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Aside from Animal Farm and the Peanuts books, I can't recall ever reading anything that I liked where animals were protagonists. But then again, I have always tended to read non-fiction much more than fiction.
my daughter has me hooked on the "Warrior" series about the cat clans.
Albert Payson Terhune wrote a wonderful series about the collies of Sunnybank - I know the title of the first two books: Lad a dog and Further Adventures of Lad. These are true stories and they are funny and heartbreaking but well worth reading.
Australian author Elyne Mitchell wrote a series of books about the Silver Brumbies - Thowra, Storm, Yarraman, The Brolga, Baringa, Kalina, Moon and Golden. These books aren't easy to find but they are well worth reading if you can.find them. The horses communicate in much the same way as the horses in Black Beauty but because they are wild they mostly use their intelligence to outwit men who are hunting them or other stallions seeking to defend their herds.
After reading all of these, I actually remembered another one from sixth grade that was one of my favories, and that I had forgotten about: Rascal. It's about a boy and an abandoned raccoon that he hand raises; I might just have to read it again.
I have been searching for that book and couldn't remember the name. I saw your post and it immediately hit me. Finally, after 45 years - I remember the book. Now, I have to read it!!
Albert Payson Terhune wrote a wonderful series about the collies of Sunnybank - I know the title of the first two books: Lad a dog and Further Adventures of Lad. These are true stories and they are funny and heartbreaking but well worth reading.
OMG,I loved those books and the movie shown on TCM-Lad:A Dog!
Maybe I missed this series being mentioned but what about James Herriot, the British vet who wrote All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Creatures Great and Small, and All Things Wise and Wonderful. Wonderful reading at the time as I recall.
Watership Down was great. I think I have that kingdom living under my back porch.
As a kid I adored all the animal stories by Thornton W. Burgess - Old Mother West Wind and all her animal friends. There were tons of those books and I think I read them all.
The Cat Who Came in from the Cold by Deric Longden
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron,Bret Witter
Big Red: The Story of a Champion Irish Setter and a Trapper's Son Who Grew Up Together, Roaming the...by Jim Kjelgaard
Man O'War by Walter Farley
King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry
Born to Trot by Marguerite Henry and Wesley Dennis
Brighty of the Grand Canyon (Marguerite Henry Horseshoe Library) by Marguerite Henry
Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process by Irene Pepperberg
ILA, you and I had pretty much identical reading interests as kids. I read every Jim Kjelgaard, Walter Farley and Marguerite Henry book I could find in the library, along with every other animal-themed book I could get my hands on. As mentioned above, I loved the Albert Payson Terhune series about collies. And of course Old Yeller and Savage Sam by Fred Gipson. Where the Red Fern Grows, The Yearling, Sounder, Black Beauty, Call of the Wild--as long as the book featured an animal, I was happy to read it. Along the way, I encountered a fair amount of good literature.
When I was still in elementary school my mother gave me a copy of The Red Pony by John Steinbeck for Christmas. I can only guess that she grabbed it because it featured a horse but didn't know what it was about. It's a tough read for an adult, much less a kid, and there's certainly not a happy ending. Still, it introduced me to Steinbeck, so it wasn't all bad.
I'll have to add Alex & Me to my TBR list--sounds like something I'd like.
ILA, you and I had pretty much identical reading interests as kids. I read every Jim Kjelgaard, Walter Farley and Marguerite Henry book I could find in the library, along with every other animal-themed book I could get my hands on. As mentioned above, I loved the Albert Payson Terhune series about collies. And of course Old Yeller and Savage Sam by Fred Gipson. Where the Red Fern Grows, The Yearling, Sounder, Black Beauty, Call of the Wild--as long as the book featured an animal, I was happy to read it. Along the way, I encountered a fair amount of good literature.
When I was still in elementary school my mother gave me a copy of The Red Pony by John Steinbeck for Christmas. I can only guess that she grabbed it because it featured a horse but didn't know what it was about. It's a tough read for an adult, much less a kid, and there's certainly not a happy ending. Still, it introduced me to Steinbeck, so it wasn't all bad.
I'll have to add Alex & Me to my TBR list--sounds like something I'd like.
Oh yes,I read all of those as well,loved Jack London too. So many sad stories in those just like in animal films,as I grew older I started paying more attention to the synopsis and avoiding those that sounded like 'tear-jerkers',lol! I just read one about a hearing-ear helper dog-a Corgi, that was a delight,you might enjoy it....The Heart Listens by Carolyn McSparren http://www.amazon.com/The-Heart-List...2087658&sr=1-2.
I had seen and been wowed by the African Gray parrot-Alex on TV so when I saw the book I knew I would love it and I did.
Oh yes,I read all of those as well,loved Jack London too. So many sad stories in those just like in animal films,as I grew older I started paying more attention to the synopsis and avoiding those that sounded like 'tear-jerkers',lol! I just read one about a hearing-ear helper dog-a Corgi, that was a delight,you might enjoy it....The Heart Listens by Carolyn McSparren http://www.amazon.com/The-Heart-List...2087658&sr=1-2.
I had seen and been wowed by the African Gray parrot-Alex on TV so when I saw the book I knew I would love it and I did.
I'll add the Corgi book to my list as well. Thanks!
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Thank you!!!!!
