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What's your favorite animal book? :)

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4.8K views 20 replies 14 participants last post by  candicegarcia  
#1 ·
One of the first two things most people find out about me is that I'm a huge animal lover. The other is that I'm also a huge book nerd! My username on most other sites is fantasybookworm and I have over 1,000 books & counting. :) My animal book collection is surprisingly small, though. I'm not supposed to be buying books right now (and I have 5 new ones in the last week, so see how well that's working! :lol:), but I'd love to add some books to my To Buy list!

So...What's your favorite animal book? Favorite animal-related kid books, young adult books, or maybe animal-related memoirs? Or training, behavior, and/or care books? Thought this might be a fun thread to start as well as giving me more books to want to buy, hehe. :)
 
#2 · (Edited)
Watership Down was my favourite book as a child and I've read it over 16 times. :lol: I even had rabbits named Hazel and Fiver.

Another one I really liked when I was younger (and still do) is 'Haas' from Paul Biegel, but I am not sure if there is an English translation (title means 'hare'). It's about life in a garden behind an empty house, and what happens throughout the seasons (while the garden grows unkempt, and when a new family comes to live there). The animals are personified - birds, toads, the last bees in the beehive, goldfish in the pond, a bit similar to Watership Down. Just like that book it's not just about the animals themselves but the religious/philosophical themes behind them (they are waiting for Haas (hare), as if it is their saviour - all except for the ants, who don't believe in him - and what happens when he comes again, but nothing changes?)

Another favourite of mine is Toon Tellegen, writes short stories featuring animals, usually an ant and a squirrel - I have 'Misschien wisten zij alles' (Maybe they knew everything) on my shelf, it has over 300 short stories. They are a little bizarre sometimes and kind of philosophical. Again, not sure if this is translated...

And of course Astrids Lindgrens famous book about Nils Holgersson (I believe it's called The Wonderful Adventures of Nils in English).

Just three books I enjoyed a lot as a child/young teenager (the first 2 are definitely suitable for adults too, though). I'm sure there is more and when I think of something I will post it. I read A LOT as a child but I only started reading in English when I was around 14-16 years old so I am not sure if there is an English translation of my childhood books. Most adult books I read do not feature animals only or mostly, unless you're interested in fantasy too (dragons etc)?

I have training/behaviour books as well besides a lot of fiction, I can take a look on my shelves for you to see if I find something that might be of use (and in English).

Are you on goodreads by the way? It's a great site for discovering new books.

Edit: apparently they have translated some of Toon Tellegens work:
 
#3 ·
I seriously need to read Watership Down! I've heard it mentioned so many times and have never read it. The second one you mentioned reminds me of The Chronicles of Narnia, kind of. I loved that series, but I always ignored the religious themes and just focused on "Yay, talking animals!" :lol: I'd love any recommendations you have for training/behavior books & such too, if you're willing! :) I'm really hoping to expand that category of my book collection.

I adore fantasy as well. It's probably at least 1/3 of my total library! I will gladly take any recs you have for that genre too, I just figured I'd ask about specifically animal-related books to keep the thread somewhat on topic for an animal forum. :lol:

I've joined GoodReads before and for some reason, didn't really get into it. I'll have to give it another try though...though like I said, I really need to stop getting ideas for more books I want! I probably have 200-300 that I already own that I still haven't read yet. :oops: I'm going to be reorganizing my library again over winter break & plan to try and get my catalogue up to date at the same time. I'm on a different site called LibraryThing which is more for cataloguing a collection & works much better for that purpose than GoodReads. It was going to take literally days to get 1000+ books added to GR. It only took me a handful of hours with LibraryThing, with how streamlined the process is on their site (since it's created specifically for libraries & large collections).
 
#4 · (Edited)
Okay, for some reason I cannot post in this thread because it says my post needs to be approved by a moderator first?? I've tried 3 times but I cannot post it...
Edit: but this one came through? I'll just add it to this one then.

I've read Narnia (not all of them) but that's a lot different. They have people and talking fantasy animals, these are just... animals, it's from their point of view. So it's not like they're really 'talking animals'. They do have thoughts of course which is more human, but it's still about how these kind of animals live and act etc. More similar to Watership Down.
Unfortunately it looks like there is no English translation.

I have a lot of books about horses. Not sure if you're interested in horses though. :roll: I have a book from Stephen Budiansky which is quite interesting, the title is pretty self-explanatory; "The Nature of Horses: Exploring Equine Evolution, Intelligence, and Behavior". It's a bit more scientific than a lot of other horse books.
One of the most recent books I've bought is 'The Donkey Companion' which is, obviously, about donkeys. I haven't read all of it yet but it's a nice guide for anyone who owns (or plans to own) donkeys.
Then there are countless books about birds, reptiles, and insects... Most of them are encyclopaedias though which is probably not what you're looking for... David Attenboroughs 'The Life of Birds' is more story-wise and still has a lot of information and beautiful pictures.

I'm currently reading Robin Hobbs Rain Wild chronicles, which is mainly about dragons. I enjoy it a lot although I think they're not as good as some of her other books.

About children's books, 'The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs' by Jon Scieszka is funny and has great drawings.
And of course Roald Dahl who has great stories, but you probably know these already :)
Most of the others seem to have no English translation.

