Top Ten Tuesday: Animals from Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blog meme now hosted by Jana over at The Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's topic is:  Animals from Books

I'm fairly certain I've done at least one post with favorite animals from books before, so some of these may be repeats. I love any and all animals in real life, and because of that I also love any and all animals in fictional life as well. This list will reflect a wide variety of animals that have anything from minor roles to major roles and is not meant to be an actual "these are my top favorites," but rather some animals I loved reading about. I could probably make this an endless list, but we'll try to be good and stick to ten. (Also, no particular order!)

1. Shefali's horse from The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera: I cannot for the life of me remember her horse's name, and I also no longer have the book with me because it was a library book so I can't look it up. Still, I really appreciate her horse and the extreme love and respect that the Qorin people seem to have for horses.

2. Solovey from The Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden: Solovey is a beautiful, magnificent horse and I would more than likely be willing to die for him if he were the horse I rode.

3. Raif's horse from Watcher of the Dead by J.V. Jones: Hm, are we sensing a horse theme? I sort of love horses and would love to own my own one day, but this is all irrelevent. Raif's horse is a true trooper and I really enjoyed watching them travel together at various points in this series.

4. The one-eyed crow from The Thickety series by J.A. White: Okay, we're finally departing from the horses to focus on a crow. This crow isn't necessarily a major character, but it's definitely a pretty vital part of the story, and I really love it's role.

5. Iorek Byrnison from The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman: Iorek is a Panserbjørn, which is an armored polar bear--and who doesn't love an incredible polar bear? Iorek is gruff and not exactly the friendliest, but I think he's easily a standout character.

6. Fox and the bear from Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston: Does fox count? If so, I loved Fox and consider him a fantastic animal character. And then we also have a wonderful bear from Among the Beasts and Briars who plays a pretty significant role in the story as well--and is one whose interactions with the protagonist I really loved!

7. Mephis from The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart: Based on reviews I've seen, Mephis is the runaway favorite character of The Bone Shard Daughter, and that's not without good reason! Mephis is adorable and highly endearing, as well as pretty useful.

8. All of the animals from Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce: Daine, the protagonist, can communicate with animals, which is always a hit for me because what wouldn't I give to talk to animals? Plus, that means plenty of animals in the books!

9. Satan from Black Stallion by Walter Farley: And we're back to horses. Since I mentioned Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce, I got to thinking about books I read as a kid, and of course the Black Stallion series has a perfect example of an amazing animal character in Satan (and his subsequent children).

10. The Warrior Cat series by Erin Hunter: Okay, this might be an easy one (and another throwback!), but I adored the Warrior Cat books as a kid and absolutely devoured them. I am always tempted to try re-reading one, but I'm not sure I will because I almost want to keep them as a special childhood memory, you know? Regardless, I have always been a dog person and always will be, but these are some cats I really loved!

Have you read any of these? What are some of your favorite animal characters from books?

The Friday Face-Off: Furry

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe. You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:
Furry

I'm sure that there are various interpretations for this week's topic, but I've opted to feature covers with any and all fantastic furry beasts! And, naturally, there were too many possible covers with furry animals, so here's a collection of covers featuring furry beasts rather than comparing various versions of just one book. We'll start with wolves, move on to bears, some horses, and round it off with a nice miscellaneous mixture (dog, deer, and more!). 

Wolves

2019 Berkley | 2019 Redhook | 2018 National Geographic 

2017 Crown Publishing Group | 2005 HMH Books for Young Readers | 1996 Alfred A. Knopf

2018 Self-Published Edition | 2016 Knopf | 2018 Talos

2020 Gallery / Sage Press | 2017 Tachyon Publications

My choice(s):

I love the simplistic overall style of The Wolf in the Whale, yet there is plenty of detail in the typography and detail, and I also really like the form of the wolf--you can really see the movement. And speaking of movement, I will never stop loving the original cover for We Ride the Storm. I love the new Orbit cover as well, but this cover is just so dramatic and falloff movement, not to mention how incredibly both horse and rider are rendered. This is the sort of artwork I'd buy just to hang a print of, it's beautiful!

What cover(s) do you like the most!?

American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee

**American Wolf is now available! (as of 10/17/2017)**

American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee. Crown Publishing, 2017. Ebook. 320 pages. 

Wolves are truly amazing animals. I have grown up in a household that has taught me to love and appreciate wolves, largely because my mom is a huge wolf fan and therefore I am now also a fan of wolves. Thus, when I saw a book on NetGalley that boasted to tell "the enthralling story of the rise and reign of O-Six, the celebrated Yellowstone wolf, and the people who loved or feared her," I knew I had to pick it up--and I'm so glad I did!

American Wolf is an in depth telling of one of the most famous wolves of Yellowstone, referred to as O-Six, and how she survived despite many odds being stacked against her. Along with this story, however, Blakeslee also includes immense background detail on the other wolves released and raised in Yellowstone, the conflicts between hunters, wolves, and livestock, and the many wolf watchers that took part in observing O-Six's life-- along with many other wolves. 

Blakeslee tells the story of O-Six in an incredibly compelling manner that at times feels more like I'm reading a fiction story about wolves than I am reading a nonfiction account of the lives of various wolves. It is apparent that Blakeslee has done much research for this book and he takes great care to provide detailed and illuminating information on this subject. 

I was particularly fascinated when reading about the different behaviours displayed by O-Six and many others. I knew a somewhat decent bit about wolves coming into this, but there is so much more to learn about them. The way the packs function and how new packs are formed or destroyed is really rather remarkable. They are such fascinating animals with such distinct and familiar traits that sometimes it seemed as if I was just reading about people and royal families. 

American Wolf also dives into much of the debate surrounding wolf hunting and the various political and environmental ramifications of those both for and against it, which I was pleased to see, as it helped me to better understand the entire situation. He also discusses many of the specific scientists, wolf watchers, etc. that spend so much time studying the wolves, which I also found interesting. There were a few instances in which I felt that Blakeslee went on slight tangents or just into a bit too much detail of something that wasn't quite relevant, but overall most topics seemed to fall into place with the topic of the book. 

One thing that I struggled about a bit with this book was the fact that the wolves didn't have set names, but were instead referred to by numbers or descriptions (i.e. 574, 'Shy Male,'). I understand that this is because they didn't want the wolves to seem like pets, but it just made it a bit confusing at times to recall who is who. I'm not really counting that against Blakeslee, however, because that's not really his fault, but it is something that I felt I should point out.

Overall, I've given American Wolf four stars!

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Reading Recommendations: Characters With Animal Companions

Reading Recommendations:
Books With Characters Who Have Animal Friends/Companions/Sidekicks

I'm a huge sucker for books that feature characters with very specific furry friends to accompany them in pretty much everything they do. In fact, I don't even care if they're furry--I just love animal companions. I know I'm not the only one that has desperately wished, ever since I was just a small girl, to have a special little animal figure that was bonded to me and that I could communicate with all the time. Even if we couldn't communicate, I would still want one. (To be fair, I have had dogs all of my life, and they're pretty much awesome, too.) There are many more than I have listed here, of course, but here's just a small select few to get us started. 

1. Hagrid and Fang (the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)

Because who doesn't love Hagrid and Fang? I love these two and I think that they are just perfect for each other, regardless of the fact that they aren't officially 'bonded' together. 

2. Lyra and Pantalaimon (The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman)

I remember reading this as a young girl and wanting so badly to have a daemon of my own. Sadly, it still hasn't happened, but it's good to know that I can always visit Lyra and Pan whenever I want.

Image: ALEXAst

3. Tashi and Katala (The Tiger's Watch by Julia Ember)

I particularly loved the companionship of Tashi and Katala because of how different and wild it was. Tashi can't directly communicate with katala in words and Katala is still a legitimate wild tiger, but they bond and learn how to work with one another. It's a fascinating relationship.

4. Rose and the White Bear (East by Edith Pattou)

This classic retelling of the folktale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" features the beautiful companionship of Rose and the White Bear. This is a lovely little book that I enjoyed quite a lot as an adolescent.

5. Mia and Mr. Kindly (Nevernight by Jay Kristoff)

Mr. Kindle is probably one of my favorite 'animal' companions. He is everything I love in an animal companion and I cannot get enough of his dry, sassy remarks. Not to mention how neat it is that he's really more of a shadow, yet he still seems to be a legitimate cat?

Image (left): @Kkharrin

Image (right): @lesyablackbird, also available as a print on her Society6 shop!: https://society6.com/blackbirdink

6. Rand and Bela (The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan)

This might be a stretch since Rand and Bela aren't really with each other all the time, but I thought it still fit well for this particular theme. Bela is a wonderful horse and I love Rand's compassion and attachment to her. 

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7. Sarai and her moths (Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor)

Again, is this a stretch? I don't know, but I think Sarai and her moths are have an interesting and worthwhile bond that makes it go well with the 'companion' theme as well.

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8. Fitz and Nighteyes (Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb)

It really doesn't get much more classics than Fitz and his trusty wolf Nighteyes. The pair grows incredibly close and also makes me immensely jealous that I do not have my own wolf to bond with.

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9. September and A-Through-L 
(The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente)

Nothing sounds better than a girl and her witty, exciting Wyvern who calls himself a 'Wyverary' because he believes that his mother was a Wyvern and his father was a library. No, I'm not kidding--this book is filled to the brim with that level of charm and wit. 

Who are your favorite character and animal companion pairs?

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