“What are the best stories told from the point of view of an animal or non-human being?” We found and ranked 113 books in an attempt to answer that very question!
Xenofiction, for those who don’t know the term (like us prior to making this list), is a story told from the point of view of an animal or non-human-like alien/being. For the most part, the list we came up with is mostly from the point of view of animals or creatures from Earths past (Dinosaurs rar!). However, there were a few other entries that snuck in, mostly in the fantasy genera, where the point of view is definitely not something that exists on Earth (looking at you Lord Of The Rings).
Putting yourself in the mind of another being can help you see the world from different unique points of view. Sometimes the stories told are allegorical to the real world, while other times they are nothing more than a fun escape into a different land. Either way, non-human and Xenofiction books offer up an experience you can only truly have with the written word.
We ranked the top 18 xenofiction books with brief summaries, images, and links below. The additional 101 books (all appearing on a single list each), as well as the 12 sources we consulted can be found at the bottom of the page.
Happy Scrolling!
Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, is faced with a terrible problem. She must move her family to their summer quarters immediately, or face almost certain death. But her youngest son, Timothy, lies ill with pneumonia and must not be moved. Fortunately, she encounters the rats of NIMH, an extraordinary breed of highly intelligent creatures, who come up with a brilliant solution to her dilemma. And Mrs. Frisby in turn renders them a great service.
In the not-too-distant future, three astronauts land on what appears to be a planet just like Earth, with lush forests, a temperate climate, and breathable air. But while it appears to be a paradise, nothing is what it seems.
Painting a rich and colorful picture of a lush prehistoric world, leading paleontologist Robert T. Bakker tells his story from within Raptor Red’s extraordinary mind, dramatizing his revolutionary theories in this exciting tale. From a tragic loss to the fierce struggle for survival to a daring migration to the Pacific Ocean to escape a deadly new predator, Raptor Red combines fact an fiction to capture for the first time the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of the most magnificent, enigmatic creatures ever to walk the face of the earth.
The question in this first volume is resoundingly clear: What can the peace-loving mice of Redwall Abbey do to defend themselves against Cluny the Scourge and his battle-seasoned army of rats? If only they had the sword of Martin the Warrior, they might have a chance. But the legendary weapon has long been forgotten-except, that is, by the bumbling young apprentice Matthias, who becomes the unlikeliest of heroes. Teeming with riddles, humor, unforgettable characters, and high-bounding adventure, the original Redwall, the launching point for a series that has captured the world’s attention, features seven full-color illustrations by renowned illustrator Troy Howell. This new paperback edition is a must-have for both longtime fans and first-time readers.
A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope–a captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life . . . as only a dog could tell it.
Epic battles between good and evil, fantastic creatures, betrayals, heroic deeds, and friendships won and lost all come together in this unforgettable world, which has been enchanting readers of all ages for over sixty years.
“The Metamorphosis” (original German title: “Die Verwandlung”) is a short novel by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. It is often cited as one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century and is widely studied in colleges and universities across the western world. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into an insect.
Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose remarkable gift for companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar’s lifelong friend and ally. Edgar seems poised to carry on his family’s traditions, but when catastrophe strikes, he finds his once-peaceful home engulfed in turmoil.
Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other’s lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.
The Wind in the Willows is a children’s novel by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animals in a pastoral version of England. The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality, and camaraderie and celebrated for its evocation of the nature of the Thames valley. In 1908 Grahame retired from his position as secretary of the Bank of England. He moved back to Cookham, Berkshire, where he had been brought up and spent his time by the River Thames doing much as the animal characters in his book do—namely, as one of the phrases from the book says, “simply messing about in boats”—and wrote down the bed-time stories he had been telling his son Alistair.
On a hillside near the cozy Irish village of Glennkill, the members of the flock gather around their shepherd, George, whose body lies pinned to the ground with a spade. George has cared for the sheep, reading them a plethora of books every night. The daily exposure to literature has made them far savvier about the workings of the human mind than your average sheep. Led by Miss Maple, the smartest sheep in Glennkill (and possibly the world), they set out to find George’s killer.
“For many moons, ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan have lived in peace in their territories around the lake. But now they must decipher a mysterious prophecy—a message that will send one young medicine cat apprentice on a quest to determine the fate of all the warrior Clans.
Full of epic adventure and thrilling intrigue, the beginning of this fifth Warriors series is the perfect introduction for readers new to the Warriors world, while for dedicated fans, it’s a long-awaited return to the era of Bramblestar’s ThunderClan, after the events of Omen of the Stars.”
