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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"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"
by Patricia Thomas, illustrated by Wallace Tripp
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for Nursery-1st grade
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$6.40 (1 in stock)
10 Little Hot Dogs
by John Himmelman
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101 Jumping Exercises for Horse & Rider
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Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
Fir from Scholastic Inc.
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Akiak
by Robert J. Blake
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All About Dinosaurs
All About Books #1
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Amazing Bone
by William Steig
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Caldecott Honor Book
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Amazing Tigers!
by Sarah L. Thomson
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April's Kittens
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Babar and His Children OSI
by Jean De Brunhoff
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Babar and the Succotaash Bird
by Laurent de Brunhoff
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Babar and Zephir / Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar) and Beatrix Potter (Squirrel Nutkin)
from Random House Books for Young Readers
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Baby Elephant
All Aboard Science Reader Level 2
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Balto and the Great Race
Totally True Adventures
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
1st Printing from Random House Books for Young Readers
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Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
from Candlewick Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
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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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Behold... the Unicorns!
by Gail Gibbons
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Benjamin's Treasure
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Beowulf the Warrior
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Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 4th-8th grade
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Berenstain Bears' Dollars and Sense
by Jan Berenstain, Stan Berenstain
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Beware! Museum Bears
by Jacqueline Karas, Illustrated by Malcolm Ashman
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Biggest Bear
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Billy, the Condominium Cat
by Esphyr Slobodkina
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Black Beauty
Sterling Classics
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
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Black Beauty
Macmillan Classics
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by John Groth
from Macmillan
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Black Gold
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
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Black Stallion
Black Stallion #1
by Walter Farley
from Yearling
Realistic Animal Fiction for 5th-6th grade
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Black Stallion and Flame
Black Stallion #15
by Walter Farley
from Random House
Realistic Animal Fiction for 5th-6th grade
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Black Stallion Revolts
Black Stallion #9
by Walter Farley
from Scholastic Press
Realistic Animal Fiction for 5th-6th grade
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Blind Colt
A World Famous Horse Story Library selection
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
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Bony
by Frances Zweifel; illustrated by Whitney Darrow, Jr.
from Harper & Row
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$4.80 (1 in stock)
Book of the Dragon
by Montse Sant, illustrated by Ciruelo
from Paper Tiger
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Brand New Day with Mouse and Mole
Green Light Readers Level 3
by Wong Herbert Yee
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 1st-3rd grade
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Bringing Back the Wolves
by Jude Isabella; illustrated by Kim Smith
from Kids Can Press
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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
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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
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Bruce
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
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Buff: A Collie
by Albert Payson Terhune
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Bunch Quitter
by Don Patton, illustrated by Paul Clowes
from Caxton Printers, Ltd
for 4th-8th grade
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Call of the Wild
Puffin Classics
by Jack London
2008th edition from Puffin Books
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
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Cat Wants Cuddles (Oh no I don't!)
by P. Crumble, illustrated by Lucinda Gifford
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
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Cat Who Went to Heaven
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Eastern Fairy Tale for 3rd-6th grade
1931 Newbery Medal winner
$2.00 (3 in stock)
Cat Who Went to Heaven
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Eastern Fairy Tale for 3rd-6th grade
1931 Newbery Medal winner
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Cat Who Went to Heaven
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
PF from Collier Books
for 4th-6th grade
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Cats from Away
by Peter Parnall
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
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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
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Champion of the Titan Games
Dragonwatch #4
by Brandon Mull
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
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$4.80 (2 in stock)
Chestnut
by Constance W. McGeorge, illustrated by Mary Whyte
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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Chief Takes Over
by Helen Rushmore, Illustrated by Charles Geer
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-6th grade
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Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany
from Macmillan
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$32.00 (1 in stock)
Chinese Mythology: The Four Dragons
from PowerKids Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
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Chucaro
by Francis Kalnay
from Walker and Company
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
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Conditioning to Win
for Adult
in Raising Livestock & Animal Husbandry (Location: SS-FARM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Corduroy
by Don Freeman
Imagination Library Edition from Puffin Books
Personification Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Cowboys with Penny the Mustang Pony
by Barbara Knight, Illustrated by Dale "Wink" Burgess
from Mustang Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Creative Haven Dogs - Draw and Color
by John Green
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Adult Coloring Books (Location: COL-ADULT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Danger in the Desert
by Roger Cohen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Danny and the Dinosaur
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Syd Hoff
from Sandy Creek
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Day No Pigs Would Die
by Robert Newton Peck
1994 Printing from Random House
Realistic Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Day No Pigs Would Die
by Robert Newton Peck
1994 Printing from Dell Publishing
Realistic Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
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)
Dick Whittington and His Cat
by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Melisande Potter
from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
1951 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Digging Up Dinosaurs
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Dinosaurs
Usborne Beginners
by Stephanie Turnbull
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Dinosaurs
by Jane Werner Watson
1975 Printing from Golden Press
for Nursery-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Dinosaurs! A Drawing Book
by Michael Emberley
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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 Eyewitness: Horse
DK Eyewitness Series
by Juliet Clutton-Brock
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Horses & Ponies (Location: SCI-MAMHOR)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
DK findout!: The Living World - boxed set
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
Dragon, Hound of Honor
by Julie Andrews Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Dragons and Dragon Lore
2007th edition from Forgotten Books
for 7th-Adult
in Dragons & Mythical Beasts (Location: FIC-DRAG)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Dragons of Blueland
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #3
by Ruth Stiles Gannett, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.79 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Draw 50 Horses
by Lee Ames
from Broadway Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Draw Horses
by Lee Hammond
from North Light Books
for 5th grade-adult
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Drawing Horses (that look real!)
by Don Mayne
from Williamson Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Dry Bones and Other Fossils
by Gary & Mary Parker
2nd edition from Master Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$11.19 $6.50 (3 in stock)
Dry Bones and Other Fossils
by Gary Parker
7th edition from Master Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Duff: The Story of a Bear
by William Marshall Rush, illustrated by Gardell Dano Christensen
from David McKay Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Earth for Sam
by W. Maxwell Reed, revised by Paul F. Brandwein
Revised edition from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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 Dilemma
A Bonnie Book
by Dee Thomas, illustrated by Kippy
from John Martin's House, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
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
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Elmer and the Dragon
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #2
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
from Yearling
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
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
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of the Horse
by Elwyn Hartley Edwards, ed.
from Crescent Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Eragon
Inheritance Series #1
by Christopher Paolini
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Five True Dog Stories
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.24 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Flip
by Wesley Dennis
from Scholastic Book Services
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Follow My Leader
by James B. Garfield
from Puffin Books
Animal Stories: Realistic for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.79 $3.20 (2 in stock)
Fossil Book
Wonders of Creation Series
by Gary & Mary Parker
from Master Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$15.19 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Fossils Tell of Long Ago
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Fossils Tell of Long Ago
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Stage 2
by Aliki
Revised from HarperCollins
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Foundling
by Carol Carrick, illustrated by Donald Carrick
from Seabury Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Further Adventures of Lad
by Albert Payson Terhune
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Golden Prize and Other Stories About Horses
by Mel Crawford, illustrator
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Good Rosie!
by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Harry Bliss
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
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