Best of
Animal-Fiction

2015

Ellie's Story


W. Bruce Cameron - 2015
    Bruce Cameron.Ellie is a very special dog with a very important purpose. From puppyhood, Ellie has been trained as a search-and-rescue dog. She can track down a lost child in a forest or an injured victim under a fallen building. She finds people. She saves them. It's what she was meant to do.But Ellie must do more. Her handlers--widowed Jakob, lonely Maya--need her too. People can be lost in many ways, and to do the job she was born to do, Ellie needs to find a way to save the people she loves best.Ellie's Story is an inspiring tale for young animal lovers. Adorable black-and-white illustrations by Richard Cowdrey bring Ellie and her world to life. A discussion and activity guide at the end of the book will help promote family and classroom discussions about Ellie's Story and the insights it provides about humankind's best friends.

Usagi Yojimbo Saga, Vol. 2


Stan Sakai - 2015
    The adventures of Stan Sakai's beloved Miyamoto Usagi hit an early peak in this new deluxe compilation! Volume Two features the rabbit ronin's first encounters with the Lord of Owls, Inspector Ishida, and more, and is highlighted by the Eisner Award-winning Grasscutter, a grand tale assembling nearly all the series' characters in a struggle over the grasscutting sword of Japanese legend, with the fate of the nation in the balance! This signed, limited edition omnibus collects Usagi Yojimbo Book 11: Seasons, Usagi Yojimbo Book 12: Grasscutter, and Usagi Yojimbo Book 13: Grey Shadows.

A Pack Divided


Erin Hunter - 2015
    But tensions are rising among the dogs of the Wild Pack—and the greatest danger they face may come from within.

Usagi Yojimbo Saga, Vol. 3


Stan Sakai - 2015
    The third volume in Dark Horse's definitive Usagi Yojimbo compilations showcases Stan Sakai's epic series at its best! Usagi faces a terrifying new foe who wears a demon mask; the Eisner-winning "Grasscutter" storyline receives a sequel, "Return to Atsuta Shrine;" pickpocket Kitsune's history is revealed; fan-favorite character Sasuké the Demon Queller makes his debut; and a beloved ally long thought dead returns! Throughout, Sakai's storytelling constitutes a master class in the comics form! Collects Usagi Yojimbo Volume Three #31-#52, along with stories from Dark Horse Presents and more!

Usagi Yojimbo Saga Volume 4


Stan Sakai - 2015
    First, Usagi attends a duel between his former teacher, Katsuichi, and Katsuich's rival, and is drawn into a dispute involving a local fencing school. Next, Usagi struggles with the knowledge that his young traveling companion Jotaro is his son. Along the way, Sakai spins classic tales, as the Neko Ninja plot against Lord Noriyuki's life, fan-favorite character Sasuké the Demon Queller returns, and the manga classic Lone Wolf and Cub is homaged in "Lone Goat and Kid"! Collects Usagi Yojimbo Volume Three #53-#75!

Survivors: Tales from the Packs


Erin Hunter - 2015
    Three novellas from the action-packed world of the bestselling Survivors series by Erin Hunter—together in print for the first time! In Survivors: Tales from the Packs, discover these thrilling stand-alone adventures:Alpha's Tale: Before he became the fierce leader of the Wild Pack, Alpha learned to survive as the only half dog in a Pack of wolves.Sweet's Journey: In the aftermath of the Big Growl, Sweet left her friend Lucky to go in search of a Pack—and found a place as its Beta.Moon's Choice: When disaster struck the Pack that raised her, Moon lost the life she'd always known… and began a new one with the dog she loved.

Max's Wild Night


Meg Welch Dendler - 2015
    No humans to tell him what to do. No cats running the house. No one to call him Bad Dog. No fences and no rules. He could be wild and free and never have to answer to anyone again! But will that freedom turn out to be the fantastic journey he was expecting? What adventures and strange creatures will Max discover in the Ozark forest on a full-moon spring night?“Max’s Wild Night” is a companion book to the best-selling, award-winning Cats in the Mirror series.

