Big Red, by Jim Kjelgaard

“Big Red” was a champion Irish Setter; from the moment Danny saw him, he knew Red would be his dog.  Danny was just a lowly trapper, a boy who knew more about the ways of the woods than fancy kennels and dog shows.  But when the two meet for the first time, they quickly become inseparable and Red’s owner entrusts him to Danny’s care.  In the harsh wilderness that Danny calls home, Red proves to be a reliable, loyal companion…even when faced with a legendary enemy!

Mr. Kjelgaard is the prolific author of more than forty novels for young men, and it seems as if I’ve done him a disservice by waiting so long to include him on this list.  Although he was born over a hundred years ago and many of his books have now gone out of print, a good number are still available in retail shops today.  “Big Red” was even made into a Disney movie, a sure sign of its powerful and moving story.  These animal-focused books were some of my favorites growing up, so do yourself a favor and start searching for some of Mr. Kjelgarrd’s writing yourself! 

My Dog Skip, by Willie Morris

This autobiography tells the story of Willie Morris, a 9-year-old boy growing up in rural Yazoo City, Mississippi.   When Willie falls in love with a lively puppy named Skip, the two of them grow up together in a small town which seems to have no shortage of adventures.  Although this book is more of a reflection on the author’s childhood than it is a plot-driven story, I’d still have no hesitation recommending it to young readers.  After all, reading a memoir like “My Dog Skip” will invariably cause children to think about the imminent responsibilities of life in the real world, as well as how they’d like to remember the present.  If you love dogs (and who doesn’t?), I’d recommend you order a copy today.

White Fang, by Jack London

This book is about a rough dog named White Fang, who’s actually three-quarters wolf.  Born in the wilds of Canada’s Yukon Territory, White Fang survives by moving between Indian tribes, ferocious wolf packs and even a dog-fighting ring.  White Fang’s struggles finally come to an end when a gold prospector buys the dog and brings him onward to California.  There, a warm, sunny retirement awaits…or does it?

One of the things I like best about Mr. London’s writing is the fact that he doesn’t shy away from depicting the grisly realities of life on the frontier.  Tough men headed west expecting to live a tough live, and by all accounts they weren’t disappointed.  This book is written in a similar style, although I do have to say that the depictions of violence and cruelty aren’t too excessive.  If anything, this book is an accurate depiction of what frontier life must have been like, and it doesn’t hurt one bit that the main character is a heroic dog! 

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

The narrator of this story is Ishmael, an outcast from society.  While he never really explains much of his own personal circumstances, “Moby Dick” begins with Ishmael taking to the sea in the hopes of changing his life.  He signs on board a Nantucket whaler called the Pequod, which is run by an iron-fisted tyrant named Captain Ahab.  Once on the open seas, it becomes apparent to the crew that this sailing is not driven by the huge profits that come from harvesting whale oil, but rather so that their driven Captain can seek revenge on the whale that disfigured him.  The Pequod’s crew travels the high seas, searching for any sign of that cursed white whale…Moby Dick!

I’ve read “Moby Dick” several times in my life, and it’s important to know that there are many different versions of this book.  The original text by Mr. Melville is 600 pages long and steeped in detail—it’s still a fantastic read today, although younger readers might be perfectly happy with an abridged version or even an Illustrated Classics format.  Whatever version you choose, be sure to add “Moby Dick” to your reading bucket list.  Adventure awaits you on the high seas!

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

In a secret meeting on the farm, an aged pig named Old Major declares that humans are the enemies of all domesticated animals.   Upon Major’s death two younger pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, make it their work to free the other animals from Farmer Jones.   A series of epic battles takes place, and eventually the animals earn their right to self-govern.  Animal Farm should be an idyllic place, although it quickly becomes apparent that no form of government is without its share of political intrigue…

Without giving away any of this excellent plot, it’s important to know beforehand that George Orwell wrote “Animal Farm” as a critique of communist governments, particularly the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.  Several of the plot points were based on real-life events during the Russian Revolution, so it’s important to read carefully to get the most out of this book.  No matter your level of interest in history or politics, though, “Animal Farm” will get you hooked from the first page.  It’s a wonderful story that causes you to actually think, and it’s an absolute must-read for young men.

