April 11 is National Pet Day! Of course all pet owners know that we love, cuddle, and care for our pets every day. But did you know that, according to the National Institutes of Health, pets can help improve our health by lowering cortisol, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels? Pets can even help children with their emotional and social skills!
Colleen Paige, animal welfare advocate and pet and family lifestyle expert, founded National Pet Day in 2006 to celebrate the joy that pets can bring to us. She also wanted to bring attention to the ongoing needs of many pets of all kinds waiting in shelters to be adopted. She encouraged people who want purebred dogs and cats to contact rescue organizations instead of going to a breeder. “Don’t shop! Adopt!” has become the holiday motto. National Pet Day got its start in the U.S., but it soon expanded internationally. Pet lovers now celebrate this day all over the world including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Spain, Guam, Scotland, and many more. Join in the celebration by giving your pet a treat, playing together, taking a picture together, or reading some of the books below!
- Picture Books
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Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev
Today is Pet Club day. There will be cats, dogs and fish, but strictly no elephants are allowed. The Pet Club doesn’t understand that pets come in all shapes and sizes, just like friends. Now, it is time for a boy and his tiny pet elephant to show them what it means to be a true friend.
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I Wanna Iguana by Karen K. Orloff
Alex just has to convince his mom to let him have an iguana, so he puts his arguments in writing. He promises that she won't have to feed it or clean its cage or even see it if she doesn't want to. Of course, Mom imagines life with a six-foot-long iguana eating them out of house and home. Alex reassures her by advising, "It takes fifteen years for an iguana to get that big. I'll be married by then and probably living in my own house. His mom's replies, "How are you going to get a girl to marry you when you own a giant reptile?" This one will have kids in hysterics as the negotiations go back and forth through notes.
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May I Pet Your Dog? by Stephanie Calmenson
Children encounter dogs wherever they go: in the park, on the sidewalk, at their friends’ homes. Sometimes it’s love at first sight, on both sides, but not always. The right way for a child to approach a dog to ensure that the first connection is a complete success begins with this question to the owner: “May I pet your dog?” Using Harry the dachshund as a gentle guide, Stephanie Calmenson addresses this valuable yet overlooked topic with care and precision, and Jan Ormerod’s warm illustrations portray a wide variety of breeds and personalities and depict situations that are realistic but never scary.
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The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read by Curtis Manley
Nick loves to read books--and he loves to play with his cats, Verne and Stevenson. So naturally Nick decides it's a great idea to teach his cats to read. But, Verne and Stevenson don't appreciate when Nick wakes them up with a flashcard that says NAP. Nick finally piques Verne's interest with words like MOUSE and FISH. But not Stevenson's. While Nick and Verne go to the library, Stevenson hides under the porch. Will Nick ever find a way to share his love of reading with his feline friends?
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Lola Gets a Cat by Anna McQuinn
Lola wants a cat, but Mommy says taking care of a pet is a lot of work. So, Lola does her homework. At the library, she finds books about cats and pet care and she and Mommy learn as much as they can. She pretends her stuffed kitty is real and practices taking care of it. When the time comes, Lola is allowed to pick out her new friend at an animal shelter. With patience and care, her kitten settles in at home.
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The Octopuppy by Martin McKenna
Meet Edgar. Edgar wants a puppy and is determined to train it himself. Sit. Stay. Fetch. What could go wrong? But, instead of a puppy, Edgar gets an octopus named Jarvis. Jarvis is brilliant and does his best to act like the dog Edgar wants, but things don't exactly go smoothly.
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This adorable book is about a little girl who wants a pet. Her mother tells her, "You can have any pet you want as long as it doesn't need to be walked or bathed or fed." So the girl gets a sloth and names her new animal companion Sparky. Unsurprisingly, Sparky isn't a particular active pet, something the girl has trouble accepting, attempting to teach him tricks and to get him to perform for the neighbors. Can she come to terms with her slothful sloth's essential nature, and accept him for who he is?
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Some Pets by Angela DiTerlizzi
Come one, come all, to the pet show! With dogs and cats, horses and chickens, hamsters and chinchillas—and many, many more!—this book celebrates animal companions of all shapes and sizes. Who will take home the coveted Best in Show ribbon? Join the fun to find out!
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Charlotte and the Rock by Stephen W. Martin
Charlotte has always really wanted a pet, so when her parents present her with one for her birthday she expects a cat, dog, or maybe a bird. Instead, she receives a rock. Rocks can't cuddle, fetch, or even help her eat her vegetables, but that doesn’t stop Charlotte from loving her rock as if he were real. If only he could love her back...or can he?
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Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child
Windy Girl is blessed with a vivid imagination. From Uncle she gathers stories of long-ago traditions, about dances and sharing and gratitude. Windy can tell such stories herself–about her dog, Itchy Boy, and the way he dances to request a treat and how he wriggles with joy in response to, well, just about everything. When Uncle, Windy Girl, and Itchy Boy attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers in their jingle dresses and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Now Uncle's stories inspire other visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs. In these magical scenes, Windy sees veterans in a Grand Entry, and a visiting drum group, and traditional dancers, grass dancers, and jingle-dress dancers–all with telltale ears and paws and tails. All celebrating in song and dance. All attesting to the wonder of the powwow.
