The Lesser-Heard Ofs, The Less Typicals, The Underdogs (Who Aren't Dogs)

Ever since last week’s post, I’ve been digging around looking for books with more low-profile animal protagonists.

Those who aren’t bears, dogs, cats, rats, pigs, horses and so on. Not that these hog the limelight (sorry, piggies), but they do appear in picture books so much more often than, say, a possum, or a crow, or an octopus.

Today we’ll be celebrating animals who are the lesser-heard ofs, the less typicals, the underdogs in children’s books!

(Sure, fish and hippo characters aren't that unfamiliar in children's books. But in comparison to bears and dogs, they really haven't been heard enough ...) 

So here they are, these wonderful creatures who’ve widened a child’s literary world through their hooting, honking, cawing, and underwater silence:

* Fish
In My Pond                             Sara Gillingham & Lorena Siminovich
A Fish Out of Water            Helen Palmer  & P. D. Eastman
Sea Monster's First Day        Kate Messner &Andy Rash

*Hippos
Hippos Go Berserk                Sandra Boynton
Belly Button Book                 Sandra Boynton

* Owl
In My Tree                 Sara Gillingham  & Lorena Siminovich
Sam and the Firefly P. D. Eastman

* Possum
Possum Magic            Mem Fox & Julie Vivas

* Bug
Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! Rosetta Stone & Michael Frith

* Snail
Are You a Snail? (Backyard Books)     Judy Allen
The Biggest House in the World         Leo Lionni

* Octopus
Tickly Octopus        Ruth Galloway

* Crow
Crow                         Leo Timmers

Children’s literature would have slid to one end of the see-saw if writers hadn’t written about these animals, too. So, hooray, writers of the lesser-heard ofs!

*Books are available at our libraries or Amazon. Click on the authors or illustrators' names to learn more about these clever creators!