The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter.
If there is only one book you read this year make it this one. It's a small book (216 pages) with the biggest bite of any book I've read. Set in the Depression of the 1930's it's the story of a young Indian boy who goes to live with his grandparents after his parents die. This book is one that you just don't recover from. This book has become, over the years since it's publication in 1976, a classic and hailed by reviewers as a "must read".

Modoc by Ralph Helfer.
Spanning seven decades and three continents, Modoc is one of the most amazing true stories ever told. Raised together in a small German circus town, a boy and an elephant formed a bond that would last their entire lives, and would be tested time and again; through a near-fatal shipwreck in the Indian Ocean, an apprenticeship with the legendary Mahout elephant trainers in the Indian teak forests, and their eventual rise to circus stardom in 1940's New York City. I recommend a box of tissues when you finish reading this book.

When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson.
"This is not only an important book, it's marvellous! If animals could read they would be filled with joy and gratitude to the authors----as I am.  It is scholarly, vivid and compelling. Please read it." Jane Goodall.