when i was younger i read house of tribes and hunters moon (by gary kilworth) black beauty and watership down and no books since them have ever caught me in the throat and gripped my eyes than these. i wonder if it's the crafting of the stories, the fact that i was younger when i first read them and i'm touched by nostalgia when i reread them or because i just love animals.

house of tribes is about a country mouse who goes on a quest in search for the haven of the plenty The House. when he arrives it's filled with warring tribes of mice. he manages to join the tribes together to rid the House of the great pest; the humans. it's a brilliant book, told simply with heart aching themes of friendship and courage. if you live in england amazon.co.uk has these books (hunters moon too) used for a penny (it'll be extra for posting obviously, but i really recommend it)

hunters moon, by the same author (i'm pretty sure gary kilworth has lots of different novels from the eyes of many different british animals) is about foxes. i'm hazier on the details of this one, but again it's about the fox and it's role in society among humans. the themes are the same and a cynic may say that gary kilworth's approach to these books are formulaic, i won't disagree, but the characterisation in both books are second to none and every PoV feels different. so while you may think "animals against human, AGAIN!" in fact we are also being treated to how these animals' live, including a lot of laughs, but also many harrowing moments.

watership down and black beauty probably don't need much introduction. the end of black beauty is one of the most bittersweet moments of any book and i defy anyone to read and not well up and watership down is just a masterpiece

so are there any animally books you would like to share?