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Selections for World Animal Month

ByK. A. Ramstad

October is famous for Halloween and harvest festivals, but it’s also a month for many animal-themed days.

  • October 4: World Animal Day, Kindness to Animals Day, and the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
  • October 3-9: Animal Welfare Week
  • October 30: National Treat Your Pet Day
  • The entire month is World Animal Month and Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.

Animal books educate children on different species, and reading from an animal’s point of view can nurture empathy for that creature. Here are a few books that middle-graders can check out during this special month.

Balto and Togo: Hero Dogs of Alaska by Helen Moss

Historical Fiction

3rd through 6th grade

You may be familiar with Balto, the sled dog who crossed the finish line to deliver antitoxins for children sick with diphtheria. Or you may recall Togo, who ran the most miles in the Serum Run to relay the medicine. Helen Moss shares their adventures in a way that’s both a storybook and a historical account.

Were the dogs necessary in the Serum Run? Moss explains that transportation was limited back in the 1920s, and an airplane engine in those days could freeze in extreme cold, hence the need for sled dogs. The health board behind the run assembled other relay teams, so Balto and Togo’s teams wouldn’t run too many miles. However, we see the dogs willing to push hard, as they could sense the urgency of the run.

Siberian huskies have speed and stamina, and the book gives the impression that they can run for many hours on little food. According to some sources, they can run for several hours without eating. But the Serum Run was a dangerous trip, and Moss is honest about sled dogs experiencing injury or death. Despite the sadness of dogs and sick children losing their lives, excitement and heroism radiate from the book. Is your child both a history lover and a dog nut? Give this book a try.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Historical Fiction/Classic Novel

3rd through 6th grade

I recently read this classic novel for the first time. It is rich with emotion, as readers see Black Beauty experience humans of all kinds: the good, the ignorant, and the cruel. The story displays how some people treated horses as if they were machines instead of breathing, feeling creatures.

However, the story demonstrates kindness and patience toward horses, which are what motivate them to listen. And not all people who overstrained their horses were complete monsters. One driver is slave-driven by his employer, in turn overworking his horse, and the poor man passes away from work stress.

This novel doesn’t follow the modern literary trend of making the main character an active hero. Instead, Black Beauty experiences the actions of the people around him. He lacks the control of a human hero and requires loving care from humans in his life. After all his experiences, both wonderful and horrendous, his story has a happy ending, mixed with a sweet surprise which I won’t give away here.

***content note:  Black Beauty’s horse friend, Ginger, has more horrible encounters with humans, and the beatings she endured may be too intense for some readers. The book also shows the brutal life of a war horse, as well as a driving accident where a horse is stabbed in the chest by a shaft.

Four-legged Legends of Montana by Gayle C. Shirley

Nonfiction/History

5th through 12th grade

Your kids might enjoy reading about animals in their home state, and Gayle C. Shirley’s collection of short stories is about famous animals in my state of Montana. It mentions Comanche, the horse that barely survived the horrors of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as they read about a man’s showdown with the notorious, 1,100-pound grizzly Two Toes.

There’s also the story of the wolves Ghost Wolf and Snowdrift, who killed livestock and evaded hunters for a long time. In the past, wolves were thought of as ravenous killers, and a loss of livestock could mean tens of thousands of dollars lost. Today, many people fight to save wolves’ lives, but Shirley’s book will cause readers to consider the ranchers who would strive to eradicate them. Was it necessary for them to shoot the wolves to protect their cattle? Or was there a better solution?

Shirley also tells the story of Earl, the elk who traveled roughly 1,800 miles from Montana to Missouri. Earl might have been alive when this book was written, i.e., 1993. I wonder what has happened to him since then?

Overall, this is a fun history book, and even if you’re not from Montana, you’ll be intrigued by these unique animal tales.

***content note: Shirley declares humans as animals. Native American mysticism is mentioned in a couple of stories.  Douglas Chadwick in Reader’s Digest called the Giefer Grizzly a “go-to-hell” bear.

K. A. Ramstad
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