On Kids and Bonds with their Pets

If you know me well, I can be summed up as a “cat person.”

Pet cats have been a part of my life since the beginning, starting with the fluffy, grey cat my parents adopted before I was born. In reality, this cat never liked me, but it was the start of a lifelong love of cats.

Over the years, I’ve had a total of seven cats, as you can see in the following photos. I have bonded with these animals in several different ways, so they have always been considered family. I often feel like these cats, whom I loved with my whole heart, have turned me into the person I am today.

According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, children raised with pets can show the following benefits:

• Positive feelings can help a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence;
• Positive feelings help develop trusting relationships with others;
• These relationships can also help in developing non-verbal communication, compassion, & empathy. ("Pets and Children", 2019)

While there are several books about general animal-human relationships, the ones that feel the most personal stand out. Kids who have pets in their lives often want to see their furry pals in the books they read or the shows and movies they watch. As such, we can often see these relationships and intrapersonal or interpersonal skills develop in the books we read.

There are several stories that feature common, yet complicated, relationships between kids and pets, such as with cats and dogs. Two such books that talk about this are Wish by Barbara O’Connor and I Hate My Cats: A Love Story by Davide Calí and illustrated by Anna Pirolli.

O’Connor’s Wish features a story about a girl who moves to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and finds love in a dog named Wishbone.

Calí’s I Hate My Cats: A Love Story discusses what it’s like to own more than one cat. Although the picture book points out the messy, troublesome, and incredibly frustrating parts of owning pets, it also mentions how essential they are to our lives.

While there is the common pet option for stories about cats and dogs, there’s also wonderful uncommon options - including goats, foxes, and even donkeys. The books include Better with Butter by Victoria Piontek, Pax by Sara Pennypacker and illustrated by Jon Klassen, and Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech.

Piontek’s Better with Butter tells the story of a 12-year-old girl with crippling anxiety who rescues a fainting goat named Butter. Butter helps her be brave when change happens to them.

In Pennypacker’s Pax (told from the perspective of Pax, a 5- year-old fox), a boy finds and takes care of a fox kit after his mother dies. When the boy’s father joins the military, Pax must be released into the wild.

And last, but certainly not least, Creech’s Saving Winslow tells the story about a boy named Louie who takes care of a sickly baby donkey named Winslow after his father brings him home. Despite many challenges, Louie does his best to save his best friend.

Would you like to check out these heartwarming books about pet-human relationships?

Pax by Sara Pennypacker. Illustrated by Jon Klassen.

"After being forced to give up his pet fox Pax, a young boy named Peter decides to leave home and get his best friend back."

Wish by Barbara O’ Connor.

"A story about a girl who, with the help of the dog of her dreams, discovers that family doesn't always have to be related--they are simply people who love you for who you are."

I Hate My Cats: A Love Story by Davide Calí. Illustrated by Anna Pirolli.

Ginger and Fred, a pair of cats, can be picky, messy, and troublesome, and although they frustrate the author, in the end their presence is comforting –and essential.

Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog by Lisa Papp.

After Madeline Finn adopts a puppy, she learns about her local animal shelter and organizes donations and volunteers to improve the lives of the animals there.

I Do Not Like Stories by Andrew Larsen. Illustrated by Carey Sookocheff.

"The story itself is simple. Boy gets up; boy goes to school; boy comes home from school, boy goes to bed. Boy seems a bit grumpy, until the end of the day when he comes home to his cat, whom he clearly loves. The boy’s story is told in a traditional picture book style – in the meantime, the cat's story is told in graphic panels.”

Mr. Scruff by Simon James.

“From author-illustrator Simon James comes a warm, winning story about friendship and finding a home. A sweetly silly story of a little boy and a dog who make an unlikely (but perhaps perfect) pair."

Negative Cat by Sophie Blackall.

"Max isn't a typical cat, but his loving owner still sees the best in him."

Hey, Boy by Benjamin Strouse. Illustrated by Jennifer Phelan.

"A little boy must give up his new dog after he gets hurt caring for him, but never gives up on dreams of them being together."

Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech.

“When his father brings home an ailing, newborn donkey, Louie names the animal Winslow and takes care of him, but everyone, including Louie's quirky friend Nora, thinks Winslow is not going to survive.”

Better with Butter by Victoria Piontek.

“Afraid of absolutely everything, 12-year-old Marvel momentarily forgets her anxiety when she rescues a fainting goat named Butter and must fight for her new friend when she is told she might have to give Butter up forever.”

These books, plus so much more, can be found physically at the Mercer County Library branches or digitally through eLibraryNJ and hoopla.

And with that, Persephone and I wish you, Happy Reading!

— Jamie C., Twin Rivers Branch

Works Cited

Pets and Children. (2019). Facts for Families: Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, (75). Retrieved March 9, 2022, from https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Pets-And-Children-075.aspx#:~:text=Developing%20positive%20feelings%20about%20pets,communication%2C%20compassion%2C%20and%20empathy.