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Norman: One Amazing Goldfish by Kelly Bennett
Norman is one amazing goldfish! His owner knows Norman is sure to dazzle the crowd at Pet-O-Rama with his circles, bubbles, and flips—even though some kids don’t think a goldfish is a good pet. But when Norman is finally on stage, he freezes up and hides behind his plant. Poor Norman! Luckily, his owner plays a familiar song on the tuba, helping Norman to relax and show the crowd how amazing he really is.
- Chapter Books
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A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans by Joanne Ryder
Crusty dragon Miss Drake has a new pet human, precocious Winnie. Oddly enough, Winnie seems to think Miss Drake is her pet - a ridiculous notion! Unknown to most of its inhabitants, the City by the Bay is home to many mysterious and fantastic creatures, hidden beneath the parks, among the clouds, and even in plain sight. And Winnie wants to draw every new creature she encounters: the good, the bad, and the ugly. But Winnie’s sketchbook is not what it seems. Somehow, her sketchlings have been set loose on the city streets! It will take Winnie and Miss Drake’s combined efforts to put an end to the mayhem before it’s too late.
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Lulu and the Hamster in the Night by Hilary McKay
Lulu adopts a hamster, but she can't tell Nan about it because Nan doesn't care for most animals―especially not hamsters. It's her birthday this weekend and Lulu and Mellie are staying the night. Lulu doesn't want to leave her new hamster behind, but can she and Mellie keep it a secret from Nan over the weekend?
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Gaby, Lost and Found by Angela Cervantes
"My name is Gaby, and I'm looking for a home. Having the nicest clothes or cell phone isn't important, but I'd like to have a cat that I can talk to when I'm home alone." When Gaby Ramirez Howard starts volunteering at the local animal shelter, she takes special pride in writing adoption advertisements. Her flyers help the cats and dogs there find their forever homes: places where they'll be loved and cared for, no matter what. Gaby is in need of a forever home herself. Her mother has recently been deported to Honduras and Gaby doesn't know where to turn. Meanwhile, Gaby's favorite shelter cat, Feather, needs a new place to live. Gaby would love to adopt her-- but if Gaby doesn't have a place that feels like home to her, how can she help Feather?
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Leonard, My Life as a Cat by Carlie Sorosiak
The cat that Olive rescues from a flood has a secret: he’s not really a cat at all, but an alien who crashed to Earth on a beam of light. The cat, whom Olive names Leonard, was prepared to visit the planet as a human—but something went wrong. Now Leonard may never know what it’s like to hold an umbrella, go bowling, or host a dinner party. (And his human jokes still need some work: Knock, knock. Who’s there? Just Leonard. It is me.) While Olive worries about whether she will have to move after her mom and her new boyfriend get back from their summer vacation, Leonard tries to figure out how to get from South Carolina to Yellowstone National Park, because if he’s not there at the end of the month, he’ll miss his ride home. But as Olive teaches Leonard about the beautiful and confusing world of humans, he starts to realize how much he cares about this particular one.
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Mad About Meatloaf by Maureen Fergus
Weenie loves his human, Bob. He loves his guinea pig friend Beans and his cat friend Frank. He loves naps, adventures and sharing. In fact, Weenie loves pretty much everything (except the mail carrier). But the thing Weenie loves and desires more than anything else in the world is meatloaf. And he'll do anything to get it. Join Weenie, Frank and Beans on a laugh-out-loud meatloaf adventure, complete with a trench coat disguise, a wild meatloaf trap and even a hungry wolf.
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Ever since she was a puppy, Stella was trained to use her powerful beagle nose to sniff out dangerous chemicals and help her handler keep people safe. But during a routine security inspection, Stella misses the scent of an explosive. The sound of the blast is loud and scary. Unable to go back to work because of her anxiety, Stella is retired as a working dog. When a young girl name Cloe wants to adopt Stella, the beagle knows this is her last chance to prove her worth. But how? When Stella smells a strange chemical inside Cloe's body, a scent that surges just before the girl has a seizure, Stella's nose makes the connection. But how can Stella warn her new family without them thinking she's having an anxiety attack? How can she convince others that she can be a new kind of service dog and hopefully save Cloe's life? Told from Stella's perspective, this story is about a special dog who must find the courage to overcome her fears in order to help save a young girl with epilepsy.
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A Home for Goddesses and Dogs by Leslie Connor
It’s a life-altering New Year for thirteen-year-old Lydia when she uproots to a Connecticut farm to live with her aunt following her mother’s death. Aunt Brat and her jovial wife, Eileen, and their ancient live-in landlord, Elloroy, are welcoming—and a little quirky. Lydia’s struggle for a sense of belonging in her new family is highlighted when the women adopt a big yellow dog just days after the girl’s arrival. Wasn’t one rescue enough? Lydia is not a dog person—and this one is trouble! He is mistrustful and slinky. He pees in the house, escapes into the woods, and barks at things unseen. His new owners begin to guess about his unknown past. Meanwhile, Lydia doesn’t want to be difficult—and she does not mean to keep secrets—but there are things she’s not telling. Like why the box of “paper stuff” she keeps under her bed is so important, why that hole in the wall behind a poster in her room is getting bigger, and why something she took from the big yellow dog just might be the key to unraveling his mysterious past.
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Maxi's Secrets by Lynn Plourde
