Best Books About Animals: Nonfiction Books For Wildlife Lovers

The best nonfiction books about animals on this list are The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich, The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spence, The Dolphin in the Mirror by Diana Reiss, The Serengeti Rules by Sean B. Carroll, and The Animal Dialogues by Craig Childs. The Hidden Life of Trees is about the forest, and the other six are about wild animals, from ravens and elephants to dolphins.

The Hidden Life Of Trees

Greystone prints the full title as “The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries from A Secret World.” Peter Wohlleben wrote it, Jane Billinghurst translated it, and Suzanne Simard wrote the afterword. Greystone Books published the English edition in 2016.

It is about trees and the life of the forest. Greystone says forester and author Wohlleben "convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network." Greystone says the book has "more than 2 million copies sold worldwide," and that Wohlleben describes how "tree parents live together with their children." The publisher says he "spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany," and that after learning about the complex life of trees, "a walk in the woods will never be the same again."

Trees are not animals, so this is the book to pick if you want to start with the place animals live.

The Sixth Extinction

The full title is The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. Elizabeth Kolbert wrote it, and Henry Holt first published it in 2014. Macmillan's page for the Picador paperback lists it as a winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

Macmillan's description says there have been five mass extinctions over the last half billion years, and that scientists around the world are currently monitoring a sixth. It says New Yorker writer Kolbert interweaves research in "half a dozen disciplines" with descriptions of species that have already been lost and the history of extinction as a concept. The description calls the book a work "blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes."

Read more about the sixth extinction. Read more about big cats.

Mind Of The Raven

The full title is Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds. Bernd Heinrich wrote it, and it was first published in 1999. HarperCollins lists it today.

HarperCollins says Heinrich "adopts ravens, thereby becoming a 'raven father,'" and also observes them in their natural habitat. Its description says the book follows a journey "from New England to Germany, and from Montana to Baffin Island in the high Arctic." HarperCollins also says Heinrich "studies their daily routines," and that the book offers "dazzling accounts of how science works in the field."

Read more about cockatiels, a pet bird.

The Elephant Whisperer

The full title is The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild. Lawrence Anthony wrote it with Graham Spence, and St. Martin's Press first published it in 2009.

Thula Thula, the South African reserve where Anthony lived, says the book "relates the story of the rescue of a herd of seven elephants, and the special relationship he created with the herd."

Read more about the Great Elephant Census and about inhumane practices.

The Dolphin In The Mirror

The full title is The Dolphin in the Mirror: Exploring Dolphin Minds and Saving Dolphin Lives. Diana Reiss wrote it, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published it in 2011.

HarperCollins says Reiss "is one of the world's leading experts on dolphin intelligence." Its description says dolphins "craft their own toys, use underwater keyboards, and live in complex societies in the seas." The same description calls dolphins "creative and self-aware, with distinct personalities."

For the research side, a 2013 review by Heidi E. Harley in the Journal of Comparative Physiology A looks at studies of dolphin consciousness, including tests of whether dolphins recognize themselves in a mirror or on a video. Its abstract says: "The existing evidence does not provide a convincing case for consciousness in dolphins."

The Serengeti Rules

The full title is The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters. Sean B. Carroll wrote it, and Princeton University Press published it in 2016.

Princeton says the book explains how natural systems are regulated, from the molecules in the body to animal and plant populations in the wild, and that it tells the stories of the scientists who discovered the rules. Princeton describes Carroll as an "internationally recognized biologist, award-winning author, and Emmy-winning executive producer."

The Serengeti Rules also makes for a perfect gift for animal lovers if you want to switch it out from the usual rescue shirts.

Read more about cute otters.

The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild

Craig Childs wrote The Animal Dialogues, and Little, Brown first published it in 2007. Hachette lists the Little, Brown paperback and describes Childs as "one of the finest nature writers at work in America today."

Hachette says the book has forty brief narratives, each about the author's own encounter with a particular species. The encounters it names include a bighorn sheep in the Grand Canyon, sharks off the coast of British Columbia, a peregrine falcon doing acrobatic stunts at 200 miles per hour, and a face-off with a mountain lion near a desert waterhole. Hachette's description says each narrative is "replete with astonishing facts about the species' behavior, habitat, breeding, and lifespan."

FAQ

What are the best books about animals for children?

Three children's books about animals are Charlotte's Web by E. B. White, first published in 1952, Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae, first published in 1999, and Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, first published in 1963, according to Open Library's records.

What are some famous books about dogs?

Three books about dogs are Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan, first published in 2005, The Call of the Wild by Jack London, first published in 1903, and Old Yeller by Fred Gipson. Read more about sad dog books.

Where can I get these books?

You can check your local bookstore or library, and each publisher page listed below names the book's title and edition.

Sources

• Greystone Books, The Hidden Life of Trees.
• Macmillan, The Sixth Extinction (Picador paperback page), Internet Archive copy.
• HarperCollins, Mind of the Raven, Internet Archive copy.
• Thula Thula, reserve site.
• HarperCollins, The Dolphin in the Mirror, Internet Archive copy.
• PubMed, Consciousness in dolphins? A review of recent evidence, Harley, 2013.
• Princeton University Press, The Serengeti Rules.
• Hachette Book Group, The Animal Dialogues.
• Open Library, catalog records for the titles, subtitles, authors, and first years of all seven books and the FAQ books.