edition from Rand McNally
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Born to Trot
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Boxen
by C. S. Lewis, Major Warren Hamilton Lewis
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Boy and His Bear
by Harriet Graham
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Brighty of the Grand Canyon (pictorial hardcover)
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Brown Sunshine of Sawdust Valley
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Bonnie Shields
from Simon and Schuster
Animal Stories: Realistic for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bruce
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bubo: The Great Horned Owl
by John L. and Jean George, illustrated by Jean George
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Buff: A Collie
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Buff: A Collie
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bunnicula
Bunnicula #1
by James Howe
2nd edition from Atheneum
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Burgess Animal Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Burgess Flower Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Call of the Wild
by Jack London, illustrated by Lee Gregori
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Cat Who Went to Heaven
by Elizabeth Coatsworth, illustrated by Lynd Ward
First Edition from Simon and Schuster
Eastern Fairy Tale for 3rd-6th grade
1931 Newbery Medal winner
Champion Dog Prince Tom
Weekly Reader Children's Book Club
by Jean Fritz and Tom Clute, Illustrated by Ernest Hart
from Coward McCann
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from The Folio Society
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Chee-Lin: A Giraffe's Journey
by James Rumford
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Cheshire Cheese Cat
by Carmen Agra Deedy, Randall Wright
1st edition from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Chief Takes Over
by Helen Rushmore, Illustrated by Charles Geer
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Chipmunk Terrace
by John Oldrin, illustrated by Kurt Wiese
from Viking Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Collected Poems of Freddy the Pig
by Walter R. Brooks
from Overlook Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Come on Seabiscuit
by Ralph Moody
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Cricket in Times Square
by George Selden, illustrated by Garth Williams
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
1961 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Critter and Other Dogs
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Doctor Dolittle's Zoo
Doctor Dolittle #6
by Hugh Lofting
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Dog for Davie's Hill
by Clare Bice
from Macmillan
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Dog Named Chips
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Dog Named Chips
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Dog of Flanders and Other Stories
by Louise De La Ramee
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Doomwyte
by Brian Jacques
1st edition from Philomel Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
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