Book list

Animal books

Reading a good book about animals can be like watching a good documentary. You get to see them really close up. More, with some books you can discover what the animals are thinking. If the author is really knowledgeable you can learn a lot about your animal. I learnt about wild stallions from Mary O'Hara's 'My Friend Flicka'.

All books

The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

Dr Dolittle adventures to Africa to cure the monkeys of a terrible illness.

The Polar Bear Explorers' Club by Alex Bell

Junior Explorer Stella Starflake Pearl encounters wild, weird and downright dangerous magic in the Icelands.

Beetle Boy by M G Leonard

Darkus tracks down his lost father...with the help of his uncle, friends and a vast beetle army. But he makes a serious enemy out of Lucretia Cutter, beetle collector.

The Last Wild by Piers Torday

There are wild animals out there to be saved and whatever you think of him, Kester Jaynes really is the man for the job...unless you know

The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

Epic fairytale set in the grim starving forests of Russia. Feo and her wolves set out to rescue her mother from prison.

Highway Robbery by Kate Thompson

A tale of highway robbery, but not necessarily the obvious kind.

Storlax by Robert Jackson and Bubbi Morthens

Swim with the Hofsin as they make the Great Journey from their feeding grounds in the North Atlantic all the way upriver to the Home Pool.

Firewing by Kenneth Oppel

Adventures in the Underworld. Superhero bats, unlikely hero bats, deadly enemy bats. Fluffy beasties, human emotions.

Fly, Cherokee, Fly by Chris d'Lacey

Darryl finds an injured racing pigeon hiding under a bush in the local park, and takes it home. As he cherishes the damaged bird, he learns a lot about life, bullies, pigeon fanciers and pigeons.

Not Just Rescuing by Helen Flint

How to make the most of life if you find yourself spending a summer holiday in an animal rescue station.

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C O'Brien

Why should this tribe of super-rats help ordinary mousewife, Mrs Frisby? And how did the rats become super-rats?

Zarconi's Magic Flying Fish by Kirsty Murray

Gus, dumped on grandparents he didn't know he had, in a travelling circus that he's never heard of, finds to his surprise, that it's where he belongs.

War Dog by Martin Booth

Jet, the poacher's dog, is taken into the army when her owner is sent to prison. She is trained as an infantry patrol dog and sent to France on active service.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Passed from owner to owner, horse Black Beauty meets good, cruel and foolish men.

Humanzee by Susan Gates

Chingwe, the Missing Link, (maybe), rescued from a freak show, becomes an object of interest to scientists and fundamental Christians. Both sides feel they have a point to make. But Nemo, flea handler extraordinaire at his parent's flea circus, just wants Chingwe to enjoy a quiet old age . . .

The Shark Callers by Eric Campbell

Two boys. One calls up the sharks intentionally to hunt them, one calls them up unintentionally, and finds himself hunted.

Elephant Ben by Geoffrey Malone

Real-life safari adventure. Ben and his gamewarden father rescue a baby elephant from a swamp. One good deed deserves another . . .

Blind Beauty by K M Peyton

The horse is a winner. The girl is a loser. Can the horse make anything of her? All the excitement of the Winner's Enclosure at the Grand National.