The UK’s largest bookseller recently put out a request via Twitter; the staff at their flagship store were looking for a fictional pet….

So @WaterstonesPicc want a fictional bookshop pet. What should we ‘get’ them? #ImaginaryFriends

— Waterstones (@Waterstones) October 9, 2015

Which got me thinking about bookish pets, and pets in books…Though our library doesn’t have any pets (that aren’t imaginary), there are a few Library Animals around the world whose stories are truly epic, and serve to highlight what a great place libraries are for the two-legged and four-legged visitors alike!

Check out, for example, Library Cat, the sort-of-official-stray cat of The University of Edinburgh Central Library.  According to this article from the Scotsman, “Jordan” was originally adopted by a local friary in the hopes that he would catch mice.  “Jordan” had much loftier ambitions, however, and a love of heated libraries and turquoise chairs.  When he began appearing regularly in the nearby library, and tolerating the affection of staff and patrons, he was given a library card, a new nickname, and allowed free reign of the building.  His fame grew to such an extent that when Library Cat decided to spend a few nights with his Friar Friends, rumors of his demise caused such turmoil that a national newspaper investigated, and offered conclusive evidence that Library Cat was alive, well, and very grumpy after being woken from his nap.  

Library Cat is apparently also exceptionally tech-savvy, updating his Facebook account and Twitter on a regular basis, and keeping in touch with the Keele University Squirrel and the University of Portsmouth Penguin, whose name is Pablo, and is so cute I can hardly bear it.

 

In Russia, Kuzya the Cat made international news when he was actually hired as a member of staff in Novorossiysk, a city on the Black Sea.  Kuzya was a stray who showed up at the library in October of 2012.  The staff welcomed him inside, as all good library staff do, and Kuzya quickly decided that the library was a lovely place to stay.  However, because he was a stray, Kuzya lacked the appropriate documentation required by Russian law (which mostly involved a rabies vaccine and micro-chip).  The staff quickly got that sorted, and even acquired a cat passport for Kuzya (which is a thing in Russia, apparently), but he was so cute, so public-spirited, and so talented at bringing people into the library, that he was soon promoted to “Assistant Librarian”.

Kuzya can still be found in the Novorossiysk Library, wearing a bowtie, because that is what gentlemen do, and, according to sources,  plays “Pushkin the Cat Scientist” in plays for children, in addition to his vigorous routine of napping in the stacks, napping in the newspaper racks, and napping in the comfy chairs before snacktime.

 

 

So, in honor of the library pets* around the world, across the universe, and in other realms entirely, here are some nominees for Best Literary Pet.  Any suggestions for our Library Pet are entirely welcome.

Mog the Cat: Judith Kerr based a good deal of her series about the forgetful and often perplexed Mog the cat on her own family, including the names of the children in Mog’s house, and Mog’s south London neighborhood.  It’s nearly impossible not to fall in love with the portly, adorable Mog (who was brought to life through Kerr’s illustrations), and her adventures are the kind of funny, slightly absurd tales that parents will enjoy right alongside their kids.

Tock the Dog: Aside from being one of the most wonderfully original, imaginative, unforgettable books you will ever read, The Phantom Tollbooth also features Tock, the watchdog–whose body is part watch–who guides the hapless Milo through his adventures. Tock is also a guard dog who protects against, you guessed it, wasted time.  Though vigilant in his duties, Tock is also a stalwart friend to Milo, staying by his side, flying him out of the Mountains of Ignorance (because, of course, time flies…), and offering some of my favorite advice in all of literature to Milo when he winds up in the Doldrums: “Since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking.”

Gruffalo: Julia Donaldson wrote The Gruffalo as an adaptation of a Chinese folktale involving a fox and a tiger.  However, when she couldn’t think of a rhyme for ‘tiger’, she created an animal whose name would rhyme with “know”…and hence, the Gruffalo, a hybrid animal who lurks in the forest, was born.  Her beloved tale offers a wonderful lesson in courage and bravado, and has been adapted into a film and now has a sequel, The Gruffalo’s Child, which continues to play on the idea of myth and reality.

Hedwig: I think it goes without saying that Harry Potter’s snowy owl, Hedwig, would make this list.  As heroic as her illustrious owner, and as brave as any human in the world of the Harry Potter series, Hedwig has a personality all her own: she disdains the immaturity of other owls, isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and will even go so far as to peck Harry’s friends to remind them to write to him regularly.

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*A note: we were unable to find any Library Dogs, per se, but very much encourage you to take a look at the Library Dogs website, dedicated to service dogs and the wonderful work they do with children in libraries across the country.