Authors

Bond, Michael. Tales of Olga da Polga. 1973. 113p. Recounts the adventures of an unusual guinea pig that specializes in tall tales.

Boyd, Richard. The Last Dodo. 1967. 131p. The owner's children listen to each animal in the pet shop tell a story until the dodo recalls the fantastic time he had as a free bird.

Brooks, Walter R. Freddy goes to Florida. 1942. 196p. The barnyard animals decide to escape the cold winter by vacationing in sunny Florida.

Buchwald, Emilie. Floramel and Esteban. c1982. 72p. A lonely cow and a lazy cattle egret form a convenient partnership which soon evolves into something quite special. The Stanly County Public Library doesn't own a copy of this book, but this is a story worth tracking down!

Burgess, Thornton W. Old Mother West Wind. 1910. 140p. In the tradition of The Wind in the Willows and Uncle Wiggily, here are sixteen stories about a community of animals: Peter Rabbit, Johnny Chuck, Reddy Fox, and others. The Stanly County Public Library doesn't own a copy of this classic, but we're trying to get a copy!

Coatsworth, Elizabeth. Pika and the Roses. 1959. 32p. Pika was a young, cocky rock rabbit, paying little heed to his elders' warning: "Beware of the weasel!" Then one day, Pika learns that there really is a weasel.

Diggs, Lucy. Selene Goes Home.1989. 56p. Selene the cat does not like her mistress's new home aboard a houseboat and returns to her old home with the help of a pesky seagull. Illustrated with line drawings, this would make a fine read-aloud for the whole family.

Drury, Roger W. The Champion of Merrimack County. 1976. 198p. The discovery of a bike-riding mouse in the bathtub is just the beginning of a series of humorous communications for the Berryfield family.

Erickson, Russell E. Warton and Morton. 1976. 63p. Two brother toads, off on a camping trip, are separated during a flash flood and before reuniting have much more adventure than they bargained for. If you like this story, there are plenty more where this one comes from. Great for grades 2-4. This would also make a great read-aloud to share with the entire family.

Frame, Janet. Mona Minim and the smell of the sun. 1969. 94p. A house ant gets taken by the garden ants when she wanders away from her nest and her advice when she returns is that everyone must see the world for himself. The Stanly County Public Library doesn't own this book, but it's well worth tracking down!

Garis, Howard R. Uncle Wiggily's Story Book. c1987. 247p. A classic collection of thirty-six stories about the adventures of a wise rabbit and his animal and human friends. Adults may find the stories a bit hokey, but kids love 'em! Great read alouds for younger children.

Grahame, Kenneth, The Wind in the Willows. 1953. 241p. The escapades of four animal friends who live along a river in the English countryside--Toad, Mole, Rat, and Badger.

Hamilton, Carol. The Dawn Seekers. 1987. 160p. Quentin, a nocturnal rodent who has never seen the color green, accompanies two other desert animals on a perilous quest for new experiences in the daytime desert.

Hanel, Wolfram. Jasmine and Rex. 1995. 56p. In this reworking of the ROmeo and Juliet story, Rex the dog and Jasmine the cat fall in love and try to defy the feud that is keeping them apart.

Hayes, Geoffrey. Patrick COmes to Puttyville; and other stories. 1978. 116p. Five stories relate the experiences of Mama and Patrick Bear who leave their home in the seafaring town of Catfish Bay and start a new life in the country.

Hayes, Geoffrey. The Alligator and his Uncle Tooth: A Novel of the Sea. 1977. 88p. A shy young alligator meets his Uncle Tooth, a crusty ex-sea captain, who tells him of his many adventures at sea.

Hoban, Russell. The Mouse and his child. 1967. 181p. A wind-up toy mouse and his child, broken and then mended, set out to find the animals and doll house with which they were in the toy shop. Along the way, they make enemies with a dump rat and have many adventures. Father and son survive many trials and tribulations until they achieve a satisfactory happy ending. Many critics consider this book to be Hoban's finest work.

Holman, Felice. The Cricket Winter. 1967. 107p. A little boy exchanges Morse code messages with the cricket that lives under his house and together they trap the rat that has been plaguing the boy's father and the cricket's friends. Felice Holman is a much underrated author, in our opinion. If you liked Charlotte's Web, try this one. Unfortunately, it is out of print, but it's well worth tracking down.

Jarrell, Randall. The Bat-Poet. 1964. 42p. A little brown bat makes up poems during the day to recite to his friends.

Johnson, Annabel and Edgar. I am Leaper.

Kherdian, David. Song in the Walnut Grove. 1982. 96p. A young cricket goes out into the daylight in search of answers to his questions and discovers friendship.

King-Smith, Dick. The Fox Busters. 1978. 117p. A community of chickens continually preyed on by foxes is saved by the birth of three wonder chicks, who grow into magnificent flying machines and lead a climactic barnyard battle.

