Books like Flash

I love a book that makes me laugh and The Wonky Donkey does not disappoint! Like so many others, I discovered this book from a viral video of a Scottish grandmother reading to her grandson. She couldn’t stop laughing... I knew I had to have this book! 

Bonus... expressive illustrations, repetitive sentences, and a tongue-twister, this book is educational and great for beginning readers. A must-have for any home library.

Since animal friends come in all shapes and sizes—with paws, claws, and hooves—I wanted to include a book for horse lovers! Horses have a beautiful ability to help us see truths about ourselves while pointing our hearts and minds to God.

This book pairs powerful, easy-to-read stories, lessons, and observations with short prayers and beautiful photography. It makes a perfect gift for horse lovers and anyone looking to settle their hearts on truth and fill it with hope and wonder.

Author McDougall took a mistreated donkey—with hooves left untrimmed for so long he could barely walk—restored him to health and trained him to run alongside McDougall in a burro race. The contest had them scaling mountains and fording streams, something the author wasn’t certain Sherman could pull off. McDougall recalls with humor how the donkey gained confidence and developed a faith in humanity as a result.

Probably a lesser-known book, Brighty still packs a powerful emotional punch. Similar to Pax, the book speaks movingly about the power of the wild and the value of allowing animals to exist on their terms. In addition to this less, Brighty also tells of the moving bond between a spitfire donkey and a pair of old men working the Grand Canyon. Although he loses his companion, a prospector named Old Timer, early in the book, Brighty never forgets the man’s kindness. He spends the rest of the book, loyal to another man, Jim, seeking justice for Old Timer’s murder. Throughout the book, Brighty never loses the wild inside him and Marguerite Henry does a masterful job of weaving together the themes of loyalty, purpose, and respect for Brighty’s personal integrity. Although mostly considered a children’s book, Brighty is well-worth the read for any adult looking for a story to… show more.

When I hear bad grammar, I cringe. So this book was cringeworthy, but because it was done in a silly way to show bad grammar and how to correct it, it was very clever. A yam tries to get a donkey with poor grammar to speak correctly. When his vegetable friends butt in to see what the fight is about, the donkey has the last word.

Not every person prays the same. It’s not helpful to teach children that the only way to pray is with eyes closed, heads bowed, and words uttered.

Children are all different – they learn different, and they express themselves different. This book teaches kids that you can pray in a number of different ways, especially the ones that come most naturally to you. Prayer can be done in word, dance, song, service, and so on. If you want to teach your kids about prayer, this is an excellent resource.

This picture book memoir based on her New York Times best-selling adult memoir, How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals, introduces young readers to some of the incredible animals that have influenced the author throughout her lifetime and challenges us all to look at our relationships with animals differently.

What lessons have animals taught us—whether it’s our domesticated pets at home or animals you’ve seen in nature? How can animals make us better versions of ourselves? This beautifully told story by one of the greatest nature writers of our time shows us simply just how much animals have to teach us if we only pay close attention.

Why Did the Chicken Cross the World? might be the worst title of all time, but it is a wonderfully surprising and fascinating book. There are tasty nuggets here for everyone (sorry/not sorry for the pun). Did you know that Mexicans eat more eggs per capita than any other people in the world? Or how many different slang terms and metaphors there are for chickens through time? (“Biology can’t explain why our favored slang word for the male organ refers to a bird that lacks one.” Ha!) Or that in the mid-nineteenth century, Britain and America were absolutely obsessed with raising exotic “fancy” chickens? And that pound for pound, chicken releases only one-tenth the greenhouse gases of red meat such as hamburgers? Read up on the world’s favorite bird and laugh while you’re at it with Lawler’s book.

Nothing compares to this book when it comes to esoteric wisdom of the animal kingdom. Animals are all around us and can appear in various forms: physically (often as familiars), in dreams (often as omens), and by way of synchronicity, such as finding feathers, bones, or carcasses. The world of Witchcraft has always been tied to the animal realm because animals are living extensions of Mother Nature herself.

Being a metaphysical encyclopedia about animal medicine, this is where it’s at! Its faunal associations were compiled from both Indigenous wisdom and modern interpretations, spanning time and culture, to craft this rightfully best-selling gem. Although the amazing author was both Native American and a practicing occultist, I love the fact that this book is not written exclusively for Witches. The accessibility of this book is remarkable and is a lifelong asset for Pagans and mystical folks of all stripes.

I knew, like most people, that pet dogs are descended from wild wolves. But when do you get to see this natural history play out in front of your eyes?

Romeo, a wild wolf that spent winters on a frozen lake at the foot of the Mendenhall Glacier, gave the skiers and dog-walkers of Juneau, Alaska, a lesson in the intelligence of our wild brethren. I marveled at Romeo’s gentle playfulness. I admired the wisdom that prevented him from getting too close to people, preferring to play with the pooches that people let off their leashes.

Jans’ book reveals how authorities struggled to know what to do with this animal that moved so easily back and forth between the wild and the civilized. Romeo’s end provides plenty of reason for reflection.