Novels in which animals are the main character

crich70 · 10-25-2014, 01:59 PM

I thought it might prove interesting to compile a list of books which have animal characters as the star. Those that occur to me off the top of my head are:

Black Beauty- horse (Anna Sewell)
Call of the Wild - dog (Jack London)
Bambi - deer (Felix Salten)
Born Free- lioness (Joy Adamson)

Does anyone here at MR know of other books in which an animal is in the starring role?
I thought I'd combine the list as it now stands.

Quote:

Black Beauty- horse (Anna Sewell)
Call of the Wild - dog (Jack London)
Bambi - deer (Felix Salten)
Born Free- lioness (Joy Adamson)

Incredible Journey (two dogs and a cat) and Bel Ria (dog) by Sheila Burnford.
101 Dalmatians and its sequel Starlight Barking (dogs) by Dodie Smith.
Beautiful Joe (dog) by Marshall Saunders.
Greyfriars Bobby (dog) by Eleanor Atkinson.
The Autobiography of Foudini M. Cat (cat) by Susan Schaeffer.
Magnifi-Cat (cat) by Carolyn and Edmund Sheehan.
Rhubarb and its sequels (cat) by H. Allen Smith.
James the Connoisseur Cat and its sequels (cat) by Harriet Hahn.
Watership Down - rabbits (Richard Adams)
The Plague Dogs(Richard Adams)
Charlotte's Web - E. B. White
Animal Farm - George Orwell
"Raptor Red" by Robert Bakker
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
Quintaglio Ascension trilogy (Dinosaurs) - Robert J. Sawyer
Joe Grey mysteries,(talking cats)-Shirley Rousseau Murphy's
Diane Duane's Feline Wizards series - Diane Duane
Redwall series (mouse) by Brian Jacques
Dean Koontz: dogs
A Big Little Life
ASK ANNA: Advice for the Furry and Forlorn
Bliss to You: Trixie's Guide to a Happy Life

Ann Martin: dog
The Autobiography of a Stray

W. Bruce Cameron:
A Dog's Purpose

Albert Payson Terhune:
Lad: A Dog

Paul Auster: dog
TimbuktuTailchaser's Song by Tad Williams
Pyewacket by Rosemary Weir
The Silent Sky: (passenger Pigeon)-Allan W. Eckert
Tailchaser's Song, (cat)by Tad Williams
It's Mrs. _Frisby_ and the Rats of N.I.M.H.by Robert C. O'brien
Duncton Wood by William Horwood (moles)
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (all sorts of wild animals)
Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
Captain Bluebear: Of course a bear (and yes, he is blue)
Rumo: A Wolpertinger (a creature half dog half deer)
The City of lost books: A Lindwurm (like a humanoid dragon)
Der Schrecksenmeister (sorry, this is nearly untranslatable. Something like "witchmaster" grasps maybe the meaning) : A cat (or better a magical type called "crat")
The most famous bear of all time: Winnie-the-Pooh
Jog Rummage (hedgehogs and rats) by Grahame Wright
Anonymous Rex, and others by Eric Garcia-
Dog on It by Spencer Quinn
Evolution by Stephen Baxter
Not to forget Kipling's The Jungle Books
Michael Bond's Paddington Bear
A Night in Lonesome October" - Roger Zelazny
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy
Mus of Kerbridge by Paul Kidd
Lovelock ( Capuchin Monkey) co-written by Orson Scott Card and Katherine Kidd

Quite a list of books where animals are the main character

Catlady · 10-25-2014, 02:27 PM

Here are a few:

Incredible Journey (two dogs and a cat) and Bel Ria (dog) by Sheila Burnford.
101 Dalmatians and its sequel Starlight Barking (dogs) by Dodie Smith.
Beautiful Joe (dog) by Marshall Saunders.
Greyfriars Bobby (dog) by Eleanor Atkinson.
The Autobiography of Foudini M. Cat (cat) by Susan Schaeffer.
Magnifi-Cat (cat) by Carolyn and Edmund Sheehan.
Rhubarb and its sequels (cat) by H. Allen Smith.
James the Connoisseur Cat and its sequels (cat) by Harriet Hahn.

crich70 · 10-25-2014, 02:32 PM

Wow. I had no idea there were so many with cats and dogs as the star. I had forgotten about Incredible Journey and 101 Dalmatians, and wasn't aware that Greyfriars Bobby was a book. I know Disney made a movie of that title though.

