BOOKS ABOUT LIVING WITH AND RESPECTING ANIMALS & BIRDS - posted 9.19.2025

I  just finished a most delightful book, "Raising Hare," that inspired me to create this reading list. Though I've included all but the first two titles on previous reading list posts, I thought readers would appreciate being reminded about these inspiring reads. It's a long list, but worth checking out!

Raising Hare   -   Chloe Dalton

There are times in every person's life that warrant stepping back, looking inward, or looking outward, at our natural surroundings. I'm grateful to writer Chloe Dalton for reminding me that I can gift myself with that - as she did for herself. The tale she tells of fostering an orphaned day-old baby hare, a leveret she found in her garden, is lovely, heartening, inspirational. There's no drama, no finger-pointing lesson lashed out at her readers, merely a thoughtfully written account of a relationship that came about by happenstance. Through the extensive research she undertook, we learn about the lives and nature of hares and how they've been perceived throughout history in prose, folklore, and science. Dalton also reminds of the tenuous circumstances forced on the living things in front of us, with the painful reminder of how blinded mankind is to the natural world - how bullets, machines, and footsteps so quickly end the lives of the animals, insects, and birds that we tend to not take notice of, but with whom we share our home.

The Place of Tides - James Rebanks

Nonfiction writer James Rebanks reflects on his experience of working with an elderly woman, Anna, on a rocky remote Norwegian island on the edge of the Arctic, preparing for and then caring for the Eider ducks who inhabit the island during their mating and egg-laying season. From the arduous task during the bitter wintry spring of creating hundreds of egg-laying nests, many housed in hard to reach rocky crags, to protecting the ducks from their numerous predators as they sit on their eggs during the Scandinavian midnight sun, Rebanks' observation of the centuries-old undertaking of collecting the eider down left behind after the ducks return to the sea is written with the sense of awe he comes to experience. We learn he chose to "study" and help Anna as an escape from a marriage that was growing apart, yet during his time on the island his thoughts and writings turn on himself, when he questions his patriarchal nature and how he can be a better husband and father upon his return home. Not only is this an amazing look at a culture long forgotten and an ode to the wonders and beauty nature offers, it's also a study on compassion and mercy.

George   -   Frieda Hughes 

Poet and painter Frieda Hughes is one very unique and amazing woman, as she proves in this absolutely precious memoir about the six months during which she rescued, raised, and fell in love with an abandoned baby magpie at her country home in Wales. Her time was meant to be spent renovating her newly-purchased old broken down estate and turning the one-acre plot of land into wandering gardens, ponds and landscapes, while also painting and writing her weekly poetry column for the "London Times." I'm so glad Frieda journaled nearly every day from the time she saved little George as a wee baby bird, fallen from the nest during a horrible storm, and witnessed his entry into being a full-fledged bird . . . feeding him and caring for him in the cage she housed him in her kitchen, with her elderly dogs in on the picture.

Under the Henfluence  -   Tove Danovich

This heartening memoir is an homage to chickens and roosters, especially the backyard kind. With historical data about the domestication of the fowl thousands of years ago, to introducing the reader to the rescue missions and chicken saviors around the world, journalist Tove Danovich makes a strong statement for finding respect for these sweet and clever birds who are anything but "bird-brained." Thoroughly captivating, the book is truly an eye-opener . . . what most people perceive simply as lunch or dinner are actually intelligent members of the world of the living, complete with feelings and emotions, and a dedication to their keeper as much as they are to their flock. 

Funny Farm  -   Laurie Zaleski

A delightful read and discovery of one amazing human being who is exceptionally kind and good to rescue animals....600 of them! Laurie's childhood story is heartbreaking but gave her the backbone to make her animal sanctuary a life-changer for every animal imaginable. The world and animal kingdom need more people like her. Enjoy this heart-lifting read.

The Music of Bees   -   Eileen Garvin

It's hard to believe this is a debut novel for writer Eileen Garvin, who has been compared to author Gail Honeyman, author of Eleanor Oliphant. A lovingly told story rich with characters I would enjoy having as my next-door neighbors or best friend's kids, the story takes place on a bee farm in rural Oregon. Having the utmost respect for bees and beekeepers, it was an extra special treat to be taken to that world. The protagonist's father's destructive revilement of his son is utterly horrific but that's what makes the story the story. It is heartbreaking, yet this tender novel redeems itself in a heartwarming way.

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Have you ever pondered over how birds survive, what their songs mean, where they go on their travels, and basically, why they exist? This enchanting look at the connection between birds and mankind teaches us about birds' flights, colors, songs, feathers, and their place in the natural world. Black and white vintage illustrations complement each bird story. An absolute must book for bird lovers and watchers.  

Vesper Flights   -   Helen MacDonald

Naturalist writer Helen MacDonald shares her deep love for birds and nature in this essay collection of her observations of the world of birds. Each piece is a delicate vignette of minute, sensitive discoveries in the natural world. I so admire Helen MacDonald for her heartfelt appreciation of all the things in nature that pull at my own heart. I nominate her "Queen of Nature Writing."

