The Greatest Books of All Time on Animals

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
7819 On The Track Of Unknown Animals Bernard Heuvelmans 1955 Belgian French
8031 Notes From The Century Before Edward Hoagland 1969 American English
8064 Remarkably Bright Creatures Shelby Van Pelt 2022 American English
8105 The Land Of Little Rain Mary Austin 1903 American English
8246 Fantastic Mr Fox Roald Dahl 1970 British English
8498 Collected Poems Jane Kenyon 2005 American English
8520 Ring Of Bright Water Gavin Maxwell 1960 British English
8591 The Adventures Of Tintin Hergé 1929 Belgian French
8642 Spindle’s End Robin McKinley 2000 American English
8646 Raising Hare Chloe Dalton 2025 Unknown English
8761 Spill Simmer Falter Wither Sara Baume 2015 Irish English
8999 The Flame Trees Of Thika Elspeth Huxley 1959 British English
9226 Foal's Bread Gillian Mears 2011 Australian English
9336 Not Before Sundown Johanna Sinisalo 2000 Finnish Finnish
9365 A Line Made By Walking Sara Baume 2017 Irish English
9372 The Terror Arthur Machen 1917 British English
9656 Brehm's Life Of Animals Alfred Edmund Brehm 2015 German German
9679 Not Wanted On The Voyage Timothy Findley 1984 Canadian English
9678 Tropical Nature Adrian Forsyth, Ken Miyata 1984 Unknown English
9725 The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle David Wroblewski 2008 American English
10157 The Darling Russell Banks 2004 American English
10303 Chinook Texts Franz Boas 1894 American English
10303 The Dancing Bees Karl von Frisch 1953 German German
10373 The Mouse And The Motorcycle Beverly Cleary 1965 American English
10448 Mr. Palomar Italo Calvino 1983 Italian Italian
10626 Edward Lear's Book of Nonsense Edward Lear 1846 British English
10680 What An Owl Knows Jennifer Ackerman 2023 Unknown English
10713 The Beast In The Clouds Nathalia Holt 2025 American English
10741 A Dog's Purpose W. Bruce Cameron 2010 American English
10920 Whale Nation Heathcote Williams 1988 British English
11014 The Story Of San Michele Axel Munthe 1929 Swedish English
11215 La Dernière Harde Maurice Genevoix 1938 French French
11530 Poems of Matsuo Bashō Matsuo Bashō 1601 Japanese Japanese
11620 Where The Wild Things Were William Stolzenburg 2008 Unknown English
11641 Gentle And Fierce Vanessa Berry 2021 Australian English
11641 On Animals Susan Orlean 2021 American English
11811 The Riverhouse Stories Andrea Carlisle 1987 American English
11932 Animals Strike Curious Poses Elena Passarello 2017 American English
12182 The Place Of Tides James Rebanks 2024 Unknown English
12324 The Ant And The Peacock Helena Cronin 1991 British English
12478 Poets Square Courtney Gustafson 2025 Unknown English
12477 The Bakery Dragon Devin Elle Kurtz 2024 Unknown English
12623 The Island Of Last Things Emma Sloley 2025 Unknown English
12626 Don't Trust Fish Dan Santat, Neil Sharpson 2025 American English
12713 The Feather Detective Chris Sweeney British English
12791 Turning To Birds Lili Taylor 2025 American English
12811 Tigers Between Empires Jonathan C. Slaght 2025 American English
12871 The Arrogant Ape Christine E. Webb 2025 Unknown English
12872 The Call Of The Honeyguide Rob Dunn 2025 American English
12888 Forest Euphoria Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian 2025 Unknown English
12896 We Should All Be Birds Brian Buckbee, Carol Ann Fitzgerald 2025 Unknown English
13019 Lone Wolf Adam Weymouth 2025 Unknown English
13102 A Year With The Seals Alix Morris 2025 Unknown English
13107 Ubac And Me Cédric Sapin-Defour, Adriana Hunter 2025 French French
13161 Oh Dear, Look What I Got! Michael Rosen 2025 British English
13164 The Night Creatures Robert Macfarlane 2025 British English
13337 Rats Robert Sullivan 2004 American English
13549 How To Be A Good Creature Sy Montgomery 2018 American English
13599 De Goupil à Margot Louis Pergaud 1910 French French
