Here are 100 books that The Covenant of the Wild fans have personally recommended if you like The Covenant of the Wild. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of How the Dog Became the Dog: From Wolves to Our Best Friends

Jan Dohner Author Of Farm Dogs: A Comprehensive Breed Guide to 93 Guardians, Herders, Terriers, and Other Canine Working Partners

From my list on dogs domesticated humans irreplaceable partners.

Why am I passionate about this?

Coming from a family of dog lovers, I have lived a lifetime of loving dogs and reading (and writing) books about dogs. My childhood animal books were “dog-eared” for sure, but when I began to read dog books like those on my list, my relationship with dogs became deeper and richer beyond how a dog looks or acts; these books opened a door on our mutual history and how our lives fit together. As our oldest animal partner, dogs choose to travel this shared path with us. A gift to us, it is now our responsibility to honor them.

Jan's book list on dogs domesticated humans irreplaceable partners

Jan Dohner Why Jan loves this book

This book presented me with many questions I could not stop thinking about. Without the partnership and support of the dog, what would our human history and cultures look like? From the Arctic regions dependent upon sled dogs to all the pastoral and hunting peoples, would these cultures have existed without dogs as partners?

Derr not only shows us the science of canine evolution–how the wolf became the dog–this book also asserts the essential question we should continually ask ourselves–are we doing right by our oldest and deepest animal companion?

By Mark Derr ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How the Dog Became the Dog as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How the Dog Became the Dog posits that dog was an evolutionary inevitability in the nature of the wolf and its human soul mate. The natural temperament and social structure of humans and wolves are so similar that as soon as they met on the trail they recognized themselves in each other. How the Dog Became the Dog adeptly and engrossingly examines this singular relationship. Combining the most recent scientific research with Mark Derr's original insights, this book shows that dogs made us human just as humans affected the evolution of dogs.


If you love The Covenant of the Wild...

Book cover of The Rosewood Penny

The Rosewood Penny by J.S. Fields,

2023 Queer Indie Award Nominee!

The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.

On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…

Book cover of Dogs: a Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution

Jan Dohner Author Of Farm Dogs: A Comprehensive Breed Guide to 93 Guardians, Herders, Terriers, and Other Canine Working Partners

From my list on dogs domesticated humans irreplaceable partners.

Why am I passionate about this?

Coming from a family of dog lovers, I have lived a lifetime of loving dogs and reading (and writing) books about dogs. My childhood animal books were “dog-eared” for sure, but when I began to read dog books like those on my list, my relationship with dogs became deeper and richer beyond how a dog looks or acts; these books opened a door on our mutual history and how our lives fit together. As our oldest animal partner, dogs choose to travel this shared path with us. A gift to us, it is now our responsibility to honor them.

Jan's book list on dogs domesticated humans irreplaceable partners

Jan Dohner Why Jan loves this book

I have always been fascinated and in awe of working livestock guardian dogs. One of our first human/dog partnerships, this group of dogs possesses a unique set of genetically inherited behaviors.

The Coppingers' research into how livestock guardian dogs think and work was groundbreaking and instrumental in promoting the use of these working dogs for predator coexistence in North America.

Expanding their work to include sled, herding, and hunting dogs, the Coppingers also explain how these specific dog breeds acquired their special traits. 

By Ray Coppinger , Lorna Coppinger ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dogs as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Marking the first time that dogs have been explained in such detail by eminent researchers, Dogs is a work of wide appeal, as absorbing as it is enlightening.

Drawing on insight gleaned from forty-five years of raising, training, and studying the behaviors of dogs worldwide, Lorna and Raymond Coppinger explore the fascinating processes by which dog breeds have evolved into their unique shapes and behaviors. Concentrating on five types of dogs—modern household dogs, village dogs, livestock-guarding dogs, sled dogs, and herding dogs—the Coppingers, internationally recognized canine ethologists and consummate dog lovers, examine our canine companions from a unique biological viewpoint.…


Book cover of A Dog's History of the World: Canines and the Domestication of Humans

Jan Dohner Author Of Farm Dogs: A Comprehensive Breed Guide to 93 Guardians, Herders, Terriers, and Other Canine Working Partners

From my list on dogs domesticated humans irreplaceable partners.

Why am I passionate about this?

Coming from a family of dog lovers, I have lived a lifetime of loving dogs and reading (and writing) books about dogs. My childhood animal books were “dog-eared” for sure, but when I began to read dog books like those on my list, my relationship with dogs became deeper and richer beyond how a dog looks or acts; these books opened a door on our mutual history and how our lives fit together. As our oldest animal partner, dogs choose to travel this shared path with us. A gift to us, it is now our responsibility to honor them.

Jan's book list on dogs domesticated humans irreplaceable partners

Jan Dohner Why Jan loves this book

I found this book to be a deeply humane exploration of our human-dog relationship from prehistory to the present. It presents the essential ways that dogs changed us and acknowledges the ever-lurking, awful temptation to exploit or harm our oldest friend.

Hobgood-Ostler weaves together canine-human archaeology, history, and literature to show us how we would not have flourished without our dogs, from the earliest days of our partnership to our current lives in which dogs have become actual family members, offering companionship, support, and love.

By Laura Hobgood-Oster ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Dog's History of the World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Canines and humans have depended upon one another for tens of thousands of years. Humans took the initial steps of domesticating canines, but somewhere through the millennia, dogs began dramatically to affect the future of their masters. In A Dog's History of the World, Laura Hobgood-Oster chronicles the canine-human story. From the earliest cave paintings depicting the primitive canine-human relationship to the modern model of dogs as family members, Hobgood-Oster reveals how the relationship has been marked by both love and exploitation.Canines have aided and been heir to humankind's ever-increasing thirst for scientific advancements, empire building, and personal satisfaction. They…


If you love Stephen Budiansky...

Book cover of Tangle of Time

Tangle of Time by Maureen Thorpe,

A spellbinding journey through time and cultures.

When Annie Thornton, midwife and apprentice witch, falls through time to a 15th-century Yorkshire village with her telepathic cat, Rosamund, she befriends Will and Jack, two soldiers returning from the French Wars. Mistress Meg, Annie’s ancestral aunt living in the 15th century, is…

Book cover of A Dog's History Of America: How Our Best Friend Explored, Conquered, and Settled a Continent

Jan Dohner Author Of Farm Dogs: A Comprehensive Breed Guide to 93 Guardians, Herders, Terriers, and Other Canine Working Partners

From my list on dogs domesticated humans irreplaceable partners.

Why am I passionate about this?

Coming from a family of dog lovers, I have lived a lifetime of loving dogs and reading (and writing) books about dogs. My childhood animal books were “dog-eared” for sure, but when I began to read dog books like those on my list, my relationship with dogs became deeper and richer beyond how a dog looks or acts; these books opened a door on our mutual history and how our lives fit together. As our oldest animal partner, dogs choose to travel this shared path with us. A gift to us, it is now our responsibility to honor them.

Jan's book list on dogs domesticated humans irreplaceable partners

Jan Dohner Why Jan loves this book

Like most dog lovers, I love the incredible diversity of modern dog breeds, but I thought very little about the dogs already here in the Western Hemisphere before the European colonists arrived.

Derr tells the story of the First Peoples and their dog companions, who traveled to the corners of both continents. But then the story becomes one of tragic slaughter and conquest for both people and dogs.

What happened to these Native American dog breeds? Did any remnants survive to interact with the new settlers? What new types and breeds emerged? How did they and their descendants shape American history? I found all the answers fascinating.

By Mark Derr ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Dog's History Of America as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the New World, wherever humans have gone, dogs have been their close companions. In this revelatory history, Mark Derr looks at the ways in which we have used canines - as sled dogs, sheepdogs, Seeing Eye dogs, guard dogs show dogs and more - as he tracks changes in American culture and society. Derr weaves a remarkable tapestry of heroism, betrayal, tragedy, kindness, abuse and unique companionship. The result is an enlightening perspective on American history through the eyes of humanity's best friend.


Book cover of Grandmother Fish: A Child's First Book of Evolution

Brenda Z. Guiberson Author Of Yours 'Til Niagara Falls

From my list on the fascinating and connected layers of world.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer of dozens of books for children, I always learn much more that can go into each effort. A “wow” moment gets me started. It could be a giant cactus that grows so slowly, frogs that don’t ribbet, maybe a moment with a sea turtle, or thoughts on geology and natural wonders. Each book comes into a hazy focus after tons of research but much gets left out. What goes in? The best “wow” details get woven into an incredible story full of surprise, joy, and admiration for this world of constant change and those struggling to survive.

Brenda's book list on the fascinating and connected layers of world

Brenda Z. Guiberson Why Brenda loves this book

This is the best book to take a first look at evolution and creatures from long, long, long, long ago. Can you chomp? Grandmother Fish could. Can you crawl? Grandmother Reptile could. Who had a jaw, who could squeak, who cuddled with babies, who could climb? Wow! Can you do those things and talk too?  With beautiful illustrations and simple wording, wonderful connections are made to show how all life is related. Thoughtful back material helps to explain natural selection and other concepts for those readers who will ask more questions.  

By Jonathan Tweet , Karen Lewis (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Grandmother Fish as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It's a simple question, but not so simple an answer to explain especially to young children. Charles Darwin's theory of common descent no longer needs to be a scientific mystery to inquisitive young readers. Meet Grandmother Fish. Told in an engaging call and response text where a child can wiggle like a fish or hoot like an ape and brought to life by vibrant artwork, Grandmother Fish takes children and adults through the history of life on our planet and explains how we are all connected. The book also includes comprehensive backmatter, including: An elaborate illustration of the evolutionary tree…


Book cover of Who Will It Be? How Evolution Connects Us All

Jordan Bell Author Of Aunt Jodie's Guide to Evolution

From my list on evolution for children.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a kid, I never stopped asking “But why?” Learning the answers always led me to new questions, and I’ve been on a life-long journey to understand the world, and how everything works. I wanted to give the joy of discovery, and the empowerment of understanding, to a new generation of readers. The amazing story of evolution seemed to be a great starting point. I wrote the book I wanted to read to my own daughter, full of adventures and grown-up science, told in a way kids can understand. 

Jordan's book list on evolution for children

Jordan Bell Why Jordan loves this book

A more conceptual connection to evolution, this creative book introduces the amazing fact of life and introduces young readers to the fact that all life on Earth is related. I love the way the vibrant illustrations track development from cells to creatures and show how humans, mammals, fish, reptiles, and birds are connected. With back matter to support adults to explain evolution in an age-appropriate way, this story can be a great introduction to answering the question “where do people come from?”

By Paola Vitale , Rossana Bossù (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Who Will It Be? How Evolution Connects Us All as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

"This is a beautiful and important book—a reminder that humans are deeply connected with every other animal on this glorious planet." —Sy Montgomery, Naturalist and New York Times best selling author

If gills appear, will it be a fish? From fish to frogs to humans, Who Will It Be? introduces the theory of evolution, exploring connections between humans and all life on Earth.

Exploring the origin of animals from fish to frogs to humans, Who Will It Be? introduces Darwin’s theory of evolution to children with a simple, captivating story.

Vibrant illustrations and eye-catching primary colors transition the story, driving…


If you love The Covenant of the Wild...

Book cover of Chasing Light

Chasing Light by Traci Medford-Rosow,

Chasing Light is a lyrical meditation on grief, memory, and the fragile beauty of everyday life. At its core, it is a story of resilience, forgiveness, and the transformational power of human connection. It sheds light on the overlooked realities of homelessness and addiction, while emphasizing the importance of compassion…

Book cover of When the Whales Walked: And Other Incredible Evolutionary Journeysvolume 1

Jordan Bell Author Of Aunt Jodie's Guide to Evolution

From my list on evolution for children.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a kid, I never stopped asking “But why?” Learning the answers always led me to new questions, and I’ve been on a life-long journey to understand the world, and how everything works. I wanted to give the joy of discovery, and the empowerment of understanding, to a new generation of readers. The amazing story of evolution seemed to be a great starting point. I wrote the book I wanted to read to my own daughter, full of adventures and grown-up science, told in a way kids can understand. 

Jordan's book list on evolution for children

Jordan Bell Why Jordan loves this book

A great follow-up book for older readers who want to delve into the detail of interesting stories from our evolutionary past. Beautifully illustrated with plenty of contextual information, this book tells some amazing stories of evolutionary changes from the fossil record, including reptiles growing wings, birds with teeth, tiny elephants, and the titular walking whales. It has some lovely detail about the changes to Earth itself over the millennia and speculates about future possibilities for evolution and extinction. 

By Dougal Dixon , Hannah Bailey (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked When the Whales Walked as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

A 2019 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students: K–12 (National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council).

From the moment life crawled out of the oceans and onto land, to when our primate ancestors climbed down from the trees, the history of Planet Earth is filled with incredible stories. This beautifully illustrated guide explores some of the most exciting and incredible events in evolution, through 13 case studies.

Step back in time and discover a world where whales once walked, crocodiles were warm-blooded, and snakes had legs! Meet terrifying giant birds, and tiny elephants living on islands in this…


Book cover of Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth

David Seaborg Author Of How Life Increases Biodiversity: An Autocatalytic Hypothesis

From my list on evolution, ecology, and biodiversity.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an evolutionary biologist who wrote two books on my theory that all species increase the biodiversity of their ecosystem in a natural environment (humans are an exception to this). I am a dedicated conservationist and founder and president of the World Rainforest Fund (worldrainforest.org), a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving the Earth’s rainforests. I collected reptiles and fossils when I was a child, and never out-grew my passion and love for science, biology, biodiversity, the natural world, animals, plants, ecology, and evolution. I love reading about these topics, hearing lectures on them, and learning about them. I love being in nature, traveling to natural ecosystems, and seeing wildlife. 

David's book list on evolution, ecology, and biodiversity

David Seaborg Why David loves this book

This book presents a fascinating theory that life created an atmosphere favorable to life. The sun is much hotter than when life began. Life kept the temperature beneficial to life by removing greenhouse gasses from the air. Organisms created an atmosphere high in oxygen.

The book is exciting and educates the reader on the interaction of life and the geophysical environment. This book is relevant to and influenced my theory that all species increase biodiversity, the theory about which I wrote the two books I am featuring here.

By James Lovelock ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Gaia as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this classic work that continues to inspire many readers, Jim Lovelock puts forward his idea that the Earth functions as a single organism. Written for non-scientists, Gaia is a journey through time and space in search of evidence in support of a radically different model of our planet. In contrast to conventional belief that life is passive in the face of threats to its existence, the book explores the hypothesis that the Earth's living matter influences
air, ocean, and rock to form a complex, self-regulating system that has the capacity to keep the Earth a fit place for life.…


Book cover of Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species

Deena Emera Author Of A Brief History of the Female Body: An Evolutionary Look at How and Why the Female Form Came to Be

From my list on capturing the magnificence of female biology.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent my career studying the evolution of female biology. My PhD thesis was on the evolution of pregnancy and menstruation. I am currently a researcher at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging studying the evolution of menopause. I also inhabit a female body and have a personal interest in understanding how and why my own body works the way it does. As a lifelong teacher who has taught high school, college, and graduate students, I am passionate about sharing what I know with other women. I hope you enjoy these fascinating books about the female body and its amazing evolutionary history. 

Deena's book list on capturing the magnificence of female biology

Deena Emera Why Deena loves this book

Mother Nature completely changed the way I think about motherhood. As a mother of 4 kids, I am consumed both by my maternal responsibilities and with guilt for not meeting those responsibilities perfectly.

In this paradigm-shifting book, Hrdy takes her readers on a journey through human history and the animal world to reveal a different view of motherhood than the one mothers are conditioned to have—that mothers should sacrifice everything for their children.

Hrdy uses evolutionary theory, experimental evidence, and examples from nature to show how mammalian and primate mothers evolved to skillfully deal with the competing demands of survival and motherhood. Our bodies and brains are exquisitely built to balance our own needs with those of our children.

By Sarah Blaffer Hrdy ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Mother Nature as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mother Nature is the big new popular science book for the end of the millennium. It starts from the standpoint of Darwinist evolutionary theory, but turns it on its head. It is the first such major book by a women, qho ia professor of SocioBiology at the University of California, trained in Anthropology and an expert on Primates in particular. She's also one of the few women members fo the US Academy of Sciences. It's not for nothing that Nature is known as Mother Nature. Evolution is controlled, Hrdy demonstrates, not by the male of species, but by the female…


If you love Stephen Budiansky...

Book cover of Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman by Alexis Krasilovsky,

Kate from Jules et Jim meets I Love Dick.

A young woman filmmaker’s journey of self-discovery, set against a backdrop of the sexual liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman, we follow Ana Fried as she faces the ultimate…

Book cover of Infinite Life

Victoria Dillon Author Of Ava

From my list on eggstraordinary books about eggs.

Why am I passionate about this?

I promise that will be the only egg pun I will use. Just the one. Eggsactly one. Oops.

While my debut novel, Ava, is primarily about the clash of reproductive rights with conservative politics set in the South, it is obviously also about eggs and my bias towards them as an amazing evolutionary triumph. Even the title of my book is an intentional nod toward my love of eggs as Ava means both “bird” and “life”. With that in mind, I wanted to highlight five books that I love that are very egg-centric (and I will maintain this is more of a portmanteau than a pun).

Victoria's book list on eggstraordinary books about eggs

Victoria Dillon Why Victoria loves this book

I love this book because it appeals to the evolutionary biology fan in me, as is evident in my book.

Howard traces the history of eggs from ancient single-celled organisms to dinosaurs to the emergence of mammals. He explores how eggs adapted to countless environments and how these adaptations shaped biodiversity.

It’s a deeply engaging work of nonfiction from an enthusiastic author who shows that understanding the egg is fundamental to understanding life itself.

By Jules Howard ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Infinite Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Every animal on the planet owes its existence to one crucial piece of evolutionary engineering: the egg.

It's time to tell a new story of life on Earth.

'Jules Howard's egg's-eye view of evolution is dripping with fascinating insights' ALICE ROBERTS

'So much passion and poetic prose' BBC Radio 4, Inside Science

If you think of an egg, what do you see in your mind's eye? A chicken egg, hard-boiled? A slimy mass of frogspawn? Perhaps you see a human egg cell, prepared on a microscope slide in a laboratory? Or the majestic marble-blue eggs of the blackbird?

Every egg…


Book cover of How the Dog Became the Dog: From Wolves to Our Best Friends
Book cover of Dogs: a Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution
Book cover of A Dog's History of the World: Canines and the Domestication of Humans

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