Seattle's Child

Your guide to a kid-friendly city

books about pets

Books about pets that will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside

4 great kids' titles, all about animals and the people who love them.

Books about pets: These next four titles are some of my favorites to recommend to young listeners who love silly stories about animals, or for those looking for a reassuring story about a loved one who will always come back.

“Cone Cat”
by Sarah Howden; illustrated by Carmen Mok
Jeremy, a young cat, wakes up at the vet one morning with a cone around his neck, and he has no idea how it got there. Life with the cone presents all sorts of difficulties for Jeremyā€™s once carefree, mischief-making life, and he soon realizes heā€™s unable to live his life as he once knew it. As Jeremy is coming to terms with his new, joyless life, he suddenly makes an exciting and delicious discovery about the coneā€™s hidden uses. Maybe there are more! This is a silly romp about a cat who must suffer the indignities of a cone.

“This Old Dog”
by Martha Brockenbrough; illustrated by Gabriel Alborozo
A sweet story about a furry family member feeling out of step with the rest of his humans, especially since a girl was born. Heā€™d prefer to linger over the smells and sights along the way on walks, as opposed to being rushed along. He yearns for a friend to share the simple things in life, but despairs that this will ever happen. Ah, but then it turns out heā€™s in perfect step with the familyā€™s newest little walker!

“Truman”
by Jean Reidy; illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Truman, a small turtle, lives with his Sarah, and life is pretty close to perfect. That is until one day, when Sarah gives Truman a special kiss and tells him to be brave. Then she is off, on her way somewhere on the number 11 bus. Truman waits and waits for what he feels is a long time, then decides he needs to go out on his own and find Sarah. Told with humor and clever vocabulary and counting, Truman is a heartwarming story of bravery, love and persistence.

“My Cat Looks Like My Dad”Ā 
by Thao Lam
An illustrated story of similarities between the narratorā€™s dad and the family cat, using detailed paper collage techniques to convey them. Children will have a great time finding the things the dad and cat have in common. This book is quite a lot of fun!

Enjoy these books about pets.

Winner and finalists of the 2021 Family Pet Contest

About the Author

Rene Holderman

Rene Holderman is the children's book buyer at Third Place Books.