Animal (Fiction and Nonfiction)

It's a wild world and we're just living in it. Try this list for reads about wildlife, ecology, and human/animal connections that matter for survival.

Updated June 6, 2024
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Silk : a history in three metamorphoses
Prasad, Aarathi
Paper Book
There is not just one story of silk. In silk is science, history and mythology. In silk is the future. Aarathi Prasad's Silk is a gorgeous new history weaving together the story of a unique material that has fascinated the world for millennia.
Of time and turtles : mending the world, shell by shattered shell
Montgomery, Sy
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * AMAZON EDITOR'S PICK and BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * INDIE BESTSELLER * A SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE'S BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR * THE WASHINGTON POST'S BEST NONFICTION OF THE YEAR PICK * A NEW SCIENTIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR *THE PERFECT...
Eat, poop, die : how animals make our world
Roman, Joe
Paper Book
NAMED A TOP-TEN BEST BOOK OF 2023 BY SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN A "fascinating" exploration (Elizabeth Kolbert) of how ecosystems are sculpted and sustained by animals eating, pooping, and dying--and how these fundamental functions could help save us from climate...
Eight bears : mythic past and imperiled future
Dickie, Gloria
Paper Book
Bears have always held a central place in our collective memory, from Indigenous folklore and Greek mythology to nineteenth-century fairytales and the modern toy shop. But as humans and bears come into ever-closer contact, our relationship nears a tipping point. Today, most of the eight remaining...
The last animal
Ausubel, Ramona
Paper Book
A NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Whip-smart and compulsively readable. . . both a wildly entertaining adventure story and a meditation on what it means to love your children-fiercely and imperfectly."-Oprah Daily "Springs alive to explore questions that stump scientists and...
Bird life
Smaill, Anna
Paper Book
'Astonishing' Emily Perkins, author of Lioness 'Beautifully lyrical' Mat Osman, bassist of Suede and author of The Ghost Theatre A lyrical and ambitious exploration of madness and what it is like to experience the world differently, from the Booker Prize-longlisted...
George : a magpie memoir
Hughes, Frieda
Paper Book
'He was a hectic, unprincipled bird, but it was impossible not to love him' ... a memoir of love, obsession and feathers
The other family doctor : a veterinarian explores what animals can teach us about love, life, and mortality
Fine, Karen R.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . Calling all animal lovers! A heartwarming memoir about one woman's career as a vet and the unique role pets play in our lives."Filled with compassion and wisdom, Karen Fine is a healer whose own wounds have deepened her gifts for bringing animals and their...
On animals
Orlean, Susan
Paper Book
Susan Orlean--the beloved New Yorker staff writer hailed as "a national treasure" by The Washington Post and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Library Book--gathers a lifetime of musings, meditations, and in-depth profiles about animals. <...
Funny farm : my unexpected life with 600 rescue animals
Zaleski, Laurie
Paper Book
An inspiring and moving memoir of the author's turbulent life with 600 rescue animals. Laurie Zaleski never aspired to run an animal rescue; that was her mother Annie's dream. But from girlhood, Laurie was determined to make the dream come true. Thirty years later as a...
Nursery earth : the wondrous lives of baby animals and the extraordinary ways they shape our world
Staaf, Danna
Paper Book
It's time to pay attention to baby animals. From egg to tadpole, chick to fledgling, they offer scientists a window into questions of immense importance: How do genes influence health? Which environmental factors support--or obstruct--life? Entire ecosystems rest on the shoulders (or...
How to be a good creature : a memoir in thirteen animals
Montgomery, Sy
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! National Book Award finalist Sy Montgomery reflects on the personalities and quirks of 13 animals--her friends--who have profoundly affected her in this stunning, poetic, and life-affirming memoir featuring illustrations by Rebecca Green. ...
The soul of an octopus : a surprising exploration into the wonder of consciousness
Montgomery, Sy.
Paper Book
Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction * New York Times Bestseller * A Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year * One of the Best Books of the Month on Goodreads * Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year * An American Library Association Notable...
What an owl knows : the new science of the world's most enigmatic birds
Ackerman, Jennifer
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller! A New York Times Notable Book of 2023 Named a Best Book of 2023 by Publishers Weekly From the author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way, a brilliant scientific investigation into...
Perestroika in Paris
Smiley, Jane
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * From the Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling author: a captivating, brilliantly imaginative story of three extraordinary animals--and a young boy--whose lives intersect in Paris in this "feel-good escape" (The New York Times). ...
Venomous lumpsucker
Beauman, Ned
Paper Book
*SUNDAY TIMES SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL OF THE YEAR* 'A novel that delights, dazzles and moves in equal measure' Financial Times 'Brutally satirical and grimly hilarious' Daily Mail The venomous lumpsucker is the most...
The cat's meow : how cats evolved from the Savanna to your sofa
Losos, Jonathan B.
Paper Book
The past, present, and future of the world's most popular and beloved pet, from a leading evolutionary biologist and great cat lover. "Engaging and wide-ranging ... The Cat's Meow is a readable and informed exploration of the wildcat that lurks within Fluffy." --...
Dewey : the small-town library cat who touched the world
Myron, Vicki
Paper Book
On the coldest morning of the year, Vicki Myron found a tiny, bedraggled kitten almost frozen to death in the night drop box of the library where she worked, and her life -- and the town of Spencer, Iowa -- would never be the same. Vicki was a single mother who had survived the loss of her...
Wildlife of the world
Ambrose, Jamie (Author of nature books for children)
Paper Book
Experience the full force of nature with this stunning visual encyclopedia celebrating the world's most wonderful wildlife.  With an inspiring foreword by leading naturalist and wildlife photographer Chris Packham, this epic adventure takes you across the continents to meet...

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