Animal books (talking and not) for Middle Grade (4th-6th)and Young Adult Readers

	2011 releases
Ages 9 and up	Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow, 225 pages “World War II has just ended when Mikhail finds a dying man and his German shepherd, Sasha, in the woods. It’s dangerous – some say traitorous – to own a German dog after Germany attacked Russia, so Mikhail must keep Zasha a secret to keep her alive.   But Mikhail’s rival, Katia, is determined to find the dog she is sure he’s hiding. At the same time, a soldier named Dimitri is breeding a new Russian dog at a nearby farm. So many dogs were lost to starvation and in combat that the country is in dire need of every kind of dog. Dimitri, too, has suspicions of Zasha’s existence, and would like nothing more than to add her to his breeding program. However, Dimitri will have to compete with the armed dog thieves who are also on her trail.” Jacket cover excerpt, Scholastic Press, 2011
Ages 9 and up	A Dog’s Way Home by Bobbie Pyron, 321 pages "Abby knows that Tam, her Shetland sheepdog, is her north star, and she’s pretty certain she’s his, too. But when an accident separates Abby and Tam, it feels as though all the stars have fallen out of the sky and nothing will ever be right again. As the days between them turn to weeks, then months, dangers and changes fill up Abby’s and Tam’s lives. Will they ever find their way home to each other?" Jacket cover excerpt, Katherine Tegen Books, HarperColins, 2011
Ages 9 and up	Me & Jack by Danette Haworth, 232 pages Joshua Reed knows how to play new kid: hang back, don’t talk too much, be invisible. He’s moved around plenty since his dad became a recruiter for the US Air Force and the Vietnam War broke out. But their newest home in the mountains of Pennsylvania feels special somehow. And it’s all because of Jack. With his strange glowing ears and unique ability to understand Joshua’s feelings, Jack is like no other dog Josh has ever seen. But adopting Jack yanks Josh from the sidelines to the front lines, and before he knows it, he’s butting heads with Alan Prater, the toughest kid around. Joshua wants to be friends with Ray, Prater’s cousin, but Prater’s not letting outsiders in. Plus, being the air force recruiter’s son during and unpopular war doesn’t exactly make fitting in easy. So when a few late-night disturbances rip through town and everything points back to his beloved dog, Joshua will have to fight for Jack, his family, and his new home. Jacket cover excerpt, Walker $ Co., Bloomsbury, 2011

	2010 Releases
Ages 9 and up	Nightshade City by Hilary Wagner, 262 pages "Deep beneath a modern metropolis lies the Catacombs, a kingdom of remarkable rats of superior intellect. Juniper and his maverick band of rebel rats have been plotting ever since the Bloody Coup turned the Catacombs, a once-peaceful democracy, into a brutal dictatorship ruled by decadent High Minister Killdeer and his vicious henchman, Billycan, a former lab rat with a fondness for butchery. When three young orphan rats-brothers Vincent and Victor and a clever female named Clover-flee the Catacombs in mortal peril and join forces with the rebels, it proves to be the spark that ignites the long-awaited battle to overthrow their oppressors and create a new city: Nightshade City." Jacket cover excerpt, Holiday House, 2010

