Top Ten Tuesday: Animals from Books

This week’s topic is top animals (mythical or otherwise) from books, which had us searching some of our favorite fantasy series. Thanks to That Artsy Reader Girl for another great Top Ten Tuesday! 

Indiana’s Five

Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll
Who doesn’t love this incredibly strange and wise character? In both the book and the movies, my favorite scenes always included Cheshire.

Shadowfax from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien 
This majestic creature captured my imagination as a kid (assisted by the movies, of course). 

Winn-Dixie from Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
One of the sweetest “adoption” scenes I’ve ever read. 

Despereaux Tilling from The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCammillo 
A sweet, whimsical mouse with big dreams and a bigger heart. 

Frog & Toad from the eponymous series by Arnold Lobel 
These two characters were my favorite growing up. I loved reading about their adventures. 

Pete’s Five

Pantalaimon from His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Lyra’s dæmon was the first fictional creature to come to mind for this challenge. Having an intelligent animal to communicate with would be incredible!

Chiri-Chiri from The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Essentially a miniature dragon with a shell, I’d love to have Chiri-Chiri as a pet.

Poppy from The Dimwood Forest series by Avi
There are a lot of characters I love from this series, but Poppy always stood out for her courage and tenacity.

The Cozy Horse from The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman
A 100-foot tall horse is totally absurd, but I’d love to see this wonderful creature.

The slake moths from Perdido Street Station by China Miéville
Okay, I didn’t like these creatures at all, but they are the most fascinatingly terrifying monsters I’ve ever read about.