This book is a volume in the Penn Press Anniversary Collection. To mark its 125th anniversary in 2015, the University of Pennsylvania Press rereleased more than 1,100 titles from Penn Press's distinguished backlist from 1899-1999 that had fallen out of print. Spanning an entire century, the Anniversary Collection offers peer-reviewed scholarship in a wide range of subject areas.

Talking-animal tales have conveyed anticruelty messages since the 18th-century beginnings of children's literature. Yet only in the modern period have animal characters become true subjects rather than objects of human neglect or benevolence. Modern fantasies reflect the shift from animal welfare to animal rights in 20th-century public discourse. This revolution in literary animal-human relations began with Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and continued with the work of Kenneth Grahame, Hugh Lofting, P.L. Travers and E. B. White. Beginning with the ideas of literary theorist Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin, this book examines ways in which animal characters gain an aura of authority through using language and then participate in reversals of power. The author provides a close reading of 10 acclaimed British and American children's fantasies or series published before 1975. Authors whose work has received little scholarly attention are also covered, including Robert Lawson, George Selden and Robert C. O'Brien.

"Joni Murphy’s inventive and beautiful allegory depicts a city enmeshed in climate collapse, blinded to the signs of its imminent destruction by petty hatreds and monstrous greed: that is, the world we are living in now. Talking Animals is an Orwellian tale of totalitarianism in action, but the animals on this farm are much cuter, and they make better puns." —Chris Kraus, author of I Love Dick and After Kathy Acker A fable for our times, Joni Murphy’s Talking Animals takes place in an all-animal world where creatures rather like us are forced to deal with an all-too-familiar landscape of soul-crushing jobs, polluted oceans, and a creeping sense of doom. It’s New York City, nowish. Lemurs brew espresso. Birds tend bar. There are bears on Wall Street, and a billionaire racehorse is mayor. Sea creatures are viewed with fear and disgust and there’s chatter about building a wall to keep them out. Alfonzo is a moody alpaca. His friend Mitchell is a sociable llama. They both work at City Hall, but their true passions are noise music and underground politics. Partly to meet girls, partly because the world might be ending, these lowly bureaucrats embark on an unlikely mission to expose the corrupt system that’s destroying the city from within. Their project takes them from the city’s bowels to its extremities, where they encounter the Sea Equality Revolutionary Front, who are either a group of dangerous radicals or an inspiring liberation movement. In this novel, at last, nature kvetches and grieves, while talking animals offer us a kind of solace in the guise of dumb jokes. This is mass extinction as told by BoJack Horseman. This is The Fantastic Mr. Fox journeying through Kafka's Amerika. This is dogs and cats, living together. Talking Animals is an urgent allegory about friendship, art, and the elemental struggle to change one’s life under the low ceiling of capitalism.

In her reappraisal of canonical works such as Black Beauty, Beautiful Joe, Wind in the Willows, and Peter Rabbit, Tess Cosslett traces how nineteenth-century debates about the human and animal intersected with, or left their mark on, the venerable genre of the animal story written for children. Effortlessly applying a range of critical approaches, from Bakhtinian ideas of the carnivalesque to feminist, postcolonial, and ecocritical theory, she raises important questions about the construction of the child reader, the qualifications of the implied author, and the possibilities of children's literature compared with literature written for adults. Perhaps most crucially, Cosslett examines how the issues of animal speech and animal subjectivity were managed, at a time when the possession of language and consciousness had become a vital sign of the difference between humans and animals. Topics of great contemporary concern, such as the relation of the human and the natural, masculine and feminine, child and adult, are investigated within their nineteenth-century contexts, making this an important book for nineteenth-century scholars, children's literature specialists, and historians of science and childhood.

First published in 1973, this book is about Shakespeare, language and drama. The first part introduces some common ideas of anthropology and linguistics into an area where they serve as a base for the discussion of usually literary matters. It attempts to link language to our experience of speech — examining its range, texture, and social functions. In part two, the author argues that in Elizabethan culture there was a greater investment in the complexities and demands of speech due to the widespread illiteracy of the time. It examines eight of Shakespeare’s plays, together with one of Ben Jonson’s, in light of their concern with various aspects of the role of spoken language in society.

