Great Books for Animal Lovers

Loving animals is a passion like few others. It informs our hobbies, interests and even our taste in clothes and entertainment. It never fades with time. Instead, the more you learn about animals, the more you love them.

If this sounds familiar, you’re going to love this post. Today, we’re looking at great books for animal lovers.

Underwater Dogs By Seth Casteel

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“Underwater Dogs” is a photo series by Seth Casteel. He would have someone throw a ball into a pool or a clear lake and would photograph dogs from below as they retrieved the toy. But really, all you have to do is look at the cover to see why animal lovers love this book: it’s clear in the crazed, ecstatic expressions of the dogs.

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls: A Novel by Anton DiSclafani

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This book is technically a young adult romance novel, but then so was Twilight, and both have found audiences outside their genre – for good reason. They both reach much further than the blurb on the back suggests.

In this coming of age tale, the romance seems more like a framework for a deep exploration of our love of horses, how money defines our place in life and how class and sexism keep us in our place. At the beginning of the Great Depression, Floridian teenager Theodora Atwell is sent to the riding camp, set in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, for some hinted at but only slowly revealed trespass she committed with her brother and their cousin. At the camp, she develops her natural rapport with horses, and in the process, she learns many things, like why she has been punished so much more harshly than her male relatives and how the need to maintain status can lead families to run roughshod over individual members’ desires.

Your Cat: The Owner’s Manual: Hundreds of Secrets, Surprises and Solutions for Raising a Happy, Healthy Cat by Dr Marty Becker with Gina Spadafori

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Dr Marty Becker, better known as “America’s Veterinarian”, is the most famous vet in the States. He has a great many articles on VetStreet.com (the WebMD of pets), has published more than 20 books and regularly features on American talk shows.

In this book, he and veterinary medical writer Gina Spadafori look at all the ins and outs of cats – what they need, what they love and most importantly, why they act the way they do. This book is so stuffed with information and amazing facts that even the most dedicated cat fancier will discover things they never knew about their beloved felines.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Portfolio 23

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The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, put on by the Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide, has been running for 50 years. It sees both amateur and professional photographers competing side-by-side to submit their very best shots of animals in nature (or the city or their backyards).

This book contains all 100 winning and commended photographs from the 2013 competition, making it a great addition to any animal lover’s coffee table.

Unlikely Loves: 43 Heartwarming True Stories From the Animal Kingdom by Jennifer S. Holland

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Jennifer Holland published “Unlikely Friendships: 47 True Stories of Animal Friendship”, a book that looks at the strange and heart-warming bonds that can develop between unlikely animal pairs, was published to much acclaim – and plenty of sales – in 2011.

This follow-up is essentially more of the same, but with relationships that seem deeper than the ones in “Unlikely Friendships”. Here, you can read about the Dalmatian who nursed and mothered a new-born lamb and the elephant who found unusual family members in her fellow Oregon Zoo inhabitants. The stories will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside, and it might even change your mind about how deeply animals can feel.

Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology by Caroline Paul and Wendy MacNaughton

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This book is both about a cat and about the fears and uncertainties we humans have around our relationships. It was written by former firefighter Caroline Paul and illustrated by her partner Wendy MacNaughton, and it follows the drama they went through when their cat went missing. Eventually, the cat returned, looking fatter and acting happier and more confident than ever. From the day the cat returned, however, it kept disappearing, and it opened up a whole host of insecurities in the women. What was this cat getting that it couldn’t get at home? What could possibly account for such a massive personality change in what once was a timid tabby? Did all of this mean they weren’t good enough?

They attached a GPS tracker and camera to the cat’s collar to get answers, but the most important thing they learned was that truly loving someone means you have to fight the fear of losing them.

If Dogs Run Free by Scott Campbell

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This book, illustrated by Scott Campbell, actually uses the lyrics of the 1970 Bob Dylan song If Dogs Run Free as the inspiration for these cute, imaginative drawings. The book looks at the world from both dogs’ and children’s points of view, but its simple charm makes a great gift for animal lovers and Bob Dylan fans, too.

 

These are great books for animal lovers, whether they are old or young, sentimental or too cool for school. So which ones do you have, and which do you want? What’s your favourite book for animal lovers?

Let us know in the comments.