I love children’s literature. I buy and borrow and read children’s books even though I don’t have kids (yet) and even when I’m not teaching other people’s kids. I enjoy the books myself, but I also love sharing my favorites and using the stories as opportunities to discuss what I am most passionate about: the human-animal connection. How do we think about nature? What can animals teach us? How can we interact with them in a way that is fulfilling for everyone? What are we doing to threaten animal lives and habitats, and what can we do to change that? These topics are not too advanced for children. In fact, I believe it is important to address these issues early and often to raise compassionate citizens of our planet…
Here is a list of children’s books about human relationships with animals and/or nature that I have read and enjoyed. The books are in no particular order, and the list is definitely biased toward books about primates…sorry, not sorry! I will add to the list as I continue to read. Feel free to suggest books in the comments- I am especially interested in reading, supporting, and promoting authors and illustrators of color! Happy reading, fellow primates and bookworms!
Picture Books
Tenzin’s Deer by Barbara Soros
The Birdwatchers by Simon James
Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia by Sy Montgomery, photographs by Nic Bishop
The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales retold by Dawn Casey, illustrated by Anne Wilson (fiction)
Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet & Elspeth Graham, illustrated by Juan Wijngaard (fiction)
Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery, photographs by Nic Bishop
The Chiru of High Tibet: A True Story by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Linda Wingerter
Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Vicky White (nonfiction)
Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell
Amigo by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Garth Williams
No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart & Allen Young, illustrated by Nicole Wong
A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz, illustrated by Catia Chien
Jasper’s Story: Saving Moon Bears by Jill Robinson & Marc Bekoff, illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen
Tiger of the Snows: Tenzing Norgay: The Boy Whose Dream Was Everest by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Ed Young
Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate, illustrated by G. Brian Karas
Finding Wild by Megan Wagner Lloyd, illustrated by Abigail Halpin
The Legend of the Lady Slipper by Lise Lunge-Larsen & Margi Preus, illustrated by Andrea Arroyo
The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter
Aani and the Tree Huggers by Jeannine Atkins, illustrated by Venantius J. Pinto
Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by Jeanette Winter
Aquarium by Cynthia Alonso
Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French, illustrated by Bruce Whatley
The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer, illustrated by Steve Johnson
Monkey Business: Stories from Around the World by Shirley Climo, illustrated by Erik Brooks
Out of the Woods: A True Story of an Unforgettable Event by Rebecca Bond
Slow Loris by Alexis Deacon
The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks by Katherine Paterson, illustrated by Leo Dillon & Diane Dillon
Dorje’s Stripes by Anshumani Ruddia, illustrated by Gwangio Park & Jung Park
Komodo! by Peter Sis
Tigress by Helen Cowcher
Heartbeat by Evan Turk
Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating, illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens
When the Monkeys Came Back by Kristine L. Franklin, illustrated by Robert Roth
Crane Boy by Diana Cohn, illustrated by Youme
Middle Grade/YA
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The Year of the Panda by Miriam Schlein
What Elephants Know by Eric Dinerstein
Tua and the Elephant by R. P. Harris
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Gorilla Dawn by Gill Lewis
Moon Bear by Gill Lewis
Endangered by Eliot Schrefer
Tiger Boy by Mitali Perkins, illustrated by Jamie Hogan
Read a similar list for adults here!
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