Top Ten Tuesday used to be a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. “It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” This is definitely something I can understand and want to participate in.
Happy Tuesday! If you’re in the US, like me, today is the start of this week after the long holiday weekend, and picking up work again is a bit of a slog. But, today’s list features my ten favorite animal companions in books. My three dogs are incredibly spoiled, so any solid animal companion wins my heart quite easily. So without further ado, here are my ten favorite animal companions in no particular order:
- Bone Dog from Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher. As expected in a fantasy/fairy tale story, the heroine has an animal companion that she goes to great lengths to create as one of her three tasks, and Bone Dog was an easy favorite of mine.
- Mephi from The Drowning Empire series by Andrea Stewart. One of the main characters adopts a small, kitten-like animal during the first book, and he rapidly became one of my favorite animal companions.
- Tiern from The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros. I’m halfway through the second book, and I love Tiern’s snark and attitude and the way that little, tiny Violet shows no fear of sassing back to the biggest, baddest dragon out there.
- Solovey from The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden. This gorgeous horse became so much more than a regular horse to Vasilisa, and I adored his character.
- Fleetfoot from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. There was no way I’d leave a beautiful and loyal dog like Fleetfoot out of a list of my favorite animal companions.
- Ghost from the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. I’m frustrated at the lack of further books in the series, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t adore Ghost and his other littermates, but Ghost especially.
- Pilgrim from The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans. Although I read this book when I was young, I also saw the movie, and I was so incredibly moved by the bond between Grace and Pilgrim and their journey towards healing.
- Whinney, Wolf, and Baby from the Earth’s Children series by Jean M. Auel. As a woman cast out of her clan in prehistoric times, Ayla demonstrates an incredible ability to understand and communicate with her animal companions, and always stays aware that wild animals are choosing to stay with her, but views them as free to leave whenever and wherever they choose.
- The Piebald from Royal Velvet by Enid Bagnold. This one is a real throwback, but I read this book so many times as a kid, and I’m pretty sure we still have a copy of it in the basement somewhere.
- Black Beauty in Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. This book made me smile, cry, and it has fostered a sense of empathy and support for animal welfare in generations of children. Although I think I’m dating myself just based on this title. And while Black Beauty isn’t a companion, he is the main character, I’m still confident in including this.
What are your favorite animal companions in books?
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Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
Ph dear. You are showing your age (and mine)…The Horse Whisperer. Good one.
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Ha!! They wrote some really good books back then, didn’t they? I thought it would be Black Beauty and National Velvet that dated me, but that’s because my mom gave them to me during my horse phase.
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I rarely really remember animals in books, but I know I’ve read some that have an impact on the story. The National Velvet and Black Beauty stories are ones I’ve seen as films. 🙂
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You’re probably a bit younger than me, but I went through an intense horse phase, and didn’t want to read anything other than books featuring horses as a kid. I even took riding lessons at camp! But alas, I’m allergic to horses now.
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Oh my goodness , I loved National Velvet and Black Beauty. I so wanted a horse but living in a city, it wasn’t ever going to happen! 😁
Here’s mine for this week: https://portobellobookblog.com/2025/05/27/top-ten-tuesday-27th-may-2025-animal-companions-toptentuesday-amreading-bookrecommendations-tuesdaybookblog/
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I was so obsessed with horses for years! I even got to take riding lessons at sleepaway camp, because we definitely didn’t have enough money to afford an actual horse haha
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It’s funny, I can’t remember if I’ve ever read Black Beauty. I know it was on my shelves as a child, and I know bits of the story. But I couldn’t tell you if it’s because of reading it or seeing a movie.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/animal-farm-ten-books-with-animals-on-the-cover/
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That’s what happens when we reach back into the distant reaches of our childhoods! I don’t think I ever saw Black Beauty as a movie, but there are still parts of the story that stuck with me, although I did see National Velvet with Elizabeth Taylor. It makes me wonder what I would think if I read my childhood favorites now.
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I haven’t read any of the books on your list (but I probably should have read Black Beauty!). Here’s my TTT: https://damppebbles.com/2025/05/27/toptentuesday-27th-may-2025/
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Black Beauty was one of those books that I read until it was falling apart. I’m pretty sure I still have that old beat up copy somewhere. If I do, I’ll pass it on to my niece.
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Yay for the Earth’s Children series reference!
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You know I had to include that one, especially since I know our shared enjoyment of the series. It was one of the first books I read with animal companions that wasn’t a kid’s book, and I was so impressed with how Ayla connected to her animals. Looking back, it seems to have informed how I interact with my own animal companions. Not gonna lie, though. I kind of want a horse, wolf, and a lion of my own, although that’s one that is gonna stay as a dream.
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Hard to narrow down
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It definitely can be if you love books with animal companions!
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Well- some of my favorite animal companions are hard to remember their names
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I totally get that – sometimes they fade into the back a little bit.
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These all look great!
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Thank you! They are, and I hope you check some out if you haven’t read any of them yet!
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I should have thought about The clan of the Cave Bear! Great list!
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Thank you! Seeing one of the books on my shelf made me realize how strongly animal companions play a role in that series, especially.
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I really liked THE HORSE WHISPERER when I read it, but it was so long ago that I can’t remember any of the details. Might be time for a re-read! I’ve enjoyed other books by the author as well.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
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I don’t think I ever read anything else by the author, but maybe it’s time to start looking, since it was such a great book. I wonder what I’d say about it now if I did a reread, as opposed to reading this as a young teen. Hope you had a great week!
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There’s some great choices here! Some I had forgotten about too!
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Thank you! I love how so many lists this week are reminding me of other books I have been meaning to read or read so long ago that they’re nostalgic.
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Dogs are definitely my favorite animal companion in books. On your list, I’ve read Black Beauty, but it was a long time ago. Here is our <a href=”https://www.longandshortreviews.com/miscellaneous-musings/top-ten-tuesday-animal-companions/“>Top Ten Tuesday</a>. Thank you!
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It’s been an embarrassingly long time since I read Black Beauty, but my taste has definitely shifted from my horse obsession towards dogs, instead.
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National Velvet ❤ YES!!! I commented on another post that I love when horses are featured, and that is such a classic and fabulous story (which I also just mentioned, film version, in a comment on a totally unrelated post, lol)
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I loved National Velvet as a kid! I got to see the movie after reading the book, and both were so wonderful! During my horse obsessed phase, I found myself reading a lot of Marguerite Henry books as well.
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Oh yes, Marguerite Henry is a forever favorite. I still read hers every now and then 😍 My Friend Flicka… Smoky the Cowhorse… so many amazing horse books over the years! (And I still read horse books now, like Mimi Matthew’s Belles of London series)
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Absolutely My Friend Flicka (even if it made me cry), Misty of Chincoteague, I know there was another but I can’t think of it now.
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The two that I’ve read are both horses, the Winternight Trilogy and Black Beauty. Oh wait, I read the Horse Whisperer years ago and don’t really remember much except that when they made a movie it starred Robert Redford.
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Horse stories are awesome! I don’t remember too much about The Horse Whisperer except how deeply it affected me, with the horse and the girl healing individually and together. And I also remember the movie with Kristin Scott Thomas, and it was so good.
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Mephi! He’ll always be a favourite animal sidekick of mine.
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I know! I absolutely adored Mephi and the role he played throughout the series. Now that’s an animal companion!
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