Some times I think I know more famous animals than people. (I certainly know more famous animals than famous athletes)! ;-)

Tales of Famous Animals, by Peter and Connie Roop with illustrations by Zachary Pullen is a nice collection of biographies of all kinds of animals from Bucephalus to Quest (SAR dog at Ground Zero). In between you'll find Punxsutawney Phil of February the 2nd fame, Lonesome George from the Galapagos Islands, the bear that became Smokey Bear, and many more. There's a nice bibliography, too, for further reading.

I was pleased to find Famous Horses (from the Horsing Around Series) by Barbara M. Linda ... and then a bit disappointed that there weren't more entries. Still, there was a nice combination of historic (George Washington's horse), fictional (Black Beauty), and popular (Mister Ed) and a brief bibliography of books and websites.

There was much to enjoy in Mary and Her Little Lamb; the True Story of the Famous Nursery Rhyme, by Will Moses. It really is a true story and it is told here with the folk art of Will Moses ... the great grandson of Granda Moses! We also learn about the man who put the story to the song we all know, and, who wrote the additional verses. Just a nice read.

Celebrity Dogs, photographs by Kamil Salah and a forward by Bruce Weber, is just that .... dogs owned by celebrities. However, the photos are of just the dogs, none of the celebrities are in sight!

Animals rule! Really! From ancient times to present day animals have been elected, or appointed, to political office. (Most recently, in this area, it was Granny the Orca as mayor of Orcas Island). The King Who Barked: Real Animals Who Ruled, by Charlotte Foltz Jones and illustrated by Yayo is a collection of mini-biographies of those animals. Given some of the recent political activity this might not be such a bad idea. ;-)

Reading Hermit With Dog