I've never heard of LibraryThing. I don't own *that* many books (my parents always had a ton, lots of literature mostly, so I never bought much). I currently don't have a lot of space for it as well and I've always been a member of the local library, so I don't own many books myself. Right now I have an e-reader too so a lot of my books are digital, although I prefer 'real' ones.
 
#5 ·
Huh...I have no clue why it wasn't letting you post! The forum is weird sometimes. I know lots of links can sometimes put a post on moderation, but I don't see anything about your post that would've set it off. Stupid technology. :roll: I deleted the other posts since you got that one to go through.

Horses were my first animal love, actually! :D Got to ride a pony when I was 3 & 4 years old through a program at my preschool and I've been in love ever since. I haven't been able to ride in years (my area really doesn't have many barns or horses in general...sigh), but I really want to do more riding later on when I move to a different area. I'd love to own a horse, but...money. :roll: The Nature of Horses book sounds awesome, I'll definitely be adding it to my list. And honestly, I'd be happy to have encyclopedia-type books too. I just love books in general! I already have a few guidebooks & such for various wildlife, just not as many as I'd like. I recently picked up a few bat guidebooks at a bat festival which thrilled me to death. I didn't have any, but have been wanting one. I still need to get some more up-to-date guidebooks on reptiles and amphibians.

Ooooh, I'll have to look into that series! I don't think I've read anything by Robin Hobb yet, but I do have a trilogy by her - the Liveship Traders trilogy. I just haven't read it yet, heh. Glad she comes recommended though! And yes, I have a few Roald Dahl books & love them. :D

I had an e-reader for a year. I ended up selling it again because I only turned it on twice in that year. :lol: I'm just too attached to real books...even if I had a book on the e-reader, if I really liked it, I'd want to have a physical copy of it. I'm terrible. It's the same reason I don't use the library as much as I should either. I prefer to own the book myself so I can find it again if I want to reread or recommend/loan it to someone. I'm bad at remembering titles and author names, but better at remembering general storylines & recognizing a book once I see it. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to figure out how to get 1000+ books to Scotland when/if I move there to be with my boyfriend. That's gonna be fun! :lol:
 
S
#6 ·
The Art of Racing in the Rain follows a dog's life and his family's relationships from birth to death. Have a box (or two!) of tissues ready.

A Dogs Purpose: Follows a dog being reincarnated until his soul serves its ultimate purpose. (Again another tear jerker)

Love Saves the Day: Follows a cat being transitioned to her owner's daughter's house when the mom passes away. Lots of fun and interesting insight on life from a cat's perspective. My mom, grandma and I loved it.

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know. This one was a fun look inside the science behind how a dog's mind works. Fast read and dumbed down enough for the everyday person while still sounding science-y.
 
#12 ·
I still need to read Redwall!! And I used to want to read the Warriors series too. I might have to read them eventually anyway. I still like a lot of "kid" books, and still have most of my old childhood series. Semi-animal-related, I still adore the Animorphs series. I own the entire series and still reread it more often than I probably should. :lol:

Glad that this thread is still getting a few suggestions and that it's helped others find new books to read! :D Feel free to keep suggesting books! Also feel free to share thoughts on a book that you read from seeing it suggested here or any recent books you've read, whatever!
 
#13 ·
I guess not *strictly* about animals but I highly, highly recommend the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest) In it some of the characters have 'bonds' with certain animals and can speak to them and hear their thoughts etc and I just love that idea...
 
#14 ·
Kavik the Wolf Dog was a favorite of mine when I was younger, since it was a survival/Homeward Bound/White Fang type story.

I loved survival stories, especially those that dealt with relationships between humans and animals. Island of the Blue Dolphins is still one of my favorite books of all time. Life of Pi was a good book too--especially the revelations at the end.

Black Beauty has probably been read by everyone, but I also love it so, so much.
 
D
#15 ·
"Eating Animals"

It does take more than a few pages to actually explore the arguments for eating meat, which most animal rights books don't do. A lot of the book is pretty general in scope, but some of it gets really into statistics and their implications about factory farming, and there are sources you can check if you feel the need. I recommend it.
 
#19 ·
So I totally didn't realize how old this thread was until now. But I definitely have to second Redwall - it's seriously SO GOOD. I feel like re-reading the first few books now!

And my favorite animal-related kid's books is definitely "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie!" :grin:
 
#20 ·
My absolute favorite is Wesley the owl by Stacey O'Brien. It's ''The remarkable love story of an owl and his girl'' She rescues a wild barn owl who can no longer survive in the wild on his own due to injury. They have a beautiful soul connection that only grows with time. It reminds us of how precious life is and how two different species can learn to trust, love and communicate. This is why rescue animals are so rewarding. Bring a tissue, it's beautiful.

I loved this book so much that I actually painted a tribute to Wesley for my home.
 
C
#21 ·
Few people have a phobia of animals touch. It's great to hear that you are an animal lover, Even I am also fond of newborn animals, Cat is one of my favorite animal at house. My 5 Year old Melville Preschool going niece is, also an animal lover, she loves reading animal books like Baa Humbug, Black beauty, Buddy Unchained,etc. In her preschool, there is one pet house, her teachers takes all students at pet house once in a week.I am glad to know which animal books you often read.
 
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