What was your favorite animal story/book as a kid?
Posted by yabbitgirl on Dec 11, 2010 · Member since Apr 2006 · 14266 posts
I was just remembering my favourite animal books as a child. Winnie the Pooh of course (the real one, not the Disney knockoffs), Charlotte's Web, and Beautiful Joe. No, not the one about the man who was a boxer, but about the dog!! I just discovered that BJ is available from Project Gutenberg which is great because a paperback of it is like $18 USD, which is insane.
I never read Black Beauty till a few years ago. BB is referenced as Joe's reason for telling his life's story.
What about you?
As a kid, I was a member of the Sesame Street book club. My dad would always read them to me..complete with voices. Those books were awesome. Other books were Golly Gump Swallowed a Fly and a GloWorm book that had glowing pages.
In junior high, I got into National Geographic. In high school, I switched to vampires, serial killers, monsters, etc. But not fiction books..information books on those subjects. Haha
I now like social commentary/cultural studies books. They combine sociology, philosophy, and psychology all in one.
I should note, I have all my Sesame Street books.
My absolute favorite was And That's What Happened To Little Lucy.
http://www.amazon.com/Thats-Happened-Little-Right-Books/dp/0394999452/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292106233&sr=1-1
Oh shizzz..I totally didn't post any animal stories. I'm sorry, Yabbit..I ruined your thread. I don't have any animal stories. :-/ I'll remove my post if you want me to.
As if the Muppet books weren't full of animals!! I beg your pardon, Mr Big Bird--but you should know better! WHAT would Mr Snuffleupagus say! :-D
I still have my Winnie the Pooh, Charlotte's Web, and Stuart Little books. Does Where the Wild Things Are count as an animal book?
As if the Muppet books weren't full of animals!! I beg your pardon, Mr Big Bird--but you should know better! WHAT would Mr Snuffleupagus say! :-D
True. My mistake. ;D
Does Where the Wild Things Are count as an animal book?
I'd say so. Those creatures were animalistic.
I concur, Storm. After all, the little boy was acting like a wild animal, too.
I've been wracking my brain and I can't remember any animal stories that I liked; I know there must have been a few. Two animal-related favorites were My Side Of The Mountain and the James Herriot series.
I still have my Winnie the Pooh, Charlotte's Web, and Stuart Little books. Does Where the Wild Things Are count as an animal book?
YES I loved all of those books :) And Mr. Popper's Penguins and Trumpet of the Swan.
I loved this picture book called Lorenzo and Angelina, told from the points of view of a stubborn girl and a stubborn donkey, who ends up saving her life.
And I loved Amy's Goose, a picture book in which, "Amy nurses a wild goose back to health and struggles to decide whether to keep it on the farm or let it be free" (amazon description). It was so sweet.
And I loved the Angelina Ballerina books, about the little mouse and her adventures. I'm sure there are so many others. I love children's books.
Stellaluna, The Poky Little Puppy, and Shiloh. :)
Ohhh I read Stellaluna to the little girl I nanny for. And we played this game like Pictionary where I drew pictures of different things and they guessed what they were, so I drew a bat and she says, "Stellaluna!" She's 1 1/2 and awesome.
Ohhh I read Stellaluna to the little girl I nanny for. And we played this game like Pictionary where I drew pictures of different things and they guessed what they were, so I drew a bat and she says, "Stellaluna!" She's 1 1/2 and awesome.
Aw, that's so cute! I could always relate to Stellaluna. I'm just wanting to hang upside down when everyone else is right side up. :)
Charlotte's Web involved too many tears to call it a favorite. How come so many children's books with animals are so sad: Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, parts of Island of the Blue Dolphin, Charlotte's Web, The Yearling...
Charlotte's Web involved too many tears to call it a favorite. How come so many children's books with animals are so sad: Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, parts of Island of the Blue Dolphin, Charlotte's Web, The Yearling...
Because they're written by adults who want to teach the kids about mortality. You wanna do that, get the kid a hamster. It's only gonna live about 2 years, and that's if you're lucky, because they're so inbred.
But there are other books that aren't quite so sad. I just thought of another favourite: Pagoo! I used to get it from the school library and just pore over the illustrations for hours. And of course being from Iowa, the sea was just so exotic.
Does The Wind in the Willows count as an animal story? OK, they live like people and they talk and stuff. But I love it.
Island of the Blue Dolphin just seemed sad in every way, not necessarily the "animal story" part. I tried to listen to the audio book of it once and now I know why I never checked out the book when I was in school.
Ohhh I read Stellaluna to the little girl I nanny for. And we played this game like Pictionary where I drew pictures of different things and they guessed what they were, so I drew a bat and she says, "Stellaluna!" She's 1 1/2 and awesome.
:) <3
Aw, that's so cute! I could always relate to Stellaluna. I'm just wanting to hang upside down when everyone else is right side up. :)
Charlotte's Web involved too many tears to call it a favorite. How come so many children's books with animals are so sad: Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, parts of Island of the Blue Dolphin, Charlotte's Web, The Yearling...
Oh man, I read Where the Red Fern Grows in 5th grade and I started crying buckets. I couldn't handle it. But I actually love things that make me cry.
Ditto. Where the Red Fern Grows is a total tear-jerker. I bawled too.
I don't remember reading many books when I was a kid. I've never been much of a book person... even though I'd like to be.
The only animal book I can remember from my childhood was the Australian 12 days of christmas. The pictures were great and I enjoyed singing along to it.
"Twelve parrots prattling, Eleven numbats nagging, Ten lizards leaping, Nine wombats working, Eight possums playing, Seven koalas climbing, Six platypuses, Five kangaroos, Four kookaburras, Three jabirus, Two pink galahs, And an emu up a gum tree!"
Where the Wild Things Grow was definitely awesome. I used to read those "Clifford" books too. The big red dog. I read anything about the "Berenstain Bears" too! I know there are lots more, but those stand out the most. I miss those books. :)
My favorites were Babe and Charlotte's Web. I also really liked Where the Red Fern Grows.
My favorites were Babe and Charlotte's Web. I also really liked Where the Red Fern Grows.
You know, I never read Where the Red Fern Grows because everyone said it was so sad. I did read Old Yeller, though. I hated having to read "The Kitten" and "The Red Pony." In class it felt like the teacher wanted to watch the upset reactions of the girls.
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