Something that comes up time and time again on our Facebook page is how much you love those little characters that aren’t quite human. If we’re not saving odd socks for Dobby the House Elf we’re shedding a tear for the rabbits of Watership Down, so we thought we’d ask you what your favourite books with non-human protagonists are.
As expected you were enthusiastic in your replies and from those we’ve put together the top 33 books named to bring you a list of the best books with non-human protagonists.
Watership Down – Richard Adams
One of the most well known books with anthropomorphic characters has to be Adams’ classic, Watership Down. Popular with children and adults alike this is where many learned about the brutal nature of the great outdoors so we’re not surprised to see it at the top of the list.
Charlotte’s Web – E. B. White
Who didn’t sob at the end of Charlotte’s Web? You couldn’t fail to fall in love with that wise old spider, or her porcine sidekick. The one where we learned that everything has its time.
The Art of Racing in the Rain – Garth Stein
The Art of Racing in the Rain gets so many mentions in many of our polls and this novels, told from the perspective of a dog is an eye opener for many and is a New York Times bestseller.
The Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings makes our first fantasy favourite of the list and who could fail to be drawn into the world of hobbits with Tolkien’s everlasting classic.
Black Beauty – Anna Sewell
What young girl didn’t grow up on this classic, I know it was a favourite of mine. The tale of Black Beauty transcends the times and we’re not surprised to see it make the list.
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
The Book Thief is narrated by Death itself and many of you fell in love with this unique approach to novel writing.
Animal Farm – George Orwell
The life of a farmyard politicised in many the finest allegory ever written as Orwell displays Russian history using the animals of Animal Farm.
Redwall (series) – Brian Jacques
Redwall is a popular children’s fantasy series and it seems that the anthropomorphic characters have stayed with many of you always.
Twilight Saga – Stephenie Mayer
More fantasy and it doesn’t get much more fantasy than glittery vampires, cited in ninth place in our poll.
Call of the Wild – Jack London
This classic novel is still popular today, set in Yukon and following the adventures of Buck, the sled dog it’s seen many adaptations and still finds itself on many reading lists.
The top ten books in our list were the ones with the most votes from you, but there were many more mentioned too. Next on the list and all with an equal number of votes is:
The Tale of Despereaux – Kate DiCamillo
Stuart Little – E.B White
The Incredible Journey – Sheila Burnford
Chronicles of Narnia – C. S. Lewis
Then we continue into the next set of equal votes with:
Fluke – James Herbert
Oy (Dark Tower Series) – Stephen King
Host – Stephenie Meyer
Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – Robert C. O’Brien
Then finishing the list with a coupe of notable mentions each is:
Lad a Dog – Albert Payson Terhune
The Plague Dogs – Richard Adams
The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Graeme
Watchers – Dean Koontz
The Black Stallion – Walter Farley
E.T – William Kotzwinkle
Warriors (series) – Erin Hunter
Where the Redfern Grows – Wilson Rawls
Seagull – Jonathon Livingstone
White Fang – Jack London
Shadow the Sheepdog – Enid Blyton
The Bane Chronicles – Clarissa Claire
Dracula – Bram Stoker
Three Bags Full – Leonie Swann
Freddy the Pig (series) – Walter R. Brooks
That was certainly a wide and varied list and as always we hope it offers you a little reading inspiration!
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This article has “best books” in the title…. The Twilight Saga does NOT belong here. They were not good books, by any means. On top of it, the protagonist is HUMAN for three of the hours novels.