In the 1970s and 1980s there was so little decent fiction for young people but we're now in a golden age that shows no sign of fading. Philip Pullman J. K. Rowling Lemony Snicket are only three of the best known among a good number of equals.
Humans have a fraught relationship with beasts. They are our companions and our chattel our family members and our laborers our household pets and our household pests. We love them and cage them admire them and abuse them. And of course we cook and eat them.