Bilbo1967 · 10-25-2014, 02:37 PM

Watership Down - rabbits (Richard Adams)

curtw · 10-25-2014, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

Watership Down - rabbits (Richard Adams)

Also Richard Adams, The Plague Dogs.

Charlotte's Web
Animal Farm

bfisher · 10-25-2014, 02:50 PM

My animal fav is "Raptor Red" by Robert Bakker - the imagined life of a female Utahraptor in the Creteceous Period

not available as an ebook

available as an audiobook

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Ra.../9780743545761

Catlady · 10-25-2014, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

Wow. I had no idea there were so many with cats and dogs as the star. I had forgotten about Incredible Journey and 101 Dalmatians, and wasn't aware that Greyfriars Bobby was a book. I know Disney made a movie of that title though.

Before the Disney movie, the story of Greyfriars Bobby (a terrier) was adapted for Lassie (a collie) as Challenge to Lassie.

ATDrake · 10-25-2014, 02:55 PM

On the sfnal side:

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett, told from the perspective of the magical animals which usually show up to help the plucky resourceful kids in storybooks

Robert J. Sawyer's Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, where the world is made up of dinosaurs (with dinosaur Galileo, Darwin, and Freud!)

SF/fantasy author Shirley Rousseau Murphy's Joe Grey mysteries, set in a world of talking cats

Diane Duane's Feline Wizards series, set in her Young Wizards universe, but with "ordinary" cats as hidden magicians

crich70 · 10-25-2014, 03:06 PM

One I just remembered is "Mrs. Brisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'brien. There were some sequels as well.

bfisher · 10-25-2014, 03:21 PM

[QUOTE=ATDrake;2958141]On the sfnal side:

Robert J. Sawyer's Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, where the world is made up of dinosaurs (with dinosaur Galileo, Darwin, and Freud!)
/QUOTE]

There are also the matriarchal genetic-engineering dinosaurs in Harry Harrison's Eden series

Dazrin · 10-25-2014, 03:26 PM

Redwall series by Brian Jacques

John K · 10-25-2014, 03:46 PM

Dean Koontz: dogs
A Big Little Life
ASK ANNA: Advice for the Furry and Forlorn
Bliss to You: Trixie's Guide to a Happy Life

Ann Martin: dog
The Autobiography of a Stray

W. Bruce Cameron:
A Dog's Purpose

Albert Payson Terhune:
Lad: A Dog

Paul Auster: dog
Timbuktu

DiapDealer · 10-25-2014, 04:38 PM

Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams
Pyewacket by Rosemary Weir
The Silent Sky: The Incredible Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon by Allan W. Eckert

WillAdams · 10-25-2014, 04:45 PM

Tailchaser's Song, a fantasy novel by Tad Williams w/ a cat as protagonist.

It's Mrs. _Frisby_ and the Rats of N.I.M.H.

There's a list on Goodreads for this: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/animal-protagonist

crich70 · 10-25-2014, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillAdams

Tailchaser's Song, a fantasy novel by Tad Williams w/ a cat as protagonist.

It's Mrs. _Frisby_ and the Rats of N.I.M.H.

There's a list on Goodreads for this: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/animal-protagonist

Ooops. Don't know how I ended up subbing a B for an F in Frisby. My bad. Thanks for the goodreads link.

