Hello, 6th grade middle school teacher here!
Our next unit requires 3 novel choices, but they have to include some kind of animal and human companionship. The goal of the unit is to “deepen their understanding of the ways that people and animals can relate to each other.” I’m in desperate need of suggestions!
by Proof_Constant
11 Comments
Where the Red Fern Grows 😭
My Friend Flicka,
Black Beauty
Where the Red Fern Grows,
Old Yeller,
Sounder
Big Red,
King of the Wind,
Gentle Ben,
Because of Winn Dixie (the very best dog turns a lonely girl’s life around)
The View From Saturday (there’s multiple viewpoint characters and they don’t all have animals in their lives but sea turtles and dogs both play important roles)
Castle Hangnail (the main character is a tweenage witch who deals with bats, moles, a donkey, and various other animals. not sure if fantasy is what you want here but it’s delightful and has a bunch of fun stuff about human/animal relations.)
– [Coo](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/ef3543d9-dcbf-4da3-9c60-06e8496c4357) by Kaela Noel
– [Henry and Ribsy](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/c141407e-c5dd-40a0-9eba-e27e0d5119f6) by Beverly Clearly
The One and Only Ivan
Charlotte’s Web
Where the Red Fern Grows
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
Akimbo and the Lions by Alexander McCall Smith.
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds!!! A boy and his battered beagle 🥹🥹 It explores themes of loyalty, compassion, and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love.
I’m 31 now and I vividly remember reading this book in 3rd grade. It’s stuck with me all these years and has heavily impacted my relationship with animals 🫶🏼
Justin Morgan had a horse,
My side of the mountain (a falcon)
I really loved **The One and Only Ivan** by Katherine Applegate. It’s told in first person by a gorilla who lives in a glass enclosure at the mall, painting pictures his owner sells ( which is a real thing – my mom has a painting done by an elephant irl). He speaks English in the book, but he doesn’t understand human language when interacting.
He befriends a young girl who is at the mall often, and is pretty contended since it’s been almost 30 years since he was taken from the jungle, and doesn’t really remember it. But when a baby elephant joins the exhibit, ivan starts to realize what he’s lost, and tries to find a way to get Julie to help him get home.
Where the Red Fern Grows
Loved this book when I was in 6th grade!
“Kat the Dog” by Alyson Sheldrake. But know they will also discover the sad part of the lives of the unfortunate dogs of the world. But it’s a good read. It’s first person perspective from the POV of a dog.