Reading for Life provides teachers, parents, and students with a list of animal-oriented books for people of all ages.

Non-Fiction

Preschool:

Tails are not for Pulling by Elizabeth Verdick

A Kid’s Best Friend by Maya Ajmera

Kindergarten – grade 3:

Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival by Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery

Hanni and Beth: Safe and Sound by Beth Finke

Freckles by Paul M. Howey

Grades 3-5:

Is My Dog a Wolf? by Jenni Bidner

Molly the Pony: A True Story by Pam Kaste

Wild Tracks! A Guide to Nature’s Footprints by Jim Arnosky

Water Rescue by Frances E. Ruffin

Fire Dogs by Donna Latham

Animal Talk: How Animals Communicate Through Sight, Sound and Smell by Etta Kaner

How to Speak Dog by Sarah Whitehead

Interrupted Journey by Kathryn Lasky

Working Like a Dog: The Story of Working Dogs Through History by Gina K. Gorrell

Fiction

Preschool:

Dolphins on the Sand by Jim Arnosky

Saying Goodbye to Lulu by Corinne Demas

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Preschool – Grade 3

In Flanders Field by Norman Jorgensen

Monkey For Sale by Sanna Stanley

Little Flower by Gloria Rand

“Let’s Get a Pup!” Said Kate by Bob Graham

Kindergarten – Grade 3:

Tale of a Great White Fish by Maggie De Vries

Cool Time Song by Carole Lexa Schaefer

Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog by Pamela S Turner

Anna and Natalie by Barbara H. Cole

Magnus at the Fire by Jennifer Armstrong

It’s Raining Cats and Dogs by Jeanne Prevost

Before You Were Mine by Maribeth Boelts

Buddy Unchained by Daisy Bix

Jasper’s Day by Marjorie Blain Parker

Go Home: The True Story of James the Cat by Libby Phillips Meggs

Grades 2 – 4:

The Goat Lady by Jane Bregoli

Grades 3 – 5:

Wings by William Loizeaux

The Elephant Hospital by Kathy Darling

Saving Lilly by Peg Kehret

Fight for Life: Wild at Heart # 1 by Laurie Halse Anderson

One Unhappy Horse by C. S Adler

Pinduli by Janell Cannon

Jubela by Cristina Kessler

The Spirit of the Maasai Man by Laura Berkeley

A Home for Dakota by Jan Zita Grover

M is for Meow Illustrated by Robert Papp Written by Helen L Wilbur 

Hachiko Waits by Leslea Newman

The Everything Kids’ Nature Honor by Kathiann M Kowalski

It’s About Dogs by Tony Johnson

Grades 4 – 6:

A Dog’s Life: The Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M Martin

Dog Sense by Sneed B Collard III

John Muir: My Life with Nature by Joseph Cornell and Christopher Canyon

Star in the Storm by Joan Hiatt Harlow

Grades 6 – 8:

GAFF! by Shan Correa

Straydog by Kathe Koja

The Last Wild Place by Rosa Jordan

The Eco-Diary of Kiran Singer by Sue Ann Alderson

One Kingdom: Our Lives with Animals by Deborah Noyes

Listen by Stephanie S Tolan

Defiance by Valerie Hobbs

Our Secret: Siri Aang by Christina Kessler

Grades 6 -12:

Gold Rush Dogs by Claire Rudolf Murphy and Jane G Haigh

Poetry

Preschool – Grade 3:

So, What’s It Like to be a Cat? by Karla Kuskin

Each Living Thing by Joanne Ryder

Kindergarten – Grade 3:

Toad by the Road by Joanne Ryder

Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems by Kristine O’Connell George

Grades 3 – 5:

Leap into Poetry: More ABCS of Poetry by Avis Harley

 Grades 4 – 6:

The World According to Dog by Joyce Sidman

Illustration

Kindergarten – Grade 3:

Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow Illustrated by Beth Krommes, Written by Joyce Sidman

Animals Asleep Illustrated by Anik McGrory

Jasper’s Day Illustrated by Janet Wilson Written by Marjorie Blain Parke