Animal Literature

Because animals are so important to our culture, they are often portrayed in our arts, including literature. Since I'm an English major, I've decided to share some of my favorite animal-centric novels, short stories, poems, and characters.

Animal Novels
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. The ways of animals versus those of humans are examined in several stories.
That Quail, Robert by Margaret A. Stanger (non-fiction that reads like fiction). The life of a darling quail.
King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry. A young Islamic boy and the one of the Thoroughbred breed's founding stallions form a powerful friendship. (Newbery Medal winner)
The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth. In this lovely story, the maid of an impoverished Japanese artist brings home a spiritual bobtailed cat. (Newbery Medal winner)
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. The classic story of horse who experiences both love and abuse from humans.
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (another non-fiction). Exhilaration, disasters, love, and triumphs fill this history of Seabiscuit and those who knew him.
Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien. A mother mouse trying to save her children meets abnormally intelligent rats. (Newbery Medal winner)

Animal Short Stories
A White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett. A beautiful piece of American realism in which a young girl must decide the fate of a beautiful bird.
A Simple Heart by Gustave Flaubert (sometimes published as a novella). A poor woman's life has several loves, the most powerful of which is that of a parrot.
The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe. A gothic story in which a madman battles his once-favored cat.
Axolotl by Julio Cortazar. A surreal tale of a man who becomes entranced with a zoo's axolotls.

Animal Poems
"El lagarto viejo" by Federico Garcia Lorca
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
"I heard a fly buzz when I died" by Emily Dickinson
"A Blessing" by James Wright

My Favorite Animal Characters
Shere Kahn from The Jungle Book
The cat from The Cat Who Went to Heaven
Ginger from Black Beauty
Dawson from The Great Mouse Detective series
The Cheshire Cat from The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland

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