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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Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
Fir from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Amazing Bone
by William Steig
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
Caldecott Honor Book
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$3.50 (2 in stock)
Amazing Tigers!
by Sarah L. Thomson
from HarperCollins
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Balto and the Great Race
Totally True Adventures
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
1st Printing from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
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Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
from Candlewick Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
Updated from Candlewick Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
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Beowulf the Warrior
by Ian Serraillier
from Bethlehem Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 4th-8th grade
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Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
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Black Gold
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
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Cat Who Went to Heaven
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
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Champion of the Titan Games
Dragonwatch #4
by Brandon Mull
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Chucaro
by Francis Kalnay
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
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Biography for 5th-9th grade
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Danger in the Desert
by Roger Cohen
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Digging Up Dinosaurs
by Aliki
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Dragons of Blueland
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #3
by Ruth Stiles Gannett, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett
from Random House
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Draw 50 Horses
by Lee Ames
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Draw Horses
by Lee Hammond
from North Light Books
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Dry Bones and Other Fossils
by Gary Parker
7th edition from Master Books
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Elmer and the Dragon
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #2
by Ruth Stiles Gannett, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
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Elmer and the Dragon
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #2
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
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Eragon
Inheritance Series #1
by Christopher Paolini
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Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
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Fossils Tell of Long Ago
by Aliki
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Great Alaskan Dinosaur Adventure
by Buddy Davis, John Whitmore, Mike Liston
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Hachiko Waits
by Leslea Newman
from Scholastic Reference
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hank the Cowdog #01
Hank the Cowdog #1
by John R. Erickson
from Maverick Books
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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
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$5.09 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Horse Heroes: True Stories of Amazing Horses
A DK Eyewitness Reader Level 4
by Kate Petty
from DK Publishing
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Horse Heroes: True Stories of Amazing Horses
A DK Eyewitness Reader Level 4
by Kate Petty
from DK Publishing
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$4.24 $2.00 (2 in stock)
How to Draw Horses
by Lucy Smith
from Usborne
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade
by Diane Wilson
from Sourcebooks
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$9.34 $5.60 (1 in stock)
Letters to Seabiscuit
by Compiled by Barbara Howard
from Seven Locks Press
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$4.80 (1 in stock)
Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
from NorthSouth
for Preschool-3rd grade
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Mik-Shrok
Adventures of an Arctic Missionary Book 1
by Gloria Repp
from Bob Jones University Press
Missionary Stories for 4th-6th grade
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Miss Bianca
by Margery Sharp
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Miss Bianca in the Orient
by Margery Sharp
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Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines
by Margery Sharp
from Yearling
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Mouse and the Motorcycle
by Beverly Cleary
from Scholastic Inc.
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Mouse of Amherst
by Elizabeth Spires, Illustrated by Claire A. Nivola
from Scholastic Inc.
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in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$2.40 (2 in stock)
Mr. Putter and Tabby Drop the Ball
Mr. Putter and Tabby #22
by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Arthur Howard
from Clarion Books
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Poppleton and Friends
by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Mark Teague
from Scholastic Inc.
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Rocks, Fossils and Arrowheads
Take-Along Guide
by Laura Evert, Illustrated by Linda Garrow
from Northword Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Scout's Distant Journey
Scout Series
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
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Seabiscuit
by Laura Hillenbrand
from Ballantine Books
for 10th-Adult
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Seaman
by Gail Karwoski & James Watling
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi
by Cindy Neuschwander & Wayne Geehan
from Charlesbridge
for 2nd-6th grade
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$8.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Snow Dog
by Jim Kjelgaard
1981 Edition from AB Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
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$1.20 (1 in stock)
Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
2004 Newbery Medal winner
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$7.64 $4.40 (2 in stock)
Tenth Good Thing About Barney
by Judith Viorst
1st edition from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$2.80 (1 in stock)
Thank You, Brother Bear
by Hans Baumann; illustrated by Eric Carle
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
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$2.50 (2 in stock)
Three Little Kittens
by Paul Galdone
from Clarion Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Nursery-2nd grade
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Trails to Poosey
by Olive R. Cook
from Misty Hill Press
Pioneer Fiction for 4th-7th grade
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$3.20 (2 in stock)
Tucker's Countryside
by George Selden; illustrated by Garth Williams
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Usborne Book of Horses & Ponies
by Lucy Smith
from Usborne
for 2nd-5th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
White Stallion of Lipizza
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Why Do Wolves Howl?
by Gilda Berger & Melvin Berger
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
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$3.00 (1 in stock)