Teen Nature Fiction

It's 1863, and dinosaurs roam the streets of New York as the Civil War rages between raptor-mounted armies down South. Magdalys Roca and her friends from the Colored Orphan Asylum are on a field trip when the Draft Riots break out, and a number of their fellow orphans are kidnapped by an evil magistrate, Richard Riker. Magdalys and her friends flee to Brooklyn and settle in the Dactyl Hill neighborhood. Together with the Vigilance Committee, they train to fly on dactylback, discover new friends and amazing dinosaurs, and plot to take down Riker.

When Amy sees a dog stranded on the side of the highway, she knows what she has to do. She tells her dad to stop the car. She can't understand why anyone would abandon a dog in such a way, tied up and blindfolded. Amy's parents say they'll only keep the dog until they can find it a permanent home. Amy's younger sister names the dog Rover.

Rex Dexter is itching to have a dog. His parents surprise him with a box. A box with holes. A box with holes and adorable scratchy noises coming from inside. Could it be? Yes! It has to be! A...a...chicken? One hour and 14 minutes later, the chicken is dead (by a steamroller), Rex is cursed (by the Grim Reaper), and wild animals are haunting Rex's room (hounding him for answers). Even his best friend, Darvish, is not going to believe this, and that kid believes everything.

When 11-year-old Jack Martel crawls out of his pup tent on the first morning of his camping trip with his mom in Acadia National Park, he notices right away that something isn’t right. Where is his mom’s tent, and their rental car? And where is his mom? Any other kid might panic, might even go to the police. But Jack isn’t like other kids. And his mom isn’t like other moms. Jack knows that it’s up to him to find his mom before someone figures out what’s happened and separates them forever.

A bull shark in the swamp? No one in the Louisiana town of St. Roch believes it at first, but when a local boy has a face-to-face encounter with the toothy monster, every big fisherman is called out for the hunt. There's a big cash bounty on the shark. Sharp-eyed Birdie Gaux and her handsome dog, Bowser, can't help noticing that shark fever is causing some shady doings in town. For instance, where is Snoozy, the clerk who works at the Gaux family fishing store?

Mission: nearly impossible. As the Head of Ranch Security, Hank the Cowdog has seen his share of tough weather. So when a raging, swirling blizzard shuts down the ranch and Hank is stranded out at Slim's cabin, he isn't fazed one bit. At least, not until a phone call from the ranch house brings an emergency directive.

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.

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.

From the author of the best-selling Guardians of Ga'Hoole series comes the story of the wolves of Ga'Hoole. This is the inspiring story of an abandoned wolf pup, Faolan, who is determined to survive.

A great evil has risen. A murderer now leads the animals of the plains. As the elephant Sky leads her herd in a desperate search for Bravelands’ rightful leader, the baboon Thorn is forced to flee his old troop, and the lion Fearless, once their friend, is led astray by a tyrant.

Emily the Strange: 13 years old. Able to leap tall buildings, probably, if she felt like it. More likely to be napping with her four black cats; or cobbling together a particle accelerator out of lint, lentils, and safety pins; or rocking out on drums/ guitar/ saxophone/ zither; or painting a swirling feral sewer mural; or forcing someone to say "swirling feral sewer mural" 13 times fast.... and pointing and laughing.

This is the thrilling story of how a hurricane destroyed the wild herds of Assateague, and how strength and love helped rebuild them. Misty of Chincoteague has been delighting millions since its publication in 1947. Like the favorite classic, this sequel features siblings Paul and Maureen Beebe's special relationship with their ponies, and is filled with fascinating horse lore and amusing regional color.

There is a place where bears can live in peace, where there is sea-ice all year, where the forests are full of prey, where flat-faces never go. Polar bears Kallik and Taqqiq, black bear Lusa, grizzly Toklo, and the shape-shifting Ujurak believe that this fabled bear paradise must be the destination of their quest. But the path they follow is dangerous. The burning Smoke Mountains are more treacherous than anything the bears have faced before, and tensions run high as they encounter obstacle after obstacle.

Frequently honored by the ALA and recipient of a Newbery Honor distinction, Janet Taylor Lisle's work offers thrills and adventure for all young listeners. Into a colony of feral cats a trio of kittens comes to stay. Living in a small patch of woods near a mall, the colony is frightened by continued human incursion. But can these strange kittens be the key to saving their home?

Erin Hunter’s best-selling Bravelands series continues with the sixth and final book of the first Bravelands arc! At long last, the Great Herd is united against Titan - now so powerful that even Fearless, who vowed to avenge his father’s death, cannot defeat the rogue lion alone. Thorn may have a plan to bring about Titan’s downfall, but the animals of Bravelands must decide how much they are willing to risk - and who they are willing to lose.

A magical beanstalk leads to a giant surprise in book four of Ursula Vernon's critically acclaimed Hamster Princess series. Harriet Hamsterbone doesn't go looking for trouble. Somehow it always finds her. So she isn't completely shocked when a salesman attempts to sell her some magic beans, or when one of those beans grows into a towering beanstalk leading up into the clouds. But even Harriet is surprised to find a giant castle - complete with one very poetically challenged giant - at the top of it.

Twelve-year-old Koby isn't like the other kids in her class. She lost her right foot in an accident four years ago, and she is keenly aware that her classmates don't know how to act around her. The only place she feels at home is in her small boat, where she can watch whales play in the ocean. When Koby discovers a stranded mother whale and her baby, she realizes that their survival depends on her ability to keep them breathing through the night. But she is alone, and help is nowhere in sight.

Set in the African savannah and told from three different animals’ points of view, Bravelands will thrill listeners who love Spirit Animals and Wings of Fire, as well as the legion of dedicated fans who’ve made Erin Hunter a bestselling phenomenon.

In Bearstone, 14-year-old Cloyd Atcitty watched as a hunter killed what he thought was the last grizzly bear in Colorado. In this sequel, Cloyd continues his quest to find grizzlies in the mountains. Exploring the Weminuche Wilderness, Cloyd finds a pair of orphaned grizzly cubs. He must draw on his courage, determination, and Ute Indian heritage to teach them how to live in the wild. With winter approaching and food growing scarce, Cloyd must not only ensure the survival of the bears, but return to civilization before starvation and cold kill him.

In a dingy shack in the less-than-desirable Indian neighborhood he calls home, 12-year-old Anand is entrusted with a conch shell that possesses mystical powers. His task is to return the shell to its rightful home many hundreds of miles away. Accompanying him are Nisha, a headstrong but resourceful child of the streets, and a mysterious man of indeterminate age and surprising resources named Abadhyatta. His quest will take him farther from home than he's ever been and will teach him more than he ever imagined - and it will force him to make a poignant decision that will change him forever.