Score

I s'pose the ones I chose (or added) are not actually "talking" animals, but animals who talk to the reader; they are the narrators.

You forgot Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. and Life of Pi
by Yann Martel. I'm sure there are a ton more. But are there any books where its set in real life and then an entire species start talking to the humans?

Another new YA novel is The Listener, by Maris E. McCambley. One reviewer described the book as follows:

Imagine discovering one day that you have the ability to communicate with animals, and that the animal world has sent emissaries to ask for your help to prevent millions of needless deaths each year--not just animal deaths, but human as well. Imagine further that a very small but influential percentage of animals don't want your help, and they're determined to stop you.

Twenty pages into this novel you will believe that animals have spoken to you your entire life, and you just haven't been paying attention. The author has a wonderful ear for dialog, and seems to know exactly how a dog, or cat, or hawk, or rat, will respond to any given situation. I haven't "heard" animal dialog this good since I listened to E.B. White read Charlotte's Web. 8 - 12 year-old kids will love this book, but I would not rule it out for adults, especially those who have a warm place in their hearts for small, furry animals.

Here is the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4d3Bu...

Amazon (Kindle) link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Listener-eb...

Barnes & Noble (Nook) link:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-...

Here is the Smashwords link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/searc...

The wind in the willows should totally be at the top of this list.

What about the "Cottage Tales" by Susan Wittig Albert? I have only read one so far but it was really cute. The animals help to solve the mysteries.

You could add them; it's easy to add books to lists. Up at the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."

Susanna wrote: "You could add them; it's easy to add books to lists. Up at the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes.""

Oh I see. I just added it. Thanks! :)

thanks for the list.
i have a special interest in animal literature. this list, exact what i want, has.

Um, there's no talking animal in "Wynn Dixie"!

I'd love to see Julie of the Wolves on here, or the sequel: Julie's Wolfpack by Jean Craighead George. Otherwise great list, and I've already added Wind and the Willows to my library holds. So happy to see The Trumpet of the Swan on this list and hope it influences someone to pick it up if they haven't.

You could add them; it's easy to add books to list. At the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes"; it will give you the choice of adding from your own shelves, or doing a general database search.

Dear Librarian - As far as I know, Martha Grimes' novels do not feature talking animals nor animals as narrators. Thank you.

Wanda wrote: "Dear Librarian - As far as I know, Martha Grimes' novels do not feature talking animals nor animals as narrators. Thank you."

Several of them do, actually -- Grimes has a gimmick about "talking" (or at least "thinking"/"soliloquizing") dogs and cats in particular ... The books I added are all cases in point, where this phenomenon occurs most prominently.

Part of a series of "Freddy" books; a pig and other animals on the Bean Family Farm not only talk to each other but talk to people too. The books have humor, adventure, poetry and drama. Ostensibly for children, Brooks (a New Yorker writer) was amusing himself and entertaining adults as well as children. "Freddy" might be a pig, but he taught my brothers and me everything we needed to know about being human.

You should add Murakami's "The Windup Bird Chronicals", and Poe's "The Raven" (even though that's technically a poem). Also, "Varjak Paw" is an AMAZING book about a cat and kung-fu. Lastly, what about Gaimen's "Coraline"?

Anyone can vote on this list, or add books to it; at the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."

Susanna - Censored by GoodReads wrote: "Anyone can vote on this list, or add books to it; at the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes.""
Hi Susanna, what would cause a novel with talking animals to be removed from this list? Thank you.

I don't know. I notice a librarian (not me) deleted a number of books from this list recently, but she did not leave a note explaining her deletions (which is the preferred practice). The librarians' log format does not list novels removed, so I don't know what they were.

They might have been picture books. They might have been novels, but not with talking animals. I just really don't know.

As much as I love A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh books, I don't think they belong on this list. The "animals" are all stuffed animals which means they fall more into the category of living or magical toys.