The Oxford Book of Animal Stories

Here is a book for the whole family that will stir the emotions and fill the heart of all animal lovers--an anthology of animal stories that draws on tales and stories from all over the world and across the centuries. There are myths and legends first told thousand of years ago from Inuit, Crow, Gaelic, Modoc, Norse, and other cultures that explain "How Raven Brought the Light" or how Coyote, after making the world, called a council of animals to help him make man. There are classic fables, such as "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby." There are also animal stories from 20th-century writers, such as Rudyard Kipling, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Liam O'Flaherty, and Philip José Farmer.Though the book is illustrated with masterful black-and-white ink drawings, it is more than a picture book. It is an impressive collection that explores the relationship between the human animal and the rest of the animal world. What results is a compassionate and thoughtful look at the state of the world and an appeal for greater love and care for our environment and the creatures in it. An animal index helps readers find stories about their favorite animals, but most readers will begin with the first story and read straight through to the end of this fine addition to the "Oxford Books of" family.