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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200 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Hardcover
3D Snapshots: Puppies (with 3D glasses)
from Fog City Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Dog Books (Location: SCI-MAMDOG)
ABC Bunny
by Wanda Gág
from University of Minnesota
Word Books for 1st-3rd grade
1934 Newbery Honor Book
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$12.71
Adventures of Tim
by Edward Ardizzone
from Chancellor Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
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)
$21.24
All About Dinosaurs
All About Books #1
by Roy Chapman Andrews
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
All About Elephants
All About Books #56
by Carl Burger
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Horses
All About Books #43
by Marguerite Henry
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
Anatole and the Toyshop
by Eve Titus, illustrated by Paul Galdone
from McGraw-Hill
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1958 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Answers Book for Kids Volume 2
by Ken Ham
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Worldview & Apologetics for Kids (Location: BIBWV-APK)
$6.39
April's Kittens
by Clare Turlay Newberry
from Harper & Brothers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1941 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Armstrong
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.66
Babar the King
by Jean de Brunhoff
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$13.56
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$13.59
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
50th Anniversary Edition from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Belling the Tiger
by Mary Stolz, illustrated by Beni Montresor
from HarperCollins
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1962 Newbery Honor Book
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Bernard Into Battle
by Margery Sharp, illustrated by Leslie Morrill
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
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Bernard the Brave
by Margery Sharp, illustrated by Leslie Morrill
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
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 John Beer
from Barnes & Noble
for 3rd-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Blind Colt
Weekly Reader
by Glen Rounds
from Weekly Reader
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Blind Colt
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Bonjour, Babar!
by Jean De Brunhoff, introduction by Kevin Henkes
from Random House
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Bony
by Frances Zweifel; illustrated by Whitney Darrow, Jr.
from Harper & Row
for 1st-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Book of Dragons
by Michael Hague
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
in Dragons & Mythical Beasts (Location: FIC-DRAG)
Book of Magical Beasts
by Ruth Manning-Sanders, illustrated by Raymond Briggs
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bounce and the Bunnies
by Ruth Carroll
2nd edition from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
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)
Bringing Back the Wolves
by Jude Isabella; illustrated by Kim Smith
from Kids Can Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ecology (Location: SCI-ECO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Brother Hugo and the Bear
by Katy Beebe
from Eerdmans
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$15.29
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)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Bruce
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
C. W. Anderson's Complete Book of Horses and Horsemanship
by C. W. Anderson
from Macmillan
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Calico's Cousins
by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
from Charlesbridge
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Cat Books (Location: SCI-MAMCAT)
Cat Book
by Marianne Besser, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
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 Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$14.44
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.80 (2 in stock)
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 Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany
from Macmillan
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$32.00 (1 in stock)
Chinese Siamese Cat
by Amy Tan, illustrated by Gretchen Schields
from Macmillan
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Christmas Day Kitten
by James Herriot
2nd edition from St. Martin's Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit (adapted)
by Joel Chandler Harris, illustrated by Don Daily
from Running Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Complete Brambly Hedge
by Jill Barklem
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$21.24
Conquista!
by Clyde Robert Bulla, Michael Syson
1st edition from Thomas Crowell
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
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)
Critter and Other Dogs
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
D'Aulaires' Book of Trolls
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.51
Daddles
by Ruth Sawyer
from Little, Brown & Company
for 1st-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
December Dog
by Jan M. Robinson; illustrated by Joan Sandin
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Derry's Partner
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Hubert Evans
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Digging-est Dog
by Al Perkins
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd Grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$8.49
Dinosaurs by Design
by Duane Gish
from Master Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$14.39
Dinosaurs for Kids
by Ken Ham
from Master Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$13.59
Dinosaurs of Eden
by Ken Ham
2nd edition from Master Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$13.59
Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins
by Barbara Kerley
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
2002 Caldecott Honor Book, NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.99
Discovery of Dragons
by Graeme Base
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
in Dragons & Mythical Beasts (Location: FIC-DRAG)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Cat
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Cat Books (Location: SCI-MAMCAT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Ultimate Horse
by Elwyn Hartley Edwards
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Horses & Ponies (Location: SCI-MAMHOR)
Dog for Davie's Hill
by Clare Bice
from Macmillan
for 3rd-5th 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 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)
Dragon Rider: Griffin's Feather
Dragon Rider #2
by Cornelia Funke
from Chicken House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Dragon Used to Live Here
by Annette LeBlanc Cate
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.29
ECL: Black Beauty
Educator's Classic Library
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Michael Rios
from Classic Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
Edison
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.66
Elephant's Child
by Rudyard Kipling
2nd Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Elephant's Child
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky
from Garden City Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Eyes and the Impossible
by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Shawn Harris
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
2024 Newbery Medalist
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$16.99
Faith of a Collie
by Albert Payson Terhune
Reprint from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Filly for Joan
by C. W. Anderson
from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
First Look at Dinosaurs
from Walker and Company
in CLEARANCE BOOKS (Location: ZCLE)
Five O'Clock Charlie
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Flip / I'm Tired of Lions
by Wesley Dennis & Zhenya Gay
from Viking Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Flip and the Cows
by Wesley Dennis
from Viking Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Flip and the Morning
by Wesley Dennis
from Viking Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Gaudenzia
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Ginger Horse
by Maureen Daly; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Green Smoke
by Rosemary Manning, illustrated by Constance Marshall
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
His Dog
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Horse and His Boy
Chronicles of Narnia Book 5
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Horse Called Dragon
by Lynn Hall
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Horse of Hurricane Hill
by C. W. Anderson
from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Horton Hatches the Egg
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
read-aloud poetry picture book for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Horton Hears a Who!
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Hotel for Dogs
by Lois Duncan, illustrated by Leonard Shortall
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
How to Raise and Keep a Dragon
by Joe Nigg
1st edition from Barron's
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dragons & Mythical Beasts (Location: FIC-DRAG)
I Give You My Colt
by Alice Geer Kelsey, illustrated by Helen Torrey
from Longmans, Green & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ice Dragon
by E. Nesbit, illustrated by Carole Gray
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Infamous Ratsos: Project Fluffy
by Kara LaReau, Illustrated by Matt Myers
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Irish Red
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
James Herriot's Treasury for Children
by James Herriot, illustrated by Ruth Brown & Peter Barrett
Unabridged from Macmillan
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$22.95
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