Animal Books

When we are toddlers and just learning to read, we are invariably given animal books. This engages us and we are encouraged to construct sentences and spell correctly. My daughter's favorite storybook was about the adventures of Spot the Dog, a cute puppy that kept getting into mischief. The book that my son read over and over was called The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark. He read it so much that it nearly fell to bits. It was a story about Plop who was learning how to hunt but had to overcome his fear of the dark. Then there were the usual picture books that were set in farms and zoos. The Alphabet books ensure that every two year old knows what a zebra looks like.

These stories from our childhood stay with us and we learn about the world around us, especially as a lot of children's animal books tend to give the animals human characteristics. My own favorite book was Wind in the Willows and it's one that I re-read from time to time as an adult. I love the cozy world of the riverbank and the comradeship of Ratty, Mole and Badger. Toad is the lovable rogue who has to be continually rescued by his friends.

Another classic tale is Black Beauty, probably read by every little girl in Britain and perhaps a few boys too but they keep it a secret. There have been several movies and TV series adapted from the book. It must be in the top five list of best sellers of animal books. The Beatrix Potter stories are popular with each generation, who love her lovely tales of Peter Rabbit and his friends. Winnie the Pooh is another character that endures through the years. Who could resist animal books that contain Pooh, Piglet and Tigger?

The sale of rabbit meat went down after the publication of Watership Down by Richard Adams. I didn't think that I would like this tale of talking rabbits but it's one of my favorites. It's a charming but quite scary story of rabbits that struggle against the dangers around them. It put me off rabbit pie for life. This is an example of animal books for adults or older children. Adams wrote another good story, this time a dark book about animal experimentation, called Plague Dogs. Animal books like this can make us think as well as entertain us.

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