Anthropomorphic animal novels

I’ve always been drawn to this kind of novel: pure fantasy where animals live rich, humanlike inner lives. Some stories stay entirely within the animal world, like Dominic by William Steig or Taking Care of Carruthers by James Marshall. Others let the animal and human worlds overlap, as in the classic Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, or Hugh Pine by Janwillem van de Wetering, an extraordinary two-book series that more people should know about.

I’ve also long favored English authors. Roald Dahl, though he didn’t really write animal novels, shaped my love of bold storytelling. Allan Ahlberg and Russell Hoban, in particular, wrote stories I still return to again and again. Their work never loses its spark.

Given all that, it felt inevitable that I’d eventually try my hand at writing something of my own. I currently have a story with publishers called The Woodland Oath, a book that’s been quietly gestating for a long time. It began with a simple question: what would happen if a squirrel got trapped in the trunk of a car and was driven away from its home? A few miles to us, but for a squirrel, an enormous leap into the unknown. It mixes animals in the human world. I had lots of fun writing it.

I hope it finds its home.