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What Elephants Know

Eric Dinerstein · back to the book

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24 books with the same feel

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Wolf Brother

Michelle Paver · 320 pages

This exciting fast-paced novel is an engaging depiction of a young boy's life during Neolithic times. This fictional account includes details based on archeological evidence of tool use, clothing, and other details of everyday life during the Stone Age. The main character loses his father in a 'demonic' animal attack, so is left alone to face the harsh realities of survival without the benefit o

OrphansAnimal CompanionMiddle GradeHistorical Fiction
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The Sword in the Stone

T.H. White · 288 pages

When Merlyn the magician comes to tutor Sir Ector's sons Kay and the Wart, schoolwork suddenly becomes much more fun. After all, who wouldn't enjoy being turned into a fish, or a badger, or a snake? But Merlyn has very particular plans for the Wart. This is the children's story of King Arthur's childhood which was the basis for the still popular Disney cartoon of the same title.

Animal CompanionOrphansMiddle GradeTeen Protagonist
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Ferals

Jacob Grey · 288 pages

Animal CompanionOrphansMiddle GradeMale Lead
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Under the Lilacs

Louisa May Alcott · 284 pages

Ben and his trained dog, Sancho, run away from the circus and soon find a warm welcome in a kind community where spirited games are played. Theatricals and imaginative pageantry are all part of the fun.

Animal CompanionOrphansMiddle GradeMale Lead
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The Last Leopard

Lauren St. John · 200 pages

Martine can't wait to spend the school vacation riding her white giraffe around the Sawubona wildlife reserve with her friend Ben. But when her grandmother gets a distressed call from an old friend, Martine's hopes are dashed. They must all travel to Zimbabwe, where Martine will face her greatest challenge yet. Local legend says that the last resting place of the king of leopards is the hiding pla

Animal CompanionOrphansMiddle GradeTeen Protagonist
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A Million Shades of Gray

Cynthia Kadohata · 220 pages

In 1975 after American troops pull out of Vietnam, a thirteen-year-old boy and his beloved elephant escape into the jungle when the Viet Cong attack his village.

Animal CompanionMiddle GradeTeen ProtagonistHistorical Fiction
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The Golden Compass

Philip Pullman · 399 pages

In a landmark epic of fantasy and storytelling, Philip Pullman invites readers into a world as convincing and thoroughly realized as Narnia, Earthsea, or Redwall. Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mys

Animal CompanionOrphansMiddle GradeTeen Protagonist
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Old Yeller

Fred Gipson · 158 pages

At first, Travis couldn't stand the sight of Old Yeller. The stray dog was ugly, and a thieving rascal, too. But he sure was clever, and a smart dog could be a big help on the wild Texas frontier, especially with Papa away on a long cattle drive up to Abilene. Strong and courageous, Old Yeller proved that he could protect Travis's family from any sort of danger. But can Travis do the same for O

Animal CompanionMiddle GradeTeen ProtagonistHistorical Fiction
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Paint the Wind

Pam Munoz Ryan · 327 pages

After her overprotective grandmother has a stroke, Maya, an orphan, leaves her extremely restricted life in California to stay with her mother's family on a remote Wyoming ranch, where she discovers a love of horses and encounters a wild mare that her mother once rode

Animal CompanionOrphansMiddle Grade
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Julie of the Wolves

Jean Craighead George · 170 pages

Miyax, like many adolescents, is torn. But unlike most, her choices may determine whether she lives or dies. At 13, an orphan, and unhappily married, Miyax runs away from her husband's parents' home, hoping to reach San Francisco and her pen pal. But she becomes lost in the vast Alaskan tundra, with no food, no shelter, and no idea which is the way to safety. Now, more than ever, she must look har

Animal CompanionMiddle GradeOrphansTeen Protagonist
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The Magician's Elephant

Kate DiCamillo · 224 pages

What if? Why not? Could it be? When a fortune teller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchenne knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortune teller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead you there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you w

Animal CompanionOrphansMiddle GradeMale Lead
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Some Kind of Courage

Dan Gemeinhart · 240 pages

In 1890 Washington the only family Joseph Johnson has left is his half-wild Indian pony, Sarah, so when she is sold by a man who has no right to do so, he sets out to get her back--and he plans to let nothing stop him in his quest.

