Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Top Ten Tuesday - Animal Antics

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Animal Antics!


I recently finished reading Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman which was about Christa, a zoologist. She specialized in marine life, but lots of animals were mentioned in this book which also featured an adorable pup. That had me thinking about other books that were made better by animals. Below are the first that came to my mind. 

  1. Love & Chickens by Kasey Morris - The chickens are right there in the title, and it was a lot of fun learning about competitive poultry with a few standout birds incorporated into this tale. 
  2. Situationship by Marina Adair - The family dog, Garbage Disposal, was not always on his best behavior, but his antics were comedy gold. 
  3. Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood - My love for hedgehogs runs deep, and the one featured in this book was forever throwing shade at the heroine. 
  4. Clover Hendry's Day Off by Beth Morrey - During Clover's day off, she encounters a rabbit locked in a car, and well, claims it as her own. 
  5. The Bright Spot by Jill Shalvis - This book took place on a farm, so there were lots of animal, but the baby goat, Dammit Ziggy, stole the show. 




  1. Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn - This book was set in the rodeo world, so lots of horses and bulls. 
  2. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa - Nana was a special cat who accompanied Satoru on this important trip. 
  3. The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler - Ulysses the moose played a role in all three books, as did Jake, the blind dog who was always well dressed. 
  4. Wild on My Mind by Laurel Kerr - This romance is set in a zoo, so many, many interesting animal interactions, but a feisty honey badger named fluffy was given a point of view which was quite amusing. 
  5. Remarkable Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - This book also had another non-human narrator - Marcellus the octopus. He was a highlight for sure. 


Have you met any great animals in books?
Let us know in the comments!

24 comments:

  1. I love animals who add shenanigans to stories. They always make me laugh. I have my eyes on the Erin Hahn book!

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    1. The Hahn book was excellent. Definitely one of my favorites from her

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  2. I loved Hazelwood's, Hahn's, and Van Pelt's books with those animals. I also thought of Kerry Rea's book about the zoo.

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    1. OMG! The ape - my heart. Lucy on the Wild Side is a great one.

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  3. I love it when animals are featured! I want to read The Bright Spot!

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    1. It was such a treat. I always adore a Shalvis book but she outdid herself with the animals in The Bright Spot

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  4. I loved Remarkably Bright Creatures and was so astonished about octopuses brightness!

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    1. I have no idea if they really are that intelligent, but I adored Marcellus.

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  5. You have some great books here, some I've read, some I am going to check out. Yes, Giant Octopus are very smart. I am looking forward to meeting Dammit Ziggy. I love books where animals play great roles. Nice list for this week, Sam.

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    1. I hope you get to read the Shalvis soon. The animals were a hoot

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  6. I love it when animals play an important role in a story. Dammit Ziggy was adorable.

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  7. Shalvis is always has a great dog but I don't think I've read one of hers with a different animal.
    Marcellus <3 I know you don't watch TV but have you heard of the documentary My Octopus Teacher? It's a about a diver who befriends and octopus and shows much of the intelligence and caring that's in the book.

    One I recently read with an animal was Chick Magnet & that was a cute one.

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    1. Shalvis is a big dog lover and advocate. She did a great job including other animals as well. Maybe the author was inspired by that documentary. You never know. Oooh, more chickens with Chick Magnet!

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  8. I have read some of the older Marina Adair books and she does pretty good with the animal aspects! Glad to see you enjoy her work.

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    1. I had read the Rome series. I believe there were animals there too. I haven't read too many other books from her, but I liked the ones I did read

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  9. I am in the teeny tiny minority because I do not usually like it when animals play a large part in a story. I am not an animal/pet person so the addition of a pet playing a big part just isn't a draw to me. There are always rare exceptions. of course. Most recently the dog Poseidon in Pucking Around. :)

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    1. I have not read that book, but see, there is a possibility of you liking a dog character.

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  10. I have to admit, I'm not much of an animal person, but I did enjoy Ulysses the moose!

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    1. I his antics and the way the town dealt with him

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  11. This topic is right up my alley because I love it when animals appear in books. The Bright Spot and Crazy Stupid Bromance were the first ones that popped into my head

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  12. Great topic! Animals can add so much to a book. Loved the hedgehog in Love, Theoretically, as well!

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    1. I couldn't get over the vendetta that hedgehog had for Elsie. Hilarious.

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