	2009 and earlier releases
Ages 9 and up	Elska (book 1 of the Horse Diaries series) by Catherine Hapka, illus. by Ruth Sanderson, 110 pages “Iceland, Circa AD 1000 - Elska is a silver dapple Icelandic filly. She spends summers frisking about the countryside and winters in the farmyard, where the girl human Amma take special care of her. But when a powerful neighbor notices Elska, her contented life suddenly changes. Here is Elska’s story…in her own words.” Jacket cover excerpt, Random House, 2009*Dee’s note-This is a fun series with each book set in a different place and a different time.
Ages 9 and up	Tumtum & Nutmeg, Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall by Emily Bearn, 503 pages “Deep inside the broom cupboard of Rose Cottage, two mice live in great style.Tumtum and Nutmeg lead cozy and quiet lives, secretly looking after Arthur and Lucy, the dishelved human children of the cottage, never dreaming that so many exciting adventures will soon find them. But evil Aunt Ivy, a squeamish school-teacher named Miss Short, and pirating pond rats threaten the safety of those they hold dear, the courageous pair will stop at nothing to save the day." Jacket cover excerpt, Little, Brown and Co., 2009
Ages 9 and up	The Mousehunter by Alex Milway, 422 pages "Across the  Seventeen Seas there is no mousehunting pirate has as feared as the legendary Captain Mousebeard. He seeks out the rarest and most precious breeds of mice to collect and trade, his fearsome reputation preceding him wherever he goes. Emiline, mousekeeper to one of Old Town’s  wealthiest  citizens, is anything but feared.  So when her master puts a bounty on Mousebeard’s head, she sees it as the chance of a lifetime. Her journey takes her on a high-seas adventure, filled with swords and sea monsters, betrayal, lies, and the chance to capture the most dangerous man in mousing history." Jacket cover excerpt, Little, Brown Books, 2009
Ages 9 and up	The Secret Zoo by Byran Chick, 245 pages "Something extraordinary is happening at the Clarksville City Zoo, but only nine-year-old Megan Nowicki knows it. Megan lives in a neighborhood right beside the zoo. Late one night from her tree fort, she spots monkeys hurdling the zoo walls, landing on rooftops and lunging from house to house. They are searching for something-but what?  Weeks later, Megan vanishes! Her brother, Noah, and their best friends Ella and Richie, discover clues that link the zoo with her disappearance. Before long, the three Adventure Scouts find themselves in the thick of a great mystery. To solve it and rescue Megan, they must sneak into the zoo and delve into the unknown world of the animals. The children come to know that the zoo is protecting a great secret-a secret that must never by uncovered the sinister Shadow Man." Jacket cover excerpt, Second Wish Press, 2007
Ages 9 and up	The Capture (Guardians of Ga’hoole series) by Kathryn Lasky, 243 pages         “Born in the forest of the barn owls, Soren loves life’s little pleasures, like the feel of a centipede pattering down his throat. But evil lurks in the owl world, and threatens to change the course of Soren’s life forever. One terrifying night the strangers come they capture Soren and fly him to a deep canyon, where the destruction of all owls is being planned Now Soren will have to do something he has never done before: he will have to fly...” Jacket cover excerpt, Harper Collins Children’s Books, 2003
Ages 9 and up	Warriors Into the Wild (1st of series) by Erin Hunter, 272 pages "For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by their warrior ancestors. But the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger, and the sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dying-and some deaths are more mysterious than others. In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary house cat named Rusty…who may turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all." Jacket cover excerpt, HarperCollins, 2003
Ages 9 and up	Silverwing (1st of a series) by Kenneth Oppel, 216 pages “Shade is a young Silverwing bat, the runt of his colony, determined to prove himself on the long and dangerous winter migration to Hibernaculum, millions of wingbeats to the south. During a storm, he is swept out over the ocean – away from his family, his friends, and the only life he has ever known. Alone and frightened as winter fast approaches and temperatures plunge, Shade knows he must find a way to rejoin his colony in the south. And thus begins an extraordinary journey—from the pigeon stronghold in the city’s spires to the rat kingdom deep below the earth. Along the way, Shade encounters a remarkable cast of characters: Marina, a Brightwing bat with a strange metal band on her forearm; Zephyr, a mystical albino bat who can hear into both the past and the future; and Goth, a gigantic carnivorous vampire bat captured in his native jungle and brought to a mysterious human laboratory in the north. If only Shade could figure out which ones are friends, and which ones enemies.” Jacket cover excerpt, Simon & Schuster, 1997
Ages 9 and up	Redwall (1st of a series) by Brian Jacques, 351 pages "It is the Summer of the Late Rose. But a sinister shadow has fallen across the ancient stone abbey of Redwall, even as the gentle mice of Mossflower Wood gather there to celebrate a year of peace and abundance. For it is rumored that Cluny is coming-Cluny, the terrible one-eyed rat and his battle-seasoned horde-Cluny, whose vow is to conquer Redwall Abeey! The woodland creatures rush to a desperate defense. But what can an abbey of peaceloving mice do against Cluny the Scourge and his army of rats? If only they had the sword of Martin the Warrior, they might have a chance of saving their beloved Abbey. But the hiding place of the legendary sword has been long forgotten, even by the wise old mouse Methuselah. It is his bumbling young apprentice Matthias who sets out to find the sword and who becomes a most unlikely hero." Jacket cover excerpt, Philomel Books, 1986