Misty of Chincoteague, by Margeurite Henry

This book begins with the sinking of a galleon off the coast of Virginia over three hundred years ago, a real-life tragedy which released dozens of Spanish ponies onto the shores of America.  Centuries pass until the modern day when we meet two children, Paul and Maureen Beebe, who are saving their money to buy a Chincoteague pony.   Each year the residents of Chincoteague work together to pen up a number of the wild horses, and the Beebe children find themselves the proud new owners of a foal named Misty.  As much as they love and care for their new animal, however, it becomes quickly apparent to the children that some wild things weren’t meant to be tamed…

“Misty” is one of those classics that you might not be able to find in a bookstore today, but I guarantee there’s a copy waiting in your local library.  Now seventy years after it was first published, the book still carries the same meaning for a new generation of readers.  If you make the effort to search out and read this book, it probably won’t be long before you’re hunting for one of the sequels as well…

Good Boy, Fergus, by David Shannon

Meet Fergus, the Scottie dog who takes disobedience to a whole new level.  This book follows him through a perfect doggy day, from chasing cats and motorcycles to being scratched on his favorite spot.  Even though Fergus has a mind of his own, he’s a perfect angel in the mind of his owners.  There’s nothing he could do that would make him anything but a “good dog!”

This picture book features very few words, and Mr. Shannon chooses to tell the real story through his hilarious illustrations.  Our kids found themselves cracking up at these situations, since they were old enough to know what was really expected of a “good dog”.  This book quickly became one of our favorites, destined to be read again and again.  

Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot, by Dav Pilkey

This is the story of Ricky Ricotta, a lonely little mouse who befriends a mysterious giant robot.   The robot helps Ricky with his homework, stands up to the school bullies, and even saves the world by battling the evil Doctor Stinky McNasty!  Using an amazing graphic novel format, even the most reluctant reader will find himself whizzing through the chapters.

 Some of you might already be familiar with Mr. Pilkey’s work from his epic series, Captain Underpants.  The Ricky Ricotta series features his same brand of unique humor, although slightly turned down for younger readers.  First- and second-grade boys would probably love the juxtaposition of a tiny mouse teamed with a giant robot….at least, I sure did! 

Watership Down, by Richard Adams

This novel is an amazing epic of action and adventure…starring rabbits!  Fiver is the runt of his litter, but he possesses unique powers to see into the future.  When he has a vision that the Sandleford warren will soon be destroyed by a real estate development, he teams up with his brother Hazel to travel in search of a new home.  After a dangerous journey, the two form a new warren called Watership Down.  All seems well, at least until they cross paths with General Woundwort, the tyrant leader of a nearby warren called Efrafra!

I absolutely loved the chance to dive into the world of the rabbits.  Mr. Adams created an entire universe around his characters, including a rabbit language called Lapine.  Even though wading through all the songs and legends of the rabbits seemed a little tiresome at first, the huge amount of background material served to pull me out of my own two-legged life.  By the end of the book, I was completely immersed in the realm of the rabbits!  It was easy enough for me to accept the idea that these animals could talk amongst one another, form organized colonies with their own governments, and even wage war!

Even though the main characters in Watership Down are a bunch of cute (or sometimes not so cute!) rabbits, this book is really about the theme of a small group facing off against established forms of order.  There are always going to be risks involved when you buck the system and try something new.  Sometimes, if the stakes are high enough, you might even be putting your own life on the line!  Pick up a copy of Watership Down from your library and I can promise you, you’ll never look at pet shop rabbits the same way…  

Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Roald Dahl

This short book is about Mr. Fox, who lives in a hill with his family.  Mr. Fox regularly steals food from three not-so-nice farmers, until they get fed up and swear to hunt him down.  When the farmers surround Mr. Fox’s hole, his family becomes trapped inside the hill with a very real danger of starving to death.  Mr. Fox has to devise a plan to feed his family…but how can this be done, when escaping the hole is impossible?

