If this summer finds you spending more time in nature, visiting a zoo or animal reserve, or just hanging out with your favorite pets, it’s a great time to check out some animal books for girls. Whether you fancy animals in the wild, cuddly cats and dogs at home, or everything in between, this list has something for you!
The Elephant’s Girl
When Lex was a toddler, a tornado whisked her up and dropped her near a Nebraska zoo’s elephant enclosure. There, the elephant Nyah protected her from the storm. Her foster father, Roger, raised her around the zoo, and now that she’s twelve, she can finally help with the elephants. But on her first day, Nyah sends her an image in her mind of the nearby woods. Could Nyah be giving her a clue that will help her uncover her past?
Saucy
As a quadruplet, Becca feels like it’s hard to stand out from her three brothers. But then she finds a sick baby piglet on the side of the road and convinces her family to let her keep him. As Saucy the pig grows, she causes more and more damage and lands Becca in trouble. As Becca tries to figure out Saucy’s future, she uncovers the truth about even more sick, scared piglets. If she works together with all three of her brothers, can they find a way to save the others, too?
My Own Lightning
When lightning strikes Annabelle on her walk home one day, it leaves her with a heightened connection to animals. She uses her new talent to track down a lost dog, which leads to her growing closer with the people in her community, too. Still recovering from a traumatic event set in motion by a bully in this sequel to Wolf Hollow, Annabelle must also make peace with her past and her sense of justice.
Clarice the Brave
Mouse siblings Clarice and Charles know the importance of being careful on the sea and especially around Special Lady, the cat who killed their sister. When a mutiny divides the ship’s crew, Clarice ends up on a small, leaky boat with Special Lady and a dozen hungry sailors. Charles is left behind on the ship with mutineers, angry chickens, and an inquisitive human prisoner. Although being careful has kept Clarice and Charles safe so far, they must learn to be bold to have any hope of being reunited.
PAWS: Gabby Gets it Together
Best friends Gabby, Priya, and Mindy have two important things in common: they all love animals, and none of them are able to have pets. Starting a dogwalking service seems like the perfect solution! But running a business is harder than they thought, and their fighting leads to a doggy crisis. Will they make it through with their business, and their friendship, intact?
More Animal Books for Girls
Orphan Melanie has a gift for opening any lock — and letting out an obnoxious cat one night leads to an adventure with an automaton she never could have imaged in The Lock-Eater by Zack Loran Clark.
When Sila accompanies her father on a work trip, she meets someone that will lead her to rescue a circus elephant and forge an unlikely friendship in The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan.
Humans have had their chance to fix global warming … now the animals are taking over in The Endangereds by Philippe Cousteau.
In Mellybean and the Giant Monster by Mike White, puppy Melly falls through a hole into another world, where helping a grumpy giant becomes her mission.
Ever wonder what animals would talk about online? Find out in Critter Chat by Rosemary Mosco, a humorous, fact-filled book designed to look like animals’ social media accounts.
What about you? What are your favorite animal books for girls? Have you read any of the books above? Tell me about it in the comments!