Persimmon Takes On Humanity


Christopher Locke - 2015
    Instantly, the courageous critters spring into action, risking their own lives to rescue any animal they see suffering at the hands of humans. What the team doesn’t know is just how rampant this violence really is, and soon their exciting rescue missions turn shockingly dangerous and deadly. Will they succeed in saving the animals of the world from humans’ brutality, or will they fall victim to the powerful system of abuse they’re trying so desperately to end? Persimmon Takes On Humanity is the thrilling first novel in The Enlightenment Adventures, and for anyone who loved the intensity of The Hunger Games, the social commentary of The Jungle, and the heart of Charlotte’s Web, this will be your new favorite book.

The 12 Days of a Great White Christmas


Chris Bresky - 2015
    Educational as well! Be introduced to rare, unfamiliar shark breeds and learn even more about them in the "Holly Jolly Shark Fact Section!" A Great White Christmas tradition for the whole family! Get the printed book at the12daysofagreatwhitechristmas.com

Unpredictable Worlds: Stories


Jessica Knauss - 2015
    A reporter turns into a rhinoceros. A couple's efforts to eat local go frighteningly awry. If you're looking to be surprised, puzzled, or just plain entertained, pick up this omnibus. There's something for everyone! More than twenty years in the making, UNPREDICTABLE WORLDS contains all of Jessica Knauss’s published and prize-winning short fiction as of March 2015 and a few of her best stories never before seen in print or ebook. Zany plots and outrageous characters will stretch your belief and tug at your heart.These stories contain exaggeration, elision, disregard for “the real world.” Some even exhibit a tone of blatant optimism. However, they respect human speech patterns, admire good grammar, and hold proper punctuation in the highest regard.

The Taken


Inbali Iserles - 2015
    Foxcraft is full of excitement and heart, and a touch of magic.Isla and her brother are two young foxes living just outside the lands of the furless -- humans. The life of a fox is filled with dangers, but Isla has begun to learn mysterious skills meant to help her survive. Then the unthinkable happens. Returning to her den, Isla finds it set ablaze and surrounded by strange foxes, and her family is nowhere in sight. Forced to flee, she escapes into the cold, gray world of the furless. Now Isla must navigate this bewildering and deadly terrain, all while being hunted by a ruthless enemy. In order to survive, she will need to master the ancient arts of her kind -- magical gifts of cunning known only to foxes. She must unravel the secrets of foxcraft.

Hide-And-Seek Pig and Postman Bear


Julia Donaldson - 2015
    In Tales From Acorn Wood: Hide-and-Seek Pig and Postman Bear, two of the popular lift-the-flap stories from the creators of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, are together in paperback for the first time, with a beautiful foiled cover look. Pig and Hen are playing hide-and-seek. But where on earth could Hen be? Lift the flaps and help Pig find out where she is hiding. Then join Bear as he delivers letters to his friends Frog, Squirrel and Mole -- and lift the flaps to see Bear's special birthday surprise! Look out for Tales From Acorn Wood: Fox's Socks and Rabbit's Nap also available as a two-books-in-one paperback.

Darkeye


Lydia West - 2015
    That is what Mhumhi, a young painted dog, has grown up believing. But Mhumhi is not a member of the pack- as a infant, he was stolen by a domestic dog and adopted into an unlikely litter of all different species. He has grown up half in hiding with his adoptive siblings- a bush dog, a dhole, and an ethiopian wolf.When their adoptive mother disappears, Mhumhi seeks her out. He finds instead that the last adoptees she brought into their motley family are not dogs at all, but rather a pair of young hulkers. Without the pack’s protection, they will surely be killed by the police- for there have been a rash of disappearances lately, and the culprit is no dog…Mhumhi only sets out to protect the two small hulkers, but in doing so he begins to uncover not just his mother’s secrets, but the dark backbone of the entire city.