The Comfort of Crows  -   Margaret Renkl

For plant, wildlife, and nature lovers this book is a loving respite from the natural world in its current state of duress. Renkl shares fifty-two chapters that touch on the creatures, plants, birds, and weather in her backyard over a year's time, moving from one season to the next. She writes, “radiant things are bursting forth in the darkest places, in the smallest nooks and deepest cracks of the hidden world.” Ann Patchett calls it "a luminous book that traces the passing of seasons, personal and natural," and I couldn't agree more. This book is a sheer delight to read. 

Crow Talk   -   Eileen Garvin

If you are a bird lover, you will appreciate this novel about a young woman who studies crows . . . their movement, their community, and especially the way they talk to each other. The novel takes place on an island off the coast of Seattle in the remote foothills of Mount Adams. Three main characters' lives are at extremely difficult impasses until an injured baby crow, found in the forest, turns their lives around. A story very much immersed in loss and grief turns itself around as fate, forgiveness and the power of nature at its worst and its best leads each of them to a heartening outcome. After being hooked by "Crow Talk," get yourself a copy of Eileen Garvin's debut novel ""The Music of Bees," which is equally as captivating a novel, about the healing power of bees and beekeeping.

H Is For Hawk   -   Helen Macdonald

Following the sudden death of her father, nature author and poet Helen Macdonald adopted Mabel, a Goshawk, as a means to cope with her grief. The book is a painful eulogy, a heartbreaking memoir, a training manual, and a journey into the healing process. Macdonald changed her life as she projected herself "in the hawk's wild mind to tame her." Recipient of the 2014 Costa Book Award for Biography and the Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction.

Alex & Me: How A Scientist and A Parrot Uncovered A Hidden World Of Animal Intelligence   -    Irene  Pepperberg

The captivating true story of the unique relationship between psychologist Irene M. Pepperberg and Alex, an African Grey parrot. Their story proves science and accepted wisdom as wrong, demonstrating an astonishing ability for a bird to communicate and understand complex ideas. More than a scientific breakthrough, "Alex & Me" is a touching love story and an affectionate remembrance of the irascible, unforgettable, and always surprising Alex.

Backyard Bird Chronicles   -   Amy Tan

As a bird lover and watcher myself, Amy Tan's chronicle of time through bird-watching in her backyard is right up my alley. In 2016, finding herself fed up with and overcome by the state of the world, she turned her focus to her backyard, where her outlook and eyes found beauty and solace in the world of birds. From September 2017 through December 2022, she documented her sitings with words and drawings, detailing the discoveries she found outside her window, the beauty and wonderment of these little lives as well the struggles they endure to stay alive in a predatory world. This is a perfect companion to any bird guide you may have on hand and a delight to browse in any season.

The Soul of an Octopus  -   Sy Montgomery

I absolutely adored this absolutely delightful book about the absolutely brilliant world of octopuses. Having had no idea about anything octopus, except how tasty they are grilled (I can’t imagine ever eating octopus again), I now hold a deep respect for them as humble sea animals for their ability to communicate and express themselves. This is a heart-warming read full of thought and emotions that will change your way of thinking about the non-human beings with which we share this planet.

Secrets of the Octopus   -   Sy Montgomery

My favorite nature writer, author of the wonderful "The Soul of an Octopus," has demonstrated even further her passionate respect for octopus, their world and their brain, with this lovely book dedicated to the species she loves. With gorgeous National Geographic photography throughout, the book is a deep dive into octopuses environment and their genius survival techniques. Montgomery, referred to as the "octopus whisperer," sought out stories about the scientists who have dedicated their lives and careers into octopus research and protection, adding even more information about this sly and clever mollusk whose intelligence is related to the molecular structure of the human brain.

Remarkably Bright Creatures   -   Shelby Van Pelt

A remarkably bright twist of a story that lovingly honors the brightest of creatures in the sea: octopuses. The back story of family lost and found is, in and of itself, quite moving, but having octopus Marcellus reveal it through his eye and tentacles was a delight beyond delights. A joy of a novel.

Of Time and Turtles   -   Sy Montgomery

She's written about octopus, hawks, hummingbirds, pink river dolphins, tigers . . . and many many more animals. She is, to me, Nature Writer Supreme, and she never lets me down. Sy Montgomery's latest book is about turtles. It's an eye-opener to their existence and the population's extinctions, their brilliant minds and to the hardships they endure to stay alive, to reproduce, and to be left alone in a world that really hasn't any respect for them. The book is also about the people who have dedicated their lives to rescuing turtles and the work they do to increase the population of an animal that is sorely misunderstood and that they have each fallen in love with.

Spring Rain   -   Marc Hamer

This joyous memoir of childhood, old age, and a life loving gardens and gardening is a respite from thoughts of the frustrations of life that clutter our minds. A retired professional gardener and author, Hamer says this of his book, "Spring Rain is about the joy of your own back garden. It is a story about the joy of small things, the world in a grain of sand, a universe in a small garden, with love for all the insects and slugs and flowers and weeds and seeds and roots and boundaries and shade and weather that the garden contains." I agree wholeheartedly and offer this to readers who find joy in all forms of the natural world.