I really enjoyed this book, especially the hilarious illustrations by Quentin Blake.  I believe that Mr. Blake provided the illustrations for all of Mr. Dahl’s books, which is awesome because it makes you feel like you’re already a little familiar with the characters, even when you’re picking up a book you haven’t read.  This was the first time that I’d read “Fantastic Mr. Fox”, even though I’ve rest most of Mr. Dahl’s books.  It was so short that it almost felt more like a long story than anything.  I’d recommend this hilarious book as an excellent way to introduce the rest of Mr. Dahl’s work.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the way that Mr. Dahl shaped the plot of story around the crime of stealing.  By placing Mr. Fox as the main character, he almost made it seem like stealing was an acceptable, even admirable, way to support your family!  But what do you think?  Can you think of any times when it might be acceptable to commit a crime like stealing?  Would it make any difference if your family was starving, and you were forced to steal to support them?

Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater

Mr. Popper paints houses.  He’s never left the town of Stillwater, even though he would desperately love to see the arctic polar regions.  One day, Mr. Popper is surprised to receive an unexpected gift from an Admiral on an arctic expedition.  It turns out to be a penguin, and the Popper children treat him as a new member of the family.  After a while their houseguest begins to get lonely, at least until a local zoo sends the Poppers a female penguin for company.  Before long, the Popper household is filled with baby penguins!

As cool as it might sound to have exotic animals for pets, you have to be careful what you wish for!  I loved reading about how much changed in the Popper household once the penguins began to settle in.  The birds lived in the refrigerator during the summer, so Mr. Popper had to have air holes punched in the door!  During the winter months he would just leave the windows open, but the rest of the family had to wear their winter coats inside!  Eventually, feeding this flock became so expensive that Mr. Popper had to earn money by turning the birds into trained performers!

I’ve heard stories about people who keep exotic animals as pets, like pythons or even tigers, but these stories never seem to have a happy ending.  Even though Mr. Popper was a very attentive pet owner, he still felt as if his penguins would feel more at home in the wild.  But what do you think?  Should people be allowed to keep exotic animals as pets?  Would these animals be happier in a zoo, or even left alone in their natural habitat?

The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden

Chester is a cricket from the woods of Connecticut, but his whole life changes one day when he stows away in a picnic basket and ends up in New York City!  Although the city is a new environment for him, he finds a home at the Bellini family’s newsstand in the Times Square subway station.  With the help of two new friends, a cat and a mouse, Chester discovers a hidden talent for chirping out different pieces of music.  He starts with memorizing simple church hymns, but quickly moves on to intricate symphonies so beautiful that their sound can literally stop rush hour traffic!

One thing I loved about this book was its awesome sense of place.  The descriptions make it easy to see New York City as the busy, bustling town that it is, where people never seem to stop moving!  I was so impressed by the way that young Mario Bellini was allowed to ride the subway by himself whenever he wasn’t working, even all the way across Manhattan into Chinatown.  That type of freedom is almost impossible for kids today to imagine!

I finally got to visit New York City a few years ago and let me tell you, it was everything that the book described!  Times Square was lit up all night long, and thousands of people were coming there just to look at the advertisements!  When I was walking around the city that never sleeps, it was hilarious to think about one tiny cricket bringing all those people to a halt!  If you’re looking for a classic story that will stop you in your tracks as well, be sure to check out “A Cricket in Times Square”!   

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is a fantasy novel about the four Pevensie children:  Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.  The children are sent to live in the countryside to escape the aerial bombings of London during World War II, and they end up staying at a professor’s huge, mysterious home.  During a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy runs away to a beautiful old wooden wardrobe…which just happens to contain a secret entrance to a magical world called Narnia!  The other children soon come with her, and they discover that the evil White Witch has cast a spell which made it winter in Narnia forever.

The Pevensie children are befriended by a series of talking animals, and they quickly begin plotting to overthrow the White Witch and her army of monsters!  With the help of a lion named Aslan, the children put their bravery to the test in a struggle to save the world of Narnia.  Let me warn you now, though, if you start in on this book then I guarantee you’ll end up reading all six of the other books in the Narnia series.  The books are all interconnected, and I love the way that all of them follow the Pevensie children as they grow up in both the world of Narnia and back home in England. 