Animal CompanionMiddle GradeTeen ProtagonistHistorical Fiction
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Elephant Run

Roland Smith · 336 pages

Animal CompanionMiddle GradeTeen ProtagonistHistorical Fiction
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My friend Flicka

Mary O'Hara · 318 pages

Animal CompanionMiddle GradeTeen ProtagonistMale Lead
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Fly by Night

Frances Hardinge · 487 pages

Twelve-year-old Mosca Mye hasn't got much. Her cruel uncle keeps her locked up in his mill, and her only friend is her pet goose, Saracen, who'll bite anything that crosses his path. But she does have one small, rare thing: the ability to read. She doesn't know it yet, but in a world where books are dangerous things, this gift will change her life.

Animal CompanionOrphansMiddle Grade
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Bastion

Mercedes Lackey · 384 pages

Mags returns to the Collegium, but there are mixed feelings -- his included -- about him actually remaining there. No one doubts that he is and should be a Herald, but he is afraid that his mere presence is going to incite more danger right in the heart of Valdemar. The heads of the Collegia are afraid that coming back to his known haunt is going to give him less protection than if he went into hi

Animal CompanionOrphansTeen ProtagonistMale Lead
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Threatened

Eliot Schrefer · 277 pages

Luc is an orphan, living in debt slavery in Gabon, until he meets a Professor who claims to be studying chimpanzees, and they head off into the jungle--but when the Professor disappears, Luc has to fend for himself and join forces with the chimps to save their forest. An African boy living on the streets escapes his jailer by heading into the forest with a scientist who is not entirely what he se

OrphansAnimal CompanionTeen ProtagonistMale Lead
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Caught in the Act

Joan Lowery Nixon · 150 pages

Eleven-year-old Michael Patrick Kelly from New York City is sent to a foster home, a Missouri farm with a sadistic owner, a bullying son, and a number of secrets, one of which may be murder.

OrphansMiddle GradeTeen ProtagonistHistorical Fiction
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The Jungle Books

Rudyard Kipling · 334 pages

Among the best loved of all children's classics, Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book is set among a community of animals in the jungles of India, where Kipling was born and grew up. Three of the stories feature the adventures of an abandoned "man cub," a boy named Mowgli, who is raised by wolves in the jungle. Other well-known stories in the collection include "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," the tale of a heroi

Animal CompanionOrphansMiddle GradeMale Lead
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Northwind

Gary Paulsen · 242 pages

OrphansMiddle GradeTeen ProtagonistHistorical Fiction
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The Golden Goblet

Eloise Jarvis McGraw · 248 pages

The story of a young orphaned boy trained as a metalworker in ancient eygpt who uncovers a plot by his wicked half brother to steal from the pharoahs tombs. Ranofer wants only one thing in the world: to be a master goldsmith like his beloved father was. But how can he when he is all but imprisoned by his evil half brother, Gebu? Ranofer knows the only way he can escape Gebu's abuse is by chang

OrphansMiddle GradeTeen ProtagonistHistorical Fiction
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A Single Shard

Linda Sue Park · 152 pages

In this Newbery Medal-winning book set in 12th century Korea, Tree-ear, a 13-year-old orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch’ulp’o, a potters' village famed for delicate celadon ware. He has become fascinated with the potter’s craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes Tree-ear on as his helper, Tree-ear is ela

OrphansMiddle GradeTeen ProtagonistHistorical Fiction
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The Devil and His Boy

Anthony Horowitz · 182 pages

Tom Falconer is in trouble. Pursued by the notorious criminal Ratsey, Tom soon finds himself alone and hungry on the streets of London. Luckily enough, the mysterious Dr. Mobius soon recruits Tom to play an important role in a play to be performed in front of Queen Elizabeth. Tom knows there's something not right about Mobius, but he's willing to take a risk in order to keep his neck out of Ratsey

OrphansMiddle GradeTeen ProtagonistHistorical Fiction
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Island of the Blue Dolphins

Scott O'Dell · 184 pages

Story of a young girl abandoned on a small island by her family and her village, and of her fight for survival. The incredible courage, determination and strength of this girl is showcased throughout as she learns to do the things that only the men of her tribe did before, and battles not only the hunters who frequent the island, but also her desperate loneliness as well... Excellent read fo

Animal CompanionMiddle GradeTeen ProtagonistHistorical Fiction

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