Children's Realistic Animal Fiction of North America

This is a book of literary criticism about the books children have loved reading since the end of the 1800s when realistic animal fiction was first published. This unique approach to understanding realistic animal fiction uses animal rights philosophy and new scientific knowledge of animals' capabilities in evaluating the genre. It includes a history of the genre and considers such authors as Jack London, Fred Gipson, Marguerite Henry, Will James, Jim Kjelgaard, and many more. A discussion of nature "fakery" is included. Major chapters focus on relationships between humans and animals, the representation of animal thinking and sentience; and perceptions of predators and prey (or "bad" and "good") animals in the novels. A discussion of the "nature fakery" issue is included, as well as a comparison to more modern animal books.