Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books for Readers Who Like Animals/Pets

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Books for Readers Who Like ____.  The possibilities are endless!  But I think I'm going to try to go with something a bit different and choose: Animals/Pets

Top Ten Books for Readers Who Like Animals/Pets:

The Art of Racing in the Rain
by Garth Stein

Not only does this book prominently feature a dog... he's the narrator!  I really enjoyed reading Enzo's take on life.  He's something of a philosopher, trapped in the body of a canine.

Dogsbody
by Diana Wynne Jones

The main character in this book really is trapped in the body of a dog!  Sirius is condemned to be born as a dog after being accused of a crime he didn't commit.

Harry Potter series
by J. K. Rowling

Though the pets kind of took a backseat in the later books, I thought the concept of them was really cute.  Who could forget Harry's owl, Ron's rat, or Hermione's cat?

His Dark Materials series
by Philip Pullman

The animals in these books aren't so much pets as they are reflections of their owners' souls.  The concept of dæmons is such an interesting one.  Who read this series and didn't wish for a dæmon of their own?

I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith

One of the characters I remember fondly from this book is Heloise, Cassandra's Bull Terrier.  She has such a bond with that dog; it's lovely to see.

Jolted: Newton Starker's Rules for Survival
by Arthur Slade

It's not often that you see a pig as a pet, but that's just what you'll find in this cute little book.  Josephine is the little pig in question, and she's more than just a pet; she actually ends up saving someone else's bacon.

Liesl & Po
by Lauren Oliver

So far, we've had all sort of different animals in these books... but they've all been alive.  This book features Bundle, an animal of indeterminate species, who's a ghost.  Bundle's favourite saying is "Mwark!"  Now... is it a cat or a dog?

The Rainbow Kid series
by Jeanne Betancourt

I loved these books when I was a preteen.  They're all about a girl named Aviva and her unusual (at that time) living arrangement: her divorced parents have shared custody, so she spends one week living with each.  Through the course of the series, she has a number of pets, including dogs and a turtle.  (Two of the subsequent books are called Turtle Time and Puppy Love, so it's kind of obvious that animals will feature prominently in the stories.)

Ramona series
by Beverly Cleary

The Quimbys' cat, Picky-Picky, might not have made the best pet, but he was a memorable character, for sure.  I still remember when he ate the girls' jack-o-lantern, and their mother (not wanting to waste it) cut it up to use in her cooking.  Beezus made a comment about not wanting to eat cat spit.  Ah, Picky-Picky...

Tiger Moon
by Antonia Michaelis

This animal in this book, a white tiger named Nitish, might not be a pet in the traditional sense, but he's a wonderful character and friend to the protagonist.  He injects some humour into the story with his constant fretting and neuroses.











What are some of your favourite books that feature animals and/or pets?



6 comments:

  1. I love Racing in the Rain Enzo is so adorable. It is supposed to be coming out in movie sometime, but I haven't heard anything about it recently.

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  2. The Art Of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is awesome!! I just attenuated an author event/book signing on March 6th featuring Garth Stein... He's promoting his new novel A Sudden Light and was an awesome author to hear speak.

    Nice list of books for this week's TTT post!! Here's a link to my TTT post for this week: http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2015/03/top-ten-tuesday-ten-books-for-readers.html

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    1. I've had A Sudden Light on my want-to-read list for a while. If it's half as good as The Art of Racing in the Rain, I might really enjoy it!

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  3. Cool list! I haven't read any of these books, but I do think that stories with pets in them are great. I don't generally like a book that is ALL about the pet, but having one in it? Yes please! Aidyl @ Noveltea

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    1. I haven't read many books that are all about the pet (e.g., Marley & Me)... but I think those tend to be more non-fiction than fiction.

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