Read City USA and the Tails and Tales million-hour reading challenge are visiting farms, neighborhoods, and other artificial habitats. These environments are extremely diverse, and can include areas like parks, vacant lots, gardens and yards, campus areas, golf courses, bridges, landfills, and of course, our homes! Some species can be found around the globe, wherever humans are known to inhabit. However, some species that are known to scavenge from human trash can range from tropical monkeys to polar bears depending on location! Animals found in urban habitats include all domesticated animals (dogs, cows, etc.), rabbits, mice, pigeons, crows, squirrels, and deer.
This book list features the animals and environments most affected by humans. Let's explore our own backyard!
Juvenile
- Backyard Bears: Conservation, Habitat Changes, and the Rise of Urban Wildlife by Amy Cherrix Juvenile Nonfiction
- Coyote Moon by Maria Gianferrari Juvenile Nonfiction
- I Am Jax, Protector of the Ranch by Catherine Stier Juvenile Fiction
- This Little Pup by Laura J. Bryant Easy-Picture Book
- Opossums by Emily K. Green Easy Reader Nonfiction
- The Queen Bee and Me by Gillian McDunn Juvenile Fiction
- Snail Finds a Home by Mary Peterson Juvenile Fiction
- Thank You, Garden by Liz Garton Scanlon Easy-Picture Book
- They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel Easy-Picture Book
- You're Invited to a Moth Ball: A Nighttime Insect Celebration by Loree Griffin Burns Juvenile Nonfiction
Teen
- All the Walls of Belfast by Sarah J. Carlson
- Burn by Patrick Ness
- Dairy Queen: A Novel by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
- The Secrets of Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson
- Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O’Roark Dowell
- Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry
- A Walk in the Sun by Michelle Zink
Adult Fiction
- Muzzled: A Kate Turner, DVM Mystery (SERIES) by Eileen Brady
- The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
- The Driest Season by Meghan Kenny
- Stay and Fight by Madeline Ffitch
- O, Pioneers! by Willa Cather
- The Ginseng Hunter by Jeff Talarigo
Adult Nonfiction
- A $500 House in Detroit by Drew Philip
- The Human Age by Diane Ackerman
- Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer by Bren Smith
- One Nation Under Dog: Adventures in the New World of Prozac-Popping Puppies, Dog Park Politics, and Organic Pet Food by Michael Schaffer
- Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
- Pig Tales by Barry Estabrook