This list features recommended novels in which the animals act like real animals. For fantasies about animals, please see the Animal Fantasy list. Additional animal stories may be listed with Classics. All these stories can be found in Youth (Y) Fiction. Click here for a print-friendly version of this list.
Author | Title | Call Number |
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Angus | Soldier Dog A young boy survives World War I with the help of his dog. (249 pp.) | Y Angus |
Barrow | Saving Zasha Mikhail and his family risk charges of treason to keep their dog, Zasha. (229 pp.) | Y Barrow |
Corcoran | Wolf at the Door Living in the shadow of her beautiful and talented younger sister, Lee cares for a wolf pack that needs protection from cattle ranchers. (194 pp.) | Y Corcoran |
Dinerstein | A Circle of Elephants Nanda Singh, elephant driver, enjoys a special relationship with his tusker, Hira Prashad. (266 pp.) | Y Dinerstein |
Fleming | The Goat Kid and her family move to a building with eccentric residents, including a goat that lives on the roof. (155 pp.) | Y Fleming |
Garlick | Storm Horse Flip lives a lonely life on an island--until he rescues a horse and discovers a purpose. (242 pp.) | Y Garlick |
George | Julie of the Wolves A thirteen-year-old Inuit girl escaping a forced marriage is befriended by a wolf pack. (226 pp.) | Y George |
Gibbs | Belly Up Teddy the zoo sleuth investigates the murder of Henry the hippopotamus. (294 pp.) | Y Gibbs |
Heidicker | Scary Stories for Young Foxes A group of fox kits attempts to survive in an unforgiving wilderness. (314 pp.) | Y Heidicker |
Hiaasen | Hoot Roy helps save a colony of owls who live at a proposed construction site. (292 pp.) | Y Hiaasen |
Kadohata | Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam A young soldier in Vietnam bonds with his bomb-sniffing dog. (312 pp.) | Y Kadohata |
Kimmel | Legend of Ghost Dog Tee investigates tales of a ghostly animal that haunts the Alaskan wilderness. (200 pp.) | Y Kimmel |
Korman | Zoobreak Griffin Bing and his band of misfits make a plan to rescue mistreated zoo animals. (230 pp.) | Y Korman |
Lester | The Snow Pony Dusty finds consolation in hard times from her wild and beautiful horse. (230 pp.) | Y Lester |
London | Call of the Wild After he is stolen from his human family, Buck learns to adapt to new situations. (110 pp.) | Y London |
Nowra | Into That Forest After surviving a flood and living among tigers in the wild, two girls must try to readjust to human life. (153 pp.) | Y Nowra |
Oppel | Silverwing When a newborn bat is separated from his colony during migration, he grows in ways that prepare him for even greater journeys. (217 pp.) | Y Oppel |
Paulsen | Road Trip A father and son embark on a road trip to save a homeless border collie. (114 pp.) | Y Paulsen |
Pyron | The Dogs of Winter Ivan escapes his abusive family in Moscow and finds protection in a dog pack. (312 pp.) | Y Pyron |
Rawls | Summer of the Monkeys There is a handsome reward for anyone who can catch the tree full of monkeys on the riverfront. (239 pp.) | Y Rawls |
Reisfeld | What the Dog Said After their father dies, Grace and her sister navigate grief by training a service dog. (239 pp.) | Y Reisfeld |
Smiley | The Georges and the Jewels The first in a series about Abby Lovitt, who lives on a California horse ranch. (232 pp.) | Y Smiley |
St. John | The White Giraffe Martine uses courage, intelligence, and a gift for healing to save a rare white giraffe. (180 pp.) | Y St. John |
Walters | Elephant Secret Sam and her father scrape by caring for rescued elephants until an amazing offer comes through. (345 pp.) | Y Walters |
Wedekind | A Horse of Her Own Jane, who cares for the horses of rich girls at Sunny Acres farm, helps train a beautiful but skittish new horse. (275 pp.) | Y Wedekind |
Young | Finny and the Boy from Horse Mountain With the help of an injured runaway boy, Finny learns how to train the old, neglected horse she's just acquired. (307 pp.) | Y Young |
Last Updated: 11/19
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