Animal Teen Fiction

Lucy Callahan was struck by lightning. She doesn't remember it, but it changed her life forever. The zap gave her genius-level math skills, and ever since, Lucy has been homeschooled. Now, at 12 years old, she's technically ready for college. She just has to pass 1 more test--middle school!

Can a stray dog change the life of a teenage boy? It looks as if Strider can. He's a dog that loves to run; because of Strider, Leigh Botts finds himself running -- well enough to join the school track team. Strider changes Leigh on the inside, too, as he finally begins to accept his parents' divorce and gets to know a redheaded girl he's been admiring. With Strider's help, Leigh finds that the future he once hated to be asked about now holds something he never expected: hope.

Paddington Bear always manages to find himself in tricky situations, sometimes extraordinary situations. Like the time he had a difficult encounter with a policeman or when he found himself in deep water with a newspaper reporter. But since arriving from his native Peru after an earthquake Paddington has always felt at home with the Brown family who found him on Paddington station.

Who could resist living for a year with a raccoon who is just about your best friend?

In this delightful memoir, Sterling North recalls his year with Rascal - a very mischievous and resourceful raccoon. Virtually everywhere Sterling goes, Rascal is there, and life is filled with one adventure after another.

With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It's a race against time - and the evil sorcerer Lokesh - in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the best-selling Tiger's Curse series.

At the legendary fortress of Salamandastron, aging Lord Asheye has a prophecy: a new, young badger lord must take his place. But Lord Asheye does not know who the young warrior is. Meanwhile, unaware of his destiny, the future lord is captured by infamous fox Vizka Longtooth, who intends to lay siege to Redwall Abbey.

On the last night of summer, Emma tags along with her game warden father on a routine call. They're supposed to rescue a wild rabbit from a picket fence, but instead they find a little bunny. Emma convinces her father to bring him home for the night. The next day, Emma starts public school for the very first time after years of being homeschooled. More than anything, Emma wants to make a best friend in school. But things don't go as planned. On the first day of school, she's paired with a boy named Jack for a project.

Everybody loves Mother Paula's pancakes. Everybody, that is, except the colony of cute but endangered owls that live on the building site of the new restaurant. Can the awkward new kid and his feral friend prank the pancake people out of town? Or is the owls' fate cemented in pancake batter?

When 13-year-old Mia finally reveals a closely-guarded secret, it soon echoes throughout her school. She was born with synesthesia, a neurological cross-wiring that lets her see sounds, taste shapes, and smell colors. To Mia, the letter A glows with faded sunflower-yellow, screeching chalk sizzles with jagged red sparks, and her cat's voice puffs with orange-mango haze. How can Mia "the alien" find acceptance and self-worth?

Eleven-year-old Adam loved to travel throughout 13th-century England with his father, a wandering minstrel, and his dog, Nick. But when Nick is stolen and his father disappears, Adam suddenly finds himself alone.

This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween listeners in grades five to six, especially during homeschooling. It's a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom. Based on a Rocky Mountain legend, Stone Fox tells the story of Little Willy, who lives with his grandfather in Wyoming. When Grandfather falls ill, he is no longer able to work the farm, which is in danger of foreclosure. Little Willy is determined to win the National Dogsled Race - the prize money would save the farm and his grandfather.

Running fast to save his life, Aldwyn ducks into an unusual pet store. Moments later Jack, a young wizard in training, comes in to choose a magical animal to be his familiar. Aldwyn's always been clever. But magical? Jack thinks so - and Aldwyn is happy to play along. He just has to convince the other familiars - the know-it-all blue jay Skylar and the friendly tree frog Gilbert - that he's the powerful cat he claims to be. Then the unthinkable happens. Jack and two other young wizards are captured by the evil queen of Vastia!

When Ralph and his pesky cousins accidentally make a mess at the Mountain View Inn, Ralph decides that he'd better take his motorcycle and leave. He persuades his young pal Ryan to take him to school, where Ralph is an instant hit with Ryan's classmates. But Ralph doesn't like being told what to do. Worse than that, his precious motorcycle gets broken. Is Ralph stuck at school forever?

Newbery Award-winning author Jean Craighead George is beloved for her classic tales about wildlife, such as My Side of the Mountain. When Charlie learns about the Native American belief that ravens can cure sickness, he brings home a nestling to help his ill grandfather. Together Charlie and Granddad care for the bird and learn valuable lessons about life and death, responsibility, and protecting nature.

When Prince Leo’s devious cousin seizes control of Singara, Leo is forced to escape into enemy territory until he can return and claim the throne. Trapped among his enemies, Leo discovers they know a lot more about him than he knows about himself. With some guidance from unlikely allies, Leo is poised to fulfill a destiny greater than he ever imagined. Can Leo harness his power, stop a war, and prevent a monstrous demon from escaping and destroying the world?

Rose is the youngest of seven children, meant to replace her dead sister. Maybe because of that, she’s never really fit in. She’s always felt different, out of place, a restless wanderer in a family of homebodies. So when an enormous white bear mysteriously shows up and asks her to come away with him - in exchange for health and prosperity for her ailing family - she readily agrees. Rose travels on the bear’s broad back to a distant and empty castle, where she is nightly joined by a mysterious stranger.

In Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. Add to the mix a new wolf named Cole, and Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves.

Smoky knows only one way of life: freedom. Living on the open range, he is free to go where he wants to and do what he wants to. And he knows what he has to do to survive. Smoky can beat any enemy, whether it be a rattlesnake or a hungry wolf. He is as much a part of the Wild West as it is of him, and Smoky can’t imagine anything else. Then he comes across a new enemy, one that walks on two legs and makes funny sounds. Smoky can’t beat this enemy the way he has all the others. But does he really want to?

At last, Henry Huggins's father has promised to take him fishing, on one condition. Henry's dog, Ribsy, has been in all sorts of trouble lately, from running off with the neighbor's barbecue roast to stealing a policeman's lunch. To go on the fishing trip, Henry must keep Ribsy out of trouble -- no chasing cats, no digging up lawns...and no getting anywhere near little Ramona Quimby, the pest of Klickitat Street.

Soren is born in the forest of Tyto, a tranquil kingdom where the Barn Owls dwell. But evil lurks in the owl world, evil that threatens to change Soren's life forever.