Books I’ve Read With Animals In The Title

Hello everyone,

I thought it was about time that I wrote a list post, and the topic that I settled on was books with animals in the title.

This is a longer list than I expected, and you will find that these books are rarely about animals and the title is often written as a metaphor. Or it could be symbolic of what the story entails. Anyway, let us get to the list!

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Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The most popular one first! The main characters are known as the Crows, which is reflected by the beautiful image of the crow on the cover.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

This book is actually about animals. The main character and narrator is a cat called Nana, which certainly makes for a unique reading experience. Very emotional, though!

The Murmur Of Bees by Sofia Segovia

This is a beautiful story, and the title really evokes the atmosphere that permeates throughout. It is the perfect summer read.

There are other well known books with bees in the title, such as Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life Of Bees, and recent award winner The Bee Sting by Paul Murray.

The Bear And The Nightingale by Katherine Arden

For centuries, nightingales are birds that have adorned classic poems, and here it sits prettily in the title of this gorgeously written novel. Inspired by folklore, the bear refers to the character Medved, who is the main antagonist in this first part of the trilogy.

The Gilded Wolves and The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi

Another set of heist novels with a lovable band of characters, these focus mainly on puzzles and art history. While I am at it, I will just say how much I love Roshani Chokshi’s imagination. I have never known what the titles of these books really have to do with the actual story, but then again they are very cool.

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper and The Wolf And The Woodsman by Ava Reid

These two books both have ‘wolf’ in the title, but in both cases they do not refer to actual wolves. The Wolf Den uses a colloquial term for the bordello in which most of that story is set, while the main character in The Wolf In The Woodsman is pagan and frequently referred to as a ‘she-wolf’.

The Cottingley Cuckoo by A.J. Elwood

Another book that uses animals as a metaphor, this title is quite an effective way of describing the twist towards the end of the story. With its Gothic horror vibe, it is inspired by the true story of the Cottingley faires.

The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech

Louise Beech’s books often have fairytale-like titles but actually deal with some very hard-hitting topics, and this is no exception. The titular lion tamer is a man called Ben who works with lions in Southern Africa, and back in the UK he has a relationship with another man called Andrew, which ends with a shocking twist.

Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins

The name of a street in Oxford (which I have actually walked along myself!) that gives its name to this mystery by Lucy Atkins. Although the ending was too predictable, I was hooked by most of the story.

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

It feels like a very long time since I read this. Here, turtles are used as a metaphorical plot device to represent the main character’s experience of having obsessive compulsive disorder.

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Let’s Chat

Have you read any of these books? What is your favourite book that contains an animal in the title? Let me know in the comments!

Happy reading 🙂