I’ve read this book several times throughout my life, and as I got older I learned that C.S. Lewis was actually using these stories to pass along different ideas from his Christian faith.  How cool is that, having a hidden message within the books!  Also, I heard that Mr. Lewis was inspired to write about the winter forest setting when he was a professor at Magdalen College.  He would spend his afternoons staring out the window of his office and watching the snow collect around a solitary lamppost, which he later used as the first major landmark the children see upon entering the world of Narnia! 

Take a moment to look around your own neighborhood.  Are there any particular objects near your home or school that you’re particularly attached to?  Do you think it’d be possible to build a story, or maybe even an entire world, around them?  

Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls

Billy Coleman lives in rural Arkansas.  As the only boy in his family, he enjoys hunting in the great outdoors and desperately wants to buy a pair of dogs.  When his father tells him that they just can’t afford two redbone coonhounds, Billy works for two years to save up the money himself.  Billy names them Old Dan and Little Ann, and they quickly become the best coonhounds in the state.  Since his family still struggles to make ends meet, Billy turns to hunting raccoons in order to sell their furs and provide a better life for his little sisters.

I really enjoyed how the author really lets the reader peek into Billy’s mind, instead of just stereotyping him as a “hillbilly”.  Billy doesn’t attend school and gets mocked for his appearance whenever he goes into town, but he’s actually just as smart as any other kid his age.  More so, he’s a genius when it comes to outdoor skills, like hunting raccoons and surviving in the wild.

This is a classic book for boys, but I wonder how girls might feel about it since it’s really a story about a boy and his dogs—nothing more!  Yes, Billy has three sisters, but they’re really only supporting characters in the book.  In fact, none of the girls are even given names!  I think that Mr. Rawls must have left them nameless on purpose, if only to emphasize just how strongly Billy felt about his dogs.  To Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann were so much more than just his pets.

The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford

“The Incredible Journey” is another book where animals actually serve as the main characters, and the story is about how these housepets make a trip of several hundred miles through the wilderness to re-unite with their owners.  I’m always amazed by these type of animal stories, and how the authors succeed in letting the reader have a peek in on the animals’ thoughts and feelings.

Unlike “The Call of the Wild”, the two dogs and a cat in this book don’t feel very much in touch with wild animals, no matter how much time they spend on their own and despite the life-or-death challenges that they face.  They do adapt to their environment in order to survive, but this behavior is all done with the goal of getting back to their family.

I really enjoyed reading about how the young Labrador simply knew which direction to head.  It was almost as if he didn’t have any choice but to lead the others on this journey, like he was being pulled back to the home where he knew that they belonged.  His sense of purpose was impressive, even when the animals were presented with several easy opportunities where they could have quit their journey.

What do you think about the determination showed by these animals?  Have you ever done something where you felt like quitting wasn’t an option, even though nobody would really blame you if you did?

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

“The Call of the Wild” is the story of Buck, a dog who gets stolen and shipped off to Alaska where he’s forced to work as a sled dog.  Over time, Buck transforms himself from a house-pet into a rough, hardworking dog.   Eventually, Buck comes to embrace the tough life of a sled dog, and decides that he’s meant to live wild and free.

For me, one of the most interesting things about “Call of the Wild” is the way that Jack London makes Buck the main character.  It’s nice to read the book and discover what a dog might actually be thinking and feeling, especially during the times that Buck spends working with humans.  I also liked seeing how Buck changed as a dog, as he went from being a house pet to living in the wild. 

The author goes into a lot of detail about the tough living conditions that the gold prospectors and other frontiersmen endured during this period in history.   Moving so far away from civilization was a dangerous situation, and Jack London tells us about the incidents of crime and violence that were part of everyday life.  Sometimes it’s hard to read about animal abuse and cruel behavior, but I think that Mr. London is showing his readers a certain respect by being both gritty and factual.

 “Call of the Wild” is a very short book, but it really gives you a lot to think about when you’re finished.  How do you think you would fare if you were living and working on the cold, wild frontier?