13599 Les Bêtes Pierre Gascar 1953 French French
13715 The God Of Animals Aryn Kyle 2007 American English
13789 Make Way For Ducklings Robert McCloskey 1941 American English
13885 Elmer Gerry Alanguilan 2009 Unknown English
13941 Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus! Mo Willems 2003 American English
14025 Jamrach’s Menagerie Carol Birch 2011 British English
14158 My Side Of The Mountain Jean Craighead George 1959 American English
14228 Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of Nimh Robert C. O'Brien 1971 American English
14232 Memoirs Of A Polar Bear Yoko Tawada 2011 German German
14726 Little Bear Else Holmelund Minarik 1957 American English
14754 Letters To His Children Theodore Roosevelt 1919 American English
14730 The Territorial Imperative Robert Ardrey 1966 American English
14764 Curious George H. A. Rey 1941 American English
14814 Old Yeller Fred Gipson 1956 American English
14787 Mr. Popper's Penguins Florence and Richard Atwater 1938 American English
14849 The Complete Adventures Of Curious George H. A. Rey 1969 American English
14896 Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man Siegfried Sassoon 1928 British English
14892 The Cricket In Times Square George Selden 1960 American English
14872 The Real Mother Goose Blanche Fisher Wright 1916 American English
14958 On The Banks Of Plum Creek Laura Ingalls Wilder 1937 American English
14983 Frogkisser Garth Nix 2017 Australian English
14983 In The Hand Of The Goddess Tamora Pierce 1984 American English
14983 A Snake Falls To Earth Darcie Little Badger 2021 American English
14971 The Incredible Journey Sheila Burnford 1961 Canadian English
14983 The Mammoth Hunters Jean M. Auel 1985 American English
14983 The Blue Fox Sjón 2003 Icelandic Icelandic
14983 Olivia Ian Falconer 2000 American English
15559 Beyond Words Carl Safina 2015 American English
15732 Chicken Soup With Rice Maurice Sendak 1962 American English
15776 Writings And Drawings James Thurber 1973 American English
15835 Horton Hatches The Egg Dr. Seuss 1940 American English
15897 The Animals' Conference Erich Kästner 1949 German German
15888 Български народни приказки Angel Karaliichev 1961 Bulgarian Bulgarian
15897 Born Free Joy Adamson 1960 British English
15897 The Expression Of The Emotions In Man And Animals Charles Darwin 1872 British English
15897 My Dog Tulip J. R. Ackerley 1956 British English
15897 Little Fur Family Margaret Wise Brown 1946 American English
15897 Are You My Mother? P. D. Eastman 1960 American English
15897 The Story Of Doctor Dolittle Hugh Lofting 1920 British English
15897 My India Jim Corbett 1952 British English
15897 My Crowded Solitude Jack McLaren 1926 Australian English
15897 Dot And The Kangaroo Ethel Pedley 1899 Australian English
15897 Pat The Bunny Dorothy Kunhardt 1940 American English
15897 Bestiario Juan José Arreola 1938 Mexican Spanish
15897 Pierre Maurice Sendak 1962 American English
15897 Swimmy Leo Lionni 1963 American English
15897 How The Whale Became Ted Hughes 1963 British English
15897 Tschiffely's Ride A. F. Tschiffely 1933 British English
16512 Children's Stories And Pictures Vladimir Suteev 1950 Russian Russian
16522 The Black Stallion Walter Farley 1941 American English
16566 Rikki Tikki Tavi Rudyard Kipling 1893 British English
16530 Lord Grizzly Frederick Manfred 1954 American English
16605 Sounder William H. Armstrong 1969 American English
16596 Bunnicula Deborah Howe 1979 American English
17117 Wolf Brother Michelle Paver 2004 British English
17117 The Edward Hoagland Reader Edward Hoagland 1979 American English
17117 Native American Folktales Thomas A. Green 2008 American English
17117 Tamsin Peter S. Beagle 1999 American English
17117 Passager Jane Yolen 1996 American English
17117 The Sparrow Enid Blyton 1991 British Unknown
17117 Coming Rain Stephen Daisley 2015 Australian English