King-Smith, Dick. Harriet's Hare. 1995. 104p. A young girl's life with her father on their English farm is changed when she befriends a talking hare that is really a shape-changing alien.

King-Smith, Dick. Three Terrible Trins. 1994. 105p. Three mice brothers, ignoring the class system separating the four clans of rodents in their farm house, befriend a lower class mouse and form a team to fight cats.

Kipling, Rudyard. The Just-So Stories. The library has several editions of this enduring classic. Fun to read, and fun to hear.

Latimer, Jim. Going the Moose Way Home.

Lawson, Robert. Rabbit Hill., 1956. 176p. The wild creatures rejoice when people move into the big house, for the new people are "planting folks" and the garden is big enough to provide for all.

Lawson, Robert. The Tough Winter. 1954. 128p. Sequel to Rabbit Hill.

Lisle, Janet Taylor. Forest. 1993. 150p. Twelve-year-old Amber's invasion of an organised forest community of squirrels starts a war between humans and beasts, despite the protests of an unconventional and imaginative squirrel named Woodbine.

Lively, Penelope. The Voyage of QV 66. 1979. 172 p. In an England devoid of People, a group of animal friends embarks on a voyage to the London Zoo to learn the identity of one of their members who resembles People but is small and has fur.

Lofting, Hugh. The Story of Doctor Dolittle. 1948. 180 p. Being the history of his peculiar life at home and astonishing adventures in foreign parts.

Milne, A.A. Winnie-the-Pooh. 1954. 159p. The various adventures of Christopher Robin and his friends in which Pooh Bear uses a balloon to get honey, Piglet meets a Heffalump, and Eeyore has a birthday.

Murphy, Shirley Rousseau. The Flight of the Fox. 1978. 164p. With the help of his friends, Rory, a wandering kangaroo rat, restores the model of a Fairey Fox airplane to fly on his travels and foils a flock of starlings that has overrun the town.

Pochocki, Ethel. The Attic Mice. 1990. 113p. Recounts the adventures of a family of mice as they go shopping in the humans' kitchen, discover useful items in the attic, and celebrate Christmas.

Potter, Miriam Clark. Mrs. Goose and her funny friends. 1964. 123p. Join scatterbrained Mrs. Goose and her Animaltown neighbors for eleven sweet and funny stories. This would be a great read aloud book for younger children.

Rush, Caroline. Tales of Mr. Pengachoosa. 1973. 56p. While recovering from a long illness, a little girl is entertained by her pet hamster who tells her stories about his adventurous grandfather.

Rylant, Cynthia. Gooseberry Park. 1995. 133p. When a storm separates Stumpy the squirrel from her newborn babies, her animal friends come to the rescue.

Seidler, Tor. The Wainscott Weasel. 1986. 193p. All sorts of creatures live near the Wainscott Woods on the South Fork of Long Island, but the most remarkable citizens of this seaside comunity are the weasels, including Zeke Whitebelly, and his boisterous brothers, Bagley Brown, Jr. and Wendy Blackish.

Selden, George. The Cricket in Times Square. 1966. 151p. Chester, a cricket from rural Connecticut, moves to New York City and has many adventures. There are many other books in this series.

Selden, George. The Mice, the monks, and the Christmas Tree. 1963. 38p. A sweet little story about how the monastery's mice decide to give a decorated Christmas tree to the monks.

Sharp, Margery. The Rescuers: a fantasy. 1959. 149p. Three mice, Miss Bianca, Bernard, and Nils, who are members of the Prisoners' Aid Society, set out to liberate a Norwegian Poet held captive. This is the first book in a series of exciting and funny adventure stories. You've seen the movie. Now read the book!

Shecter, Ben. Molly Patch and her Animal Friends. 1975. 59p. Molly Patch moves to the country and makes friends with her animal neighbors.

Shecter, Ben. Stone House Stories. 1975. 59p. Four fun-filled, feel-good stories about the activities of Owl, Chicken, Rabbit, Porcupine, Muskrat, Woodchuck, and other animal friends.

Stevenson, James. Oliver, Clarence & Violet. c1982. 96p. Oliver, a beaver, decides to build a ship and leave his pond to look for greener pastures, but finds that all his animal friends want to accompany him.

Van de Wetering, Janwillem. Hugh Pine and the Good Place. 1986. 64p. Hugh Pine, a porcupine, decides to live alone on an island in order to get away from all the problems the forest animals bring to him; but after a time he decides being alone isn't so wonderful after all. There are several other stories about Hugh Pine and his friends.

Wrightson, Patricia. Moon-dark. 1988. 169p. As man builds and settles on land formerly occupied by wildlife, and old fisherman's dog all the other animals of the territory carry on nocturnal activities to make their home safer.