Let’s start with a definition of beast-tales. They are stories where a main character is an animal (or sometimes a monster). Most of them have the point-of-view of the animal, although occasionally I will cheat on that definition.
The Redwall series is an example of beast tales. Yes, I like Redwall. No, it doesn’t make my list of favorites, mostly because I struggle with the accents too much. The Velveteen Rabbit is a classic example of a beast tale. I like it, too, but not enough for this list. 😉
So, in random order, here are some of my favorite beast tales.
Children’s Books
Skippy Jon Jones series, by Judy Schachner
Horton Hatches the Egg, by Dr. Seuss
The Serendipity series, by Stephen Cosgrove
The Saggy Baggy Elephant, and The Tawny Scrawny Lion, by Kathryn Jackson
The Pigeon series, by Mo Willems
Juvenile/Young Adult
One Hundred and One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith (no, not the Disney version)
The Town Cats and Other Tales, by Lloyd Alexander
The Trumpet of the Swan, and Charlotte’s Web, and Stuart Little, by E.B. White
Man o’ War, by Walter Farley
The Sign of the Cat, by Lynne Jonell
The Underland Chronicles series, by Suzanne Collins (ever so much better than The Hunger Games, in my opinion)
The Unicorn Chronicles series, by Bruce Coville
Dragon of the Lost Sea series, by Laurence Yep
The Cricket in Times Square series, by George Selden
Dragon Keeper series, by Carole Wilkinson
Adult
The Donkey’s Gift, by Thomas M. Coffey
The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford
There you go! It doesn’t look like a long list, but several of them are series, so it should keep you busy for a few days. 🙂 Curl up with your favorite furry friend and read a book about animals.
What’s your favorite beast tale?
Happy reading,
M. C. Lee
© 2020 M. C. Lee LLC. All rights reserved.
