Showing titles in Animal Fiction

Cat ranch or cattle ranch? Hank the Cowdog doesn't like cats. Not one bit. So when a mother cat and her kittens take up residence in the haystack, he does all he can to get them to leave. But they've got nowhere to go. Unfortunately, neither does the gigantic bull who has knocked down the fence - and is headed right for the haystack! Hank knows that it's up to him to run that bull off and keep the ranch safe for everyone...even if that includes a bunch of cats.

It's winter in the Texas Panhandle, and the ranch is covered in snow and ice. So when Sally May sets off for town, Hank decides to follow Pete the Barncat's advice and bravely escorts her car down the slick road. Before Hank realizes what's happening, Sally May's car skids into a snowdrift - and she is angrier than ever!

When Sam comes home one day to find two mystery pugs left on her porch, she's sure it's destiny. She's always wanted a dog of her own, even though her parents say that their catering business keeps the family too busy for a pet - let alone two! But Sam has to take in the sweet, abandoned pups...at least until their real owners turn up. Only she's not quite prepared for how hard it is to wrangle two frisky dogs, especially when she sneaks them into the parties her parents cater.

Loper and Sally May have left Slim to manage the ranch while they go off to visit the relatives for the holidays. But just when it begins to look like another boring bachelor Christmas with Slim, a storm blows in and the electric fence separating a herd of steer from the highway shorts out. Now, it's up to Slim, Viola, and the ranch's Security Division to jump into action! Things take a surprising twist when Slim comes down with a burning fever in the middle of the operation, but nobody could have been ready for the surprise that transpires on the way to the hospital!

Growing up without parents and without schooling, 14-year-old Cloyd is trouble - trouble to himself and everyone else. Sent by his tribe to a home for Indian boys, he is alone and half-wild in remote Utah canyons. As his feeling of isolation turns to desperation, he runs away to find even more trouble. When Cloyd is found and taken to live with an old rancher, he begins to explore the countryside.

The New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year for 1973 and an ALA Notable Book, The Real Thief is the story of Gawain, a most honorable goose. Trustworthy and proud, Gawain is given the keys to the king’s Royal Treasury and put in charge of security. When rubies begin to disappear, and the world-famous Kalikak diamond vanishes, it looks as if someone is sacking the treasury. Only the king and Gawain have the keys - and why would the king steal from himself?

Eric Carle's classic story begins one sunny Sunday, when the caterpillar was hatched out of a tiny egg. He was very hungry. On Monday, he ate through one apple; on Tuesday, he ate through three plums - and still he was hungry. Hear the story of a hungry little caterpillar's progress through an amazing variety and quantity of foods. Full at last, he made a cocoon around himself and went to sleep, to wake up a few weeks later wonderfully transformed into a butterfly!

Nurk is a quiet homebody of a shrew. But when a mysterious plea for help arrives in the mail, he invokes the spirit of his fearless warrior-shrew grandmorther, Surka, and sets off to find the sender. It seems the prince of the dragonflies has been kidnapped, and Nurk is his last hope for rescue. Such a mission would be daunting for even the biggest, baddest, and bravest of shrews, and Nurk is neither big nor bad, and only a little brave. But he does his very best - and hopes his grandmother would be proud.

Tired of his reputation as a con artist, Eddy the Rac sets out to prove that he's really a master magician. But the trick's on Hank when Eddy pulls a disappearing act - and leaves the Head of Ranch Security perched in the henhouse with egg on his face.

When an oil spill takes place off the coast of Connecticut, the Aldens are happy to volunteer to help clean up the animals affected, including a rare species of shore bird. But could more have been done to prevent the spill? As the Aldens take up the case, it leads them on an adventure to help other endangered animals around the world.

Woodrow, Slim’s future father-in-law, is a man of few words. So, when he takes the trouble to warn Slim about an Arctic cold front that is about to descend on the Texas Panhandle, Hank knows the ranch is in for a rough time. In that kind of cold, everything quits working: pipes freeze, diesel pickups don’t start, power lines break, cattle suffer, and stock tanks freeze over.

Things are not looking good for the ranch. So when Loper heads into town to negotiate with the banker, Slim hits the road in search of a new home. Meanwhile, Hank and his faithful sidekick Drover hitch a ride in the back of Slim's pickup. Before long, they come to a stop in an unfamiliar town. And when Slim lands himself a new job, Hank finds that he's no longer the Head of Ranch Security, but the Head of Chicken House Security.

Long before they were spirit animals, the four were still legends - Great Beasts, the most powerful beings to roam the wilds of Erdas. Aided by a brave resistance of humans and animals, they gave their lives to protect the world from a threat more dangerous than any it had seen before: their own kind. Wise and cunning, gentle and ruthless, these are tales of the true heroes and villains in the war that started it all.

The classic story of wilderness survival continues in this action-packed sequel. Filled with authentic woodland lore and exciting adventure, On the Far Side of the Mountain takes listeners back to Sam Gribley's treehouse in the Catskill Mountains, where he begins a dangerous fight for his pet falcon's freedom.

When Mona the Mouse stumbles across the wondrous world of the Heartwood Hotel in the middle of a storm, she desperately hopes they'll let her stay. As it turns out, Mona is precisely the maid they need at the grandest hotel in Fernwood Forest, where animals come from far and wide for safety, luxury, and comfort. But the Heartwood Hotel is not all acorn souffles and soft moss-lined beds. Danger lurks, and as it approaches, Mona finds that this hotel is more than a warm place to spend the night. It might also be a home.

When Paddington returns from his trip to Peru, he doesn't waste any time getting back to business. The stock exchange, the ballet, the barber's shop, Mr. Curry's kitchen - nothing is safe when Paddington gets to work.

Even after an exhausting morning defending the ranch against a vicious one-eyed robot, Hank the Cowdog, Head of Ranch Security, still has energy left to supervise Little Alfred's fishing trip.

The holidays are coming and Humphrey is unsqueakably excited. He loves to hear about all the different ways his friends in Room 26 celebrate and to watch them make costumes and learn songs for the Winter Wonderland pageant. (He even squeaks along!) But with so much to do, will the holidays go according to plan? Do-It-Now-Daniel is having trouble practicing, Helpful-Holly can't stop worrying about making presents for her friends, and Humphrey still has to find a gift for Og!

Welcome to Mossflower Wood, where the gentle mice have gathered to celebrate a year of peace and abundance. All is well…until a sinister shadow falls across the ancient stone abbey of Redwall. It is rumored that Cluny is coming—Cluny, the terrible one-eyed rat and his savage horde—Cluny, who has vowed to conquer Redwall Abbey! The only hope for the besieged mice lies in the lost sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior. And so begins the epic quest of a bumbling young apprentice—a courageous mouse who would rise up, fight back…and become a legend himself.

Meet the Chicken Squad: four fuzzy little chicks who should fill their days pecking chicken feed and chasing bugs, but instead spend most of their time looking for trouble, and finding it.