We are presently reading Tales of Despereaux which my children are thoroughly entranced by the mouse. (Who doesn’t like stories of mice?)
I know the RedWall Series are based in a mouse world, though, I’m thinking the age group for that is about 9-10 and up. (Haven’t read the 9000 books in this series. Yet.)
**Cricket in Time Square ** features a Cricket and, IRC, a cat. Grade 3ish.
The Wainscot Weasel is about weasels and their community and dealing with having a successful older sibling that you can not ever be as good as no matter how good you do. Grade 3-4
Bunnicula is the charming tale of the family cat who thinks the new pet bunny is a vampire. The family dog is involved in the entire affair as well. Very cute. Grade 1-2.
The Brambley Hedge Series by Jill Barklem. Just an adorable set of stories of a mouse community during the seasons. Captivating artwork that you could lose yourself in and wish you were a mouse. Out of print now, but worth finding. Preschool on up.
What other stories do animals come alive and have adventures in?
Thornton W. Burgesswrote a huge series of books about animals. My favorite was “The Adventure of Bob White” which told the story of Bob White and Mrs. White (which may not be her name) and how they raised a set of chicks- including when the whole family moved in with Peter Cottontail and his wife who lived in a bramble patch. I owned two or three, and read a half dozen more before I tired of them. If I’d known I could check them out of the library when I was a little younger I might have read more before I tired of them.
Each book in the series is mostly separate, though characters recurr and I suppose some events occur which then show up in other books. They are kind of interesting books because they mostly show the lives of animals in the wild- with less anthromorphism than Beatrix Potter- but the characters all talk in English to each other so it isn’t truly realistic.
Frog and Toad!! Almost forgot them, can’t believe it.
And, that reminds me of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, which is aimed at a little older crowd than the OP was looking for, I think, but cannot be forgotten in a thread on this subject.
I hope I will be forgiven for publicising my own humble effort, but there are still so many in the warehouse and I’ve got to shift them somehow. Sob! Sob!
Anyway, welcome to the world of Piccolo, the Monster Cat. (There’s a wide age range because of the differences between first language and foreign language learners.)
My latest effort is aimed at a slightly higher age bracket (that just below Harry Potter - the golden 9-99 spread), and features dogs rather than cats (cos I was told they sell better). Can Georgie Porgescu Spy Dog Extraordinary finally put me on the map? Well, at least my kid enjoys the manuscript…
I guess I’ll add Black Beauty, though parts of it may be disturbing to younger readers. There’s also The True Story of the Three Little Pigs , in which the Big Bad Wolf, now in jail, gives his side of the story. I got it for my nephew but I can’t remember the author.
Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West and** Piper at the Gate** by Mary Stanton are must-reads for a young horse lover. They’re the Watership Down of horse stories. I think I lost count of how many times I read those two books-I’ve even reread them recently and was happy to discover they hadn’t lost a bit of their charm or magic.
Enid Blyton wrote a series of short stories about a rascal rabbit and his misadventures with all sort of of animal friends and nemsis. That was ages ago, but some stories I remember are how he dressed up with pots and pans to scare his arch-nemesis, the Fox and Wolf away, and the numerous times he escaped from being cooked and eaten.
Good simulpost, folks!