10-25-2014, 02:27 PM	#2
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,418 Karma: 52613881 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	Here are a few: Incredible Journey (two dogs and a cat) and Bel Ria (dog) by Sheila Burnford. 101 Dalmatians and its sequel Starlight Barking (dogs) by Dodie Smith. Beautiful Joe (dog) by Marshall Saunders. Greyfriars Bobby (dog) by Eleanor Atkinson. The Autobiography of Foudini M. Cat (cat) by Susan Schaeffer. Magnifi-Cat (cat) by Carolyn and Edmund Sheehan. Rhubarb and its sequels (cat) by H. Allen Smith. James the Connoisseur Cat and its sequels (cat) by Harriet Hahn.

10-25-2014, 02:55 PM	#8
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	On the sfnal side: The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett, told from the perspective of the magical animals which usually show up to help the plucky resourceful kids in storybooks Robert J. Sawyer's Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, where the world is made up of dinosaurs (with dinosaur Galileo, Darwin, and Freud!) SF/fantasy author Shirley Rousseau Murphy's Joe Grey mysteries, set in a world of talking cats Diane Duane's Feline Wizards series, set in her Young Wizards universe, but with "ordinary" cats as hidden magicians Last edited by ATDrake; 10-25-2014 at 02:59 PM. Reason: People sure love their magical cats.

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10-25-2014, 02:32 PM	#3
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Wow. I had no idea there were so many with cats and dogs as the star. I had forgotten about Incredible Journey and 101 Dalmatians, and wasn't aware that Greyfriars Bobby was a book. I know Disney made a movie of that title though.

10-25-2014, 02:37 PM	#4
Bilbo1967 Not scared! Posts: 13,424 Karma: 81011643 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Midlands, UK Device: Kindle Paperwhite 10, Huawei M5 10	Watership Down - rabbits (Richard Adams)

10-25-2014, 02:50 PM	#6
bfisher Wizard Posts: 1,638 Karma: 28483498 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Ottawa Canada Device: Sony PRS-T3, Galaxy (Aldiko, Kobo app)	My animal fav is "Raptor Red" by Robert Bakker - the imagined life of a female Utahraptor in the Creteceous Period not available as an ebook available as an audiobook http://books.simonandschuster.com/Ra.../9780743545761

10-25-2014, 03:06 PM	#9
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	One I just remembered is "Mrs. Brisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'brien. There were some sequels as well.

10-25-2014, 03:21 PM	#10
bfisher Wizard Posts: 1,638 Karma: 28483498 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Ottawa Canada Device: Sony PRS-T3, Galaxy (Aldiko, Kobo app)	[QUOTE=ATDrake;2958141]On the sfnal side: Robert J. Sawyer's Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, where the world is made up of dinosaurs (with dinosaur Galileo, Darwin, and Freud!) /QUOTE] There are also the matriarchal genetic-engineering dinosaurs in Harry Harrison's Eden series

10-25-2014, 03:26 PM	#11
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,726 Karma: 75825105 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	Redwall series by Brian Jacques

10-25-2014, 03:46 PM	#12
John K Reader Posts: 266 Karma: 13465550 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle DXG, Kobo Forma	Dean Koontz: dogs A Big Little Life ASK ANNA: Advice for the Furry and Forlorn Bliss to You: Trixie's Guide to a Happy Life Ann Martin: dog The Autobiography of a Stray W. Bruce Cameron: A Dog's Purpose Albert Payson Terhune: Lad: A Dog Paul Auster: dog Timbuktu

10-25-2014, 04:38 PM	#13
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,505 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams Pyewacket by Rosemary Weir The Silent Sky: The Incredible Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon by Allan W. Eckert

10-25-2014, 04:45 PM	#14
WillAdams Wizard Posts: 1,258 Karma: 3439432 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (300ppi), Samsung Galaxy Book 12	Tailchaser's Song, a fantasy novel by Tad Williams w/ a cat as protagonist. It's Mrs. _Frisby_ and the Rats of N.I.M.H. There's a list on Goodreads for this: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/animal-protagonist

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