Top Ten Tuesday: Animals (Heavily) Featured in Books

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

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Hello friends! This week has started off feeling super slow and draining, and my head feels like it’s in the clouds thinking about a wonderful series I just wrapped up with the best chemistry between the lead and a surprising romantic interest. So of course I can’t concentrate on work (or practically anything else), so excuse the attempt I’ve made for this week’s TTT.

The original interpretation of this topic was about animals in books. I was assuming those that were a bit more anthropomorphic or like, an actual character, and I honestly cannot think of too many. So instead, I will just talk about books that feature animals or animal characters more heavily in the plot line.

1. Grimalkin (The Iron King by Julie Kagawa)

Actually one of my favourite characters in the series because he reminds me so much of what I imagine Cheshire Cat from Wonderland would be like, Grimalkin is a cat-like creature who pops in when he feels the need and disappears when danger arises. You never know where he may show up or how helpful he’ll be but his company along parts of adventures were always welcome!

2. Aslan (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis)

I love Aslan in this story. The stoic lion who takes the punishment meant for Edmund always stuck with me, especially when watching it in the film. Narnia just wouldn’t be the same without his presence.

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3. Dragons (ie. Pallor, Aela) (Fireborne, Flamefall by Rosaria Munda)

I’ve actually just been reading book 2 of this series (review coming soon!) and I love it when dragons are heavily featured in the book. While the dragon riders themselves are cool, it’s great to see character and personality shine through in the partnership between dragon and rider. It’s definitely here in this series, especially with war looming over their heads.

4. More dragons…like Dog, the dragon (House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess)

Okay, last dragon example. I liked this series more than the one above and the dragons here are just so unique and creative. Each House has their own type of dragon, but even within the species, the characterizations and personality come through. I particularly loved Dog because he was the underdog dragon but he loved his master so much that it broke my heart when others looked down on him for not being the best (he also apparently looks a little dumb but I think it’s just a matter of perspective).

5. Brad the dog (Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson)

If you look at the cover super closely, you can see that the adventures the girls go on include a dog they pick up along the way somehow. Brad was a BIG deal for half the unplanned things that go wrong on their night out in the city and it was always a lot of fun to throw a cute dog into the mix!

6. Nine-tailed fox (Night of the Dragon by Julie Kagawa)

Yes, technically considered a mythical creature/demon in Japanese lore, I am just throwing this out here because well, I’m pretty sure they still look and act like a fox in some way. I really loved the exploration into nine-tailed foxes in this series, especially because the protagonist is half-fox herself.

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7. Grace bones of dead animals (Bone Crier’s Moon, Bone Crier’s Dawn by Kathryn Purdie)

As you can see, I’m starting to hit the end of my rope here with animals. For my last listing, I am throwing out dead animals. Yep, you heard that right. In this series, the women who ferry the dead get their powers from the 3 animals they choose to kill through a bone of each animal they wear known as grace bones. I loved the different strengths different animals can give you, and how that impacts the carrier so it has to be planned out well.

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And that is all I can give you this week! I wonder if it was just me who struggled a lot, but can’t wait to see what books you’ve read that have animals featured in them.