White Fang is a novel by American author Jack London (1876–1916) — and the name of the book’s eponymous character, a wild wolfdog. First serialized in Outing magazine, it was published in 1906. The story takes place in Yukon Territory, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush and details White Fang’s journey to domestication. It is a companion novel (and a thematic mirror) to London’s best-known work, The Call of the Wild, which is about a kidnapped, domesticated dog embracing his wild ancestry to survive and thrive in the wild. Much of White Fang is written from the viewpoint of the titular canine character, enabling London to explore how animals view their world and how they view humans. White Fang examines the violent world of wild animals and the equally violent world of humans. The book also explores complex themes including morality and redemption.
Manor Farm is like any other English farm, expect for a drunken owner, Mr Jones, incompetent workers and oppressed animals. Fed up with the ignorance of their human masters, the animals rise up in rebellion and take over the farm. Led by intellectually superior pigs like Snowball and Napoleon, the animals how to take charge of their destiny and remove the inequities of their lives. But as time passes, the realize that things aren’t happening quite as expected. Animal Farm is, one level, a simple story about barnyard animals. On a much deeper level, it is a savage political satire on corrupted ideals, misdirected revolutions and class conflict-themes as valid today as they were sixty years ago.
“It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. “
A lyrical, engrossing tale, by the author of WATERSHIP DOWN, Richard Adams creates a lyrical and engrossing tale, a remarkable journey into the hearts and minds of two canine heroes, Snitter and Rowf, fugitives from the horrors of an animal research center who escape into the isolation–and terror–of the wilderness.
Set in England’s Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage, and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.
| A Canticle for Leibowitz | Walter Miller, Jr. | The Glowing Edge |
| Apprentice Adept series | Piers Anthony | The Glowing Edge |
| Autobiography of Red | Anne Carson | Flavorwire |
| Barsk: The Elephant’s Graveyard | Lawrence M. Schoen | Barnes & Noble (Again) |
| Beasts of New York | Jon Evans and Jim Westgard | Barnes & Noble (Again) |
| Black Beauty | Anna Sewell | For Reading Addicts |
| Call of the Wild | Jack London | For Reading Addicts |
| Carmen Dog | Carol Emshwiller | The Guardian |
| Chanur Saga | C.J. Cherryh | Traci Loudin |
| Charlotte’s Web | E. B. White | For Reading Addicts |
| Code of the Lifemaker | James P. Hogan | Traci Loudin |
| Cosmicomics | Italo Calvino | Flavorwire |
| Dear Miss Proctologist Lady in the Bushes” | Sam Lipstye | Flavorwire |
| Delicious Foods | James Hannaham | The Reading Room |
| Discworld – The Colour of Magic; The Light Fantastic and Sourcery | Terry Pratchett | Book Polygamist |
| Dogsbody | Dianna Wynne Jones | The Reading Room |
| Dracula | Bram Stoker | For Reading Addicts |
| E.T | William Kotzwinkle | For Reading Addicts |
| Evolution | Stephen Baxter. | Best Science Fiction Books |
| Excession | Iain M. Bank. | Best Science Fiction Books |
| Far-Seer | Robert J. Sawyer | Traci Loudin |
| Felidae | Akif Pirincci | The Book Eaters |
| Firmin | Sam Savage | Flavorwire |
| First Cycle | H. Beam Piper | Traci Loudin |
| Flatland | Edwin A. Abbott | Traci Loudin |
| Fluke | James Herbert | For Reading Addicts |
| Foundation trilogy, | Isaac Asimov | The Glowing Edge |
| Freddy the Pig (series) | Walter R. Brooks | For Reading Addicts |
| Fudoki | Kij Johnson | The Guardian |
| Gods Behaving Badly | Marie Phillips | Barnes & Noble |
| Good Omens | Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett | Book Polygamist |
| Grendel | John Gardner | Flavorwire |
| Harper Hall and Crystal Singer books | Anne McCaffrey | The Glowing Edge |
| Heart of a Dog | Mikhail Bulgakov | Flavorwire |
| Horse Heaven | Jane Smiley | The Guardian |
| Host | Stephenie Meyer | For Reading Addicts |
| How We Are Hungry | Dave Eggers | Flavorwire |
| Howl’s Castle Series | Diana Wynne Jones | Book Polygamist |
| I Am a Cat | Soseki Natsume | Flavorwire |
| Incandescence | Greg Egan. | Best Science Fiction Books |
| Jacob’s Folly, | Rebecca Miller | The Reading Room |
| King | John Berger | Flavorwire |
| Lad a Dog | Albert Payson Terhune | For Reading Addicts |
| Maus; Maus II | Art Spiegelman | Flavorwire |
| Memnoch the Devil | Anne Rice | Barnes & Noble |
| Metamorphoses | Ovid | Flavorwire |
| Moby-Dick | Herman Melville | The Guardian |
| Mort(e) | Robert Repino. | The Reading Room |
| My Name is Red | Orhan Pamuk | Barnes & Noble |
| My Predicament” | Benjamin Kunkel | Flavorwire |
| Nekropolis | Tim Waggoner | Book Polygamist |
| Neuromancer | William Gibson | The Glowing Edge |
| On the Beach | Nevil Shute | The Glowing Edge |
| Oryx and Crake | Margaret Atwood | USA Today |
| Oy (Dark Tower Series) | Stephen King | For Reading Addicts |
| Pattern Recognition | William Gibson | The Glowing Edge |
| Sad Robot Stories | Mason Johnson | The Reading Room |
| Saturn’s Children | USA Today | |
| Seagull | Jonathon Livingstone | For Reading Addicts |
| Shadow the Sheepdog | Enid Blyton | For Reading Addicts |
| Skulduggery Pleasant | Derek Landy | Book Polygamist |
| So Long, See You Tomorrow | William Maxwell | Flavorwire |
| Speaker for the Dead | Orson Scott Card. | Best Science Fiction Books |
| Star Maker | Olaf Stapledon | Traci Loudin |
| Stuart Little | E.B White | For Reading Addicts |
| Swan Song | Robert R. McCammon | The Glowing Edge |
| Tailchaser’s Song, | Tad Williams | Barnes & Noble (Again) |
| The Alien Dark | Diana G. Gallagher | Traci Loudin |
| The Arbai trilogy: Grass, Raising the Stones, Sideshow | Sherri S. Tepper | The Glowing Edge |
| The Bane Chronicles | Clarissa Claire | For Reading Addicts |
| The Bees | Laline Paull | Barnes & Noble (Again) |
| The Belgariad series | David Eddings | The Glowing Edge |
| The Black Stallion | Walter Farley | For Reading Addicts |
| The Book of Night with Moon | Diane Duane | Barnes & Noble (Again) |
| The Books of Abarat | Clive Barker | Book Polygamist |
| The Bug Wars | Robert Lynn Asprin | Traci Loudin |
| The Chronicles of Amber | Roger Zelazny | The Glowing Edge |
| The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever | Stephen R. Donaldson | The Glowing Edge |
| The Crucible of Time | John Brunner | Traci Loudin |
| The Einstein Intersection | Samuel R. Delany | Traci Loudin |
| The Faded Sun Trilogy | C.J. Cherryh | Best Science Fiction Books |
| The Farseer trilogy, The Tawny Man trilogy, & the Liveship Traders trilogy | Robin Hobb | The Glowing Edge |
| The Firebringer Trilogy | Meredith Ann Pierce. | Best Science Fiction Books |
| The Gods Themselves | Isaac Asimov. | Best Science Fiction Books |
| The Hyperion Cantos: Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, The Rise of Endymion | Dan Simmons | The Glowing Edge |
| The Improbability of Love | Hannah Rothschild | The Reading Room |
| The Incredible Journey | Sheila Burnford | For Reading Addicts |
| The London Pigeon Wars | Patrick Neate | Flavorwire |
| The Martian Chronicles | Ray Bradbury | The Glowing Edge |
| The Miracle on Monhegan Island, | Elizabeth Kelly | The Reading Room |
| The Once and Future King | TH White | The Guardian |
| The Rifters trilogy: Starfish, Maelstrom, Behemoth | Peter Watts | The Glowing Edge |
| The Secret Goldfish” | David Means | Flavorwire |
| The Sparrow | USA Today | |
| The Stand | Steven King | The Glowing Edge |
| Timbuktu | Paul Auster | Flavorwire |
| Twilight Saga | Stephenie Mayer | For Reading Addicts |
| Uplift series | David Brin. | Best Science Fiction Books |
| Watchers | Dean Koontz | For Reading Addicts |
| Where the Redfern Grows | Wilson Rawls | For Reading Addicts |
| White is for Witching | Helen Oyeyemi | The Reading Room |
| Source | Article |
| Barnes & Noble | 5 Awesome Books With Non-Human Narrators |
| Barnes & Noble (Again) | In the Wild: 6 Books from an Animal’s Point of View |
| Best Science Fiction Books | Xenofiction |
| Book Polygamist | Top 10 Non-Human Characters |
| Flavorwire | The Birds and the Bees: Our Favorite Animal Point-of-View Fiction |
| For Reading Addicts | The 33 Best Books with a non-human protagonist |
| The Book Eaters | THE XENOFICTION FILES |
| The Glowing Edge | My All-Time Favorite Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Xenofiction, and Post-Apocalyptic Novels and Series |
| The Guardian | Top 10 books about intelligent animals |
| The Reading Room | The Best Books with Non-Human Narrators |
| Traci Loudin | Fiction From Nonhuman Viewpoints |
| USA Today | Sci-fi novels with the 4 best ‘alien’ narrators |
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