Nothing is better than a snuggle from a pet. The next best thing is reading animal stories. In the list below you will find fiction books about animals and human communications. You will be touched by the tremendous love between animals and human beings.
Seven perfect things : a novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde
A heart-stirring novel about the joy that comes from finding love in unexpected places by the New York Times and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author. Thirteen-year-old Abby Hubble lives in an unhappy home in the Sierra Nevada foothills where her father makes life miserable for her and her mother, Mary. One day Abby witnesses a man dump a litter of puppies into the nearby river. Diving in to rescue all seven…she takes them to an abandoned cabin..
West With Giraffes: A Novel by Lynda Rutledge
An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America. Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
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Martel’s novel tells the story of Pi–short for Piscine–an unusual boy raised in a zoo in India. Pi’s father decides to move the family to live in Canada and sell the animals to the great zoos of America. The ship taking them across the Pacific sinks and Pi finds himself the sole human survivor on a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra with a broken leg and Bengal tiger called Richard Parker.
How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior
A curmudgeonly but charming old woman, her estranged grandson, and a colony of penguins proves it’s never too late to be the person you want to be in this rich, heartwarming story. Eighty-five-year-old Veronica McCreedy is estranged from her family and wants to find a worthwhile cause to leave her fortune to. When she sees a documentary about penguins being studied in Antarctica, she tells the scientists she’s coming to visit-and won’t take no for an answer.
Furmidable Foes by Brown, Rita Mae
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Spring arrives in northern Virginia, and as the ground thaws and the peonies begin to bloom a bright magenta, the women of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church prepare for a Homecoming celebration like no other. Harry, Susan Tucker, and their friends are busy planting flowers and trimming hedges to get the church grounds in shape for the big day.
The Bear by Andrew Kivak
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In an Edenic future, a girl and her father live close to the land in the shadow of a lone mountain. They possess a few remnants of civilization: some books, a pane of glass, a set of flint and steel, a comb. The father teaches the girl how to fish and hunt, the secrets of the seasons and the stars. He is preparing her for an adulthood in harmony with nature, for they are the last two left. But when the girl suddenly finds herself alone in an unknown landscape, it is a bear that will lead her back home through a vast wilderness, which offers the greatest lessons of all.
A Dog’s Courage: A Dog’s Way Home: a novel by Cameron, W. Bruce
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Bella was once a lost dog, but now she lives happily with her people, Lucas and Olivia, only occasionally recalling the hardships in her past. Then a weekend camping trip turns into a harrowing struggle for survival when the Rocky Mountains are engulfed by the biggest wildfire in American history. The raging inferno separates Bella from her people and she is lost once more.
A Solitude of Wolverines: A Novel of Suspense by Henderson, Alice
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While studying wolverines on a wildlife sanctuary in Montana, biologist Alex Carter is run off the road and threatened by locals determined to force her off the land. Undeterred in her mission to help save this threatened species, Alex tracks wolverines on foot and by cameras positioned in remote regions of the preserve. But when she reviews the photos, she discovers disturbing images of an animal of a different kind: a severely injured man seemingly lost and wandering in the wilds.
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
A life-affirming anthem to kindness and self-sacrifice, The Travelling Cat Chronicles shows how the smallest things can provide the greatest joy. We take journeys to explore exotic new places and to return to the comforts of home, to visit old acquaintances and to make new friends. But the most important journey is the one that shows us how to follow our hearts…
The Elephant of Belfast by Walsh, S. Kirk.
Inspired by true events, this vivid and moving story of a young woman zookeeper and the elephant she’s compelled to protect through the German blitz of Belfast during WWll speaks to not only the tragedy of the times, but also to the ongoing sectarian tensions that still exist in Northern Ireland today—perfect for readers of historical and literary fiction alike
Muzzled by David Rosenfelt
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Andy Carpenter is a lawyer who would rather not practice law. He’d rather spend his time working with the Tara Foundation, his dog rescue organization, and being with his family and his two dogs, Tara and Sebastian. But when a friend asks him for a favor that involves both dogs and his lawyerly expertise, he can’t say no.
American Birds: a literary companion
Americans have always been fascinated by birds and from the beginning American writers have captured this keen interest in a variety of genres: poems, journals, memoirs, short stories, essays, and travel accounts. Featuring some of America’s greatest writers and poets, this landmark anthology is a one-of-a-kind field guide to the American literary imagination.
The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide
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A wonderful sui generis novel about a visiting cat who brings joy into a couple’s life in Tokyo
A bestseller in France and winner of Japan’s Kiyama Shohei Literary Award, The Guest Cat, by the acclaimed poet Takashi Hiraide, is a subtly moving and exceptionally beautiful novel about the transient nature of life and idiosyncratic but deeply felt ways of living.
My Life as a YouTuber by Janet Tashjian
Derek Fallon finally found something to get excited about at school―an extracurricular class on making videos! Together with his friends Carly, Matt, and Umberto, Derek can’t wait to create his own Youtube web series. But he soon realizes Youtube stardom is a lot of work. On top of that, it’s time for his foster monkey Frank to go to monkey college so Derek must scramble to find a reason for Frank to stay with his family―if only a little while longer.
Perestroika In Paris : a novel by Jane Smiley
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres and the New York Times best-selling Last Hundred Years Trilogy, a captivating, brilliantly imaginative story of three extraordinary animals–and a young boy–whose lives intersect in Paris Paras is a spirited racehorse at a racetrack west of Paris.
DVD (84 min.)
Spencer is a cat person. Lara is a dog person. Spencer is headed to a beach town to work on his thesis. Lara is coming to the same beach town to escape the shambles of her life. Their personalities couldn’t be more different, but when a reservation screw up lands them, and their pets, in the same vacation rental house, they all have to figure out how to get along with each other.
-Hongmei, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian