Springfield-Greene County Library District discussion

Hello everyone,

This month's topic for discussion is Animal Stories! This can be fiction from any genre or nonfiction--anything goes as long as animals play a prominent role.

This fits with the theme for this year's Summer Reading Program: Tails and Tales! There's a Summer Reading Program for all age groups, including a special challenge for adults. Sign up and get started at thelibrary.org/summerreading.

If you need ideas for some books to read this month, check out the Animal Tales booklist on our bookshelf.

To start us off, comment below and tell us about your all-time favorite animal stories.

Earlier this year, I listened to Rescuing Finley. I loved this one!

One of my favorite books that fits this theme is Hollow Kingdom, which is a zombie apocalypse story told from the perspective of a crow. I liked it for its irreverent humor and adventure-filled storyline!

This topic immediately makes me think of Watership Down by Richard Adams. Published in 1972, this story of a small community of rabbits is a absolute treasure!

Rescuing Finley looks really cute, Theresa! Did you read any other books in the series?

I have to admit, I didn't know that Watership Down is about rabbits! It's one of those classics that I've heard about but never read. It sounds much more interesting knowing that :)

Miranda, Hollow Kingdom sounds amazing! I enjoy a good zombie book, and all the better with that unique perspective. I'm going to read that for this month. Another one I've been thinking about it is Brood by Jackie Polzin. It's a novel about a woman who tries to keep four chickens alive for a year and keeps having problems.

One of my favorite animal stories is H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald. It's a memoir in which McDonald describes the ups and downs of training a goshawk, one of the most strong-willed and ferocious birds of prey, while grieving the loss of her father. I was skeptical before I read it, but several coworkers recommended it to me and I'm really glad I listened to them. I'd never heard of goshawks, and learning about them was fascinating. I also liked the author's reflective writing style.

Heather wrote: "Rescuing Finley looks really cute, Theresa! Did you read any other books in the series?

I have to admit, I didn't know that Watership Down is about rabbits! It's one o..."

No, I have not read any others in the series, so far. I do plan on reading "Hollow Kingdom" this month.

Did you read an animal story this month? Tell us about it!

I am almost done with Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton, and I'm loving it! Like Miranda, I'm enjoying the humor and adventure. It's been a long time since a book made me laugh out loud, and this has me cracking up on almost every page. There are also some heart-warming moments, and interesting commentary on the effects that technology has had on us. I just discovered that a sequel (Feral Creatures) is coming out in August--hooray! Thank you, Miranda, for recommending this title :)

<3 <3 <3

I enjoy that you enjoyed it! :D