The story revolves around a kid named Govardhan who happens to meet some animals who can apparently talk like humans. The events unfold in an apartment community. The story is designed for small children to imbibe values like compassion, care, selflessness and love for nature and animals. Soon the bonding between Govardhan and the animals grew stronger. Later the kid learns about the witches who had petted these animals and the magic potion that gave them the ability to acquire human languages. Eventually the effect of the potion would fade away. Can the boy retrievie the rest of the potion saved in a secret chamber underground? Can the animals talk like humans again? The story would envelope the readers into a heartwarming world of fairies and magic. Boy and the talking animals started off as bedtime stories for the author's 3-yearold son Govardhan featuring the kid himself as the central character. It was later developed into a short novel.

‘Wonderful . . . Endlessly interesting and beautifully written’ DAILY TELEGRAPH ‘Steady-headed and fun’ SUNDAY TIMES ‘Read this book and, I promise, you’ll never listen to animals in the same way again’ JESSICA PIERCE, author of Who’s a Good Dog? Why Animals Talk is a scientific journey through the untamed world of animal communication. From the majestic howls of wolves and the enchanting chatter of parrots to the melodic clicks of dolphins and the spirited grunts of chimpanzees, these diverse and seemingly bizarre expressions are far from mere noise. In fact, they hold secrets that we are just beginning to decipher. For example, wolves – just like humans – possess unique accents that distinguish their howls, and not only do dolphins give themselves names, but they also respond excitedly to recordings of the whistles of long-lost companions. Chapter by chapter and animal by animal, Kershenbaum draws on his extensive research and observations of animals in the wild to explain the science behind why animals are communicating. Also revealing profound insights into our own language and why it is different, Why Animals Talks tells the comprehensive story of communication and how it works across the entire animal kingdom. ‘Quirky, insightful . . . based on a deep understanding of recent research’ TIM CLUTTON-BROCK, author of Meerkat Manor ‘A new look at a fascinating subject’ DESMOND MORRIS, author of The Naked Ape

Animals and Women is a collection of pioneering essays that explores the theoretical connections between feminism and animal defense. Offering a feminist perspective on the status of animals, this unique volume argues persuasively that both the social construction and oppressions of women are inextricably connected to the ways in which we comprehend and abuse other species. Furthermore, it demonstrates that such a focus does not distract from the struggle for women’s rights, but rather contributes to it. This wide-ranging multidisciplinary anthology presents original material from scholars in a variety of fields, as well as a rare, early article by Virginia Woolf. Exploring the leading edge of the species/gender boundary, it addresses such issues as the relationship between abortion rights and animal rights, the connection between woman-battering and animal abuse, and the speciesist basis for much sexist language. Also considered are the ways in which animals have been regarded by science, literature, and the environmentalist movement. A striking meditation on women and wolves is presented, as is an examination of sexual harassment and the taxonomy of hunters and hunting. Finally, this compelling collection suggests that the subordination and degradation of women is a prototype for other forms of abuse, and that to deny this connection is to participate in the continued mistreatment of animals and women.

Talk with the animals something we can all do! Now you can communicate better with your animals. All you need is a love and understanding of them as individuals and personalities in their own right, and a willingness to listen, watch and learn. Ann Walker shares with us a lifetime of experiences and shows how the rewards of getting through to animals can be worthwhile even spectacular. Her own affinity with donkeys, ponies, mules, cats, dogs and sheep has had some surprising results at times! This book explains why animals are valuable companions for young and old, for the sick and disabled, and as partners for the blind. Ann Walker, popular Prime Time columnist and animal breeder, will help you develop day-to-day understanding with the animals who share your life.

"The Adventures of Charlie and the Talking Animals" follows the journey of a young boy named Charlie, who has the ability to communicate with animals. Each chapter of the book features Charlie and his animal friends as they embark on exciting adventures together. Throughout the book, Charlie learns important lessons about courage, kindness, and perseverance, as well as the importance of respecting and appreciating the natural world and its inhabitants. Through its engaging and lovable characters, exciting plot, and positive message, "The Adventures of Charlie and the Talking Animals" teaches children important values and life lessons.