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Animal Fiction

Page history last edited by Anonymous 14 years, 6 months ago

Realistic Fiction: Animal Stories

Entries marked with a ♥ are staff favorites

 

Adams,Richard Watership Down

This stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.(A/YA)

Appelt, Kathi The Underneath

An old hound that has been chained up at his hateful owner's run-down shack, and two kittens born underneath the house, endure separation, danger, and many other tribulations in their quest to be reunited and free.  (M)

Burgess, Melvin Kite

Taylor loves birds and collects eggs. He has the rare opportunity to enhance his collection when a pair of red kites nest nearby. The only problem is, the red kites are extremely rare - only twenty-five are left in the country. Taylor's father, a gamekeeper, is under orders from his boss, the landowner Reg Harris, to kill the kites, who are birds of prey and will go after Harris's grouse population. Taylor secretly salvages and hatches one egg. But as soon as the bird is born, elaborate plans must be made to keep its existence a secret in order to save it from being shot during the approaching hunting season.  (M)

Burnford, Sheila The Incredible Journey

Instinct told them that the way home lay to the west. And so the doughty young Labrador retriever, the roguish bull terrier and the indomitable Siamese set out through the Canadian wilderness. Separately, they would soon have died. But, together, the three house pets faced starvation, exposure, and wild forest animals to make their way home to the family they love. (M)

Clement-Davies, David The Sight

In the shadow of an abandoned castle, a wolf pack seeks shelter. the she-wolf ’s pups will not be able to survive the harsh transylvanian winter. And they are being stalked by a lone wolf, Morgra, possessed of a mysterious and terrifying power known as the sight. Morgra knows that one of the pups born beneath the castle holds a key to power even stronger than her own—power that could give her control of this world and the next. but the pack she hunts will do anything to protect their own, even if it means setting in motion a battle that will involve all of nature, including the creature the wolves fear the most—Man. (M,J,S)

Creech, Sharon Love that Dog

Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, won't stop giving her class poetry assignments -- and Jack can't avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns he does have something to say. "Love That Dog" shows how one boy finds his own voice with the help of a teacher, a writer, a pencil, some yellow paper and, of course, a dog. (M)

Creech, Sharon Hate That Cat

Jack is studying poetry again in school, and he continues to write poems reflecting his understanding of famous poems and how they relate to his life. (M)

DiCamillo, Kate The Tiger Rising

Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tiger - a real-life, very large tiger - pacing back and forth in a cage. What’s more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other, and ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some things - like memories, and heartaches, and tigers - can’t be locked up forever. (M)

Farley, Walter The Black Stallion

Pulled to a desert island by a wild black stallion he has freed during a shipwreck at sea, then rescued by a southbound freighter, a seventeen-year-old boy befriends the horse, trains him by night, and rides him to victory in a match race. (M,J,S)

Frost, Helen Diamond Willow

Twelve-year-old Willow wants, more than anything, to mush the dogs out to her grandparents’ house, by herself, with Roxy in the lead. But sometimes when it’s just you, one mistake can have frightening consequences. (M)

Hesse, Karen The Music of the Dolphins

After rescuing an adolescent girl from the sea, researchers learn she has been raised by dolphins and attempt to rehabilitate her to the human world.(M,J)

 

Hiaasen, Carl Hoot

Unfortunately, Roy’s first acquaintance in Florida is Dana Matherson, a well-known bully. Then again, if Dana hadn’t been sinking his thumbs into Roy’s temples and mashing his face against the school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy. And the running boy is intriguing: he was running away from the school bus, carried no books, and–here’s the odd part–wore no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy’s trail. The chase introduces him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails.(M,J)

Kadohata, Cynthia Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam

Cracker is an action-packed glimpse into the Vietnam War, as seen through the eyes of a military-trained German shepherd and her handler, a young soldier who thinks he's not tough enough for war. (M,J)

Kjelgaard, Jim Big Red

From the moment Danny sees the beautiful Irish setter, he knows Red is the dog for him. Together Danny and Red face many dangers in the harsh Wintapi wilderness that they call home. But the greatest test of their courage and friendship will come from an enemy more cunning than any they've known before—a bear who is the undisputed king of the wilderness, a savage killer called Old Majesty. (M)

London, Jack The Call of the Wild

This gripping story follows the adventures of the loyal dog Buck, who is stolen from his comfortable family home and forced into the harsh life of an Alaskan sled dog. Passed from master to master, Buck embarks on an extraordinary journey that ends with his becoming the legendary leader of a wolf pack. (A/YA)

London, Jack White Fang

Part wolf and part dog, orphaned White Fang relies on his instincts as well as his inborn strength and courage to survive in the Yukon wilderness despite both animal and human predators but eventually comes to make his peace with man. (A/YA)

McCaffrey, Anne Black Horses for the King

Galwyn, son of a Roman Celt, escapes from his tyrannical uncle and joins Lord Artos, later know as King Arthur, using his talent with languages and way with horses to help secure and care for the Libyan horses that Artos hopes to use in battle against the Saxons.   (M,J)

Morey, Walt Gentle Ben

The Alaskan wilderness is a lonely place for Mark Andersen, especially after the death of his brother. But Mark finds a friend named Ben, who happens to be an Alaskan brown bear. Ben and Mark form a special bond, but the townspeople are determined to destroy it. It is only through the strength of an enduring friendship that Ben—and Mark—have a chance of being saved. (M,J)

Mowat, Farley Never Cry Wolf

Hordes of bloodthirsty wolves are slaughtering the arctic caribou, and the government's Wildlife Service assigns naturalist Farley Mowat to investigate. Mowat is dropped alone onto the frozen tundra, where he begins his mission to live among the howling wolf packs and study their ways. Contact with his quarry comes quickly, and Mowat discovers not a den of marauding killers but a courageous family of skillful providers and devoted protectors of their young. (A/YA)

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds Shiloh

There's nothing eleven-year-old Marty Preston enjoys more than spending time up in the hills behind his home near Friendly, West Virginia. But this time is different. This time Marty sees a young beagle on the road past the old Shiloh school-house. Marty feels sure the dog is being abused by his owner. When the dog runs away to Marty's house, his parents say he must bring him back. But it hurts Marty to return the runaway dog to his cruel master. That's when Marty secretly decides he'll do anything to save the dog he names Shiloh. (M)

Peterson, Shelley Sundancer

From the outside, 13-year-old Alberta — Bird — looks like a typical teenager. She spends her days attending school, riding horses, and helping out on the farm where she lives with her Aunt Hannah. But Bird is anything but typical. For one, she hears things that no one else hears, like the thoughts of the various animals she befriends. For another, she doesn't talk. (M,J)

Peyton, K.M. Blind Beauty

Tessa has major attitude and an impossible dream—not a great combination for success. But she believes that fate has delivered the ungainly horse Buffoon to her, and Tessa is determined never to be separated from him. What’s more, she intends to one day become a jockey and ride Buffoon in the Grand National. (M,J)

Paulsen, Gary Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers

Minnesota author and dog musher Gary Paulsen reflects on the growth of his sled dogs as he and his animals discover the world around them. (M,J)

Rawls, Wilson Where the Red Fern Grows

A loving threesome, they ranged the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country. Old Dan had the brawn, Little Ann had the brains — and Billy had the will to train them to be the finest hunting team in the valley. Glory and victory were coming to them, but sadness waited too. (M)

Roberts, Katherine I Am the Great Horse

From the moment they dare sit on his back, the fates of Alexander, 12-year-old heir to the Macedonian throne, and Charm, a kind stable girl, are bound to the battle-ready steed. When the boy becomes king, Bucephalus helps his young master transform into a conquering hero. In a hard-won, nearly blind blaze of glory, they gallop from Greece to the golden sands of Persia to the edge of the known world. (M,J)

Ryan, Pam Munoz Paint the Wind

Maya moves to the vast Wyoming wilderness to live with her late mother’s family. They challenge her to confront the truth about who she is. And a mysterious mustang called Artemisia waits, too. She holds the key to Maya's freedom. But to find it, Maya will have to risk everything, including her life. (M)

Sewell, Anna Black Beauty

Black Beauty is a well-born colt living in a pleasant meadow with an elegant carriage horse. But fortune changes and he experiences both gentle and cruel masters as he travels through Victorian London. (A/YA)

Smith, Roland Elephant Run

In 1941, bombs drop from the night skies of London, demolishing the apartment Nick Freestone lives in with his mother. Deciding the situation in England is too unstable, Nick's mother sends him to live with his father in Burma, hoping he will be safer living on the family's teak plantation. But as soon as Nick arrives, trouble erupts in this remote Burmese elephant village. Japanese soldiers invade, and Nick's father is taken prisoner. (M,J)

Wedekind, Annie A Horse of Her Own

Jane Ryan has always dreamed of having her own horse—but so long as she gets to ride her favorite horse, Beau, at Sunny Acres farm, she’s content. When summer camp begins, Jane receives heartbreaking news about Beau. She’s losing him to a new owner. When her trainer asks her to help with a newcomer to the barn, Lancelot, she has no choice but to say yes. Lancelot is beautiful and talented, but he’s also wild and dangerous. Jane realizes that he needs her as much as she needs him. (M)

 

  Grade Level Interest
M Middle School (defined as grades 6-8).
J Junior High (defined as grades 7-9).
S Senior High (defined as grades 10-12).
A/YA Adult-marketed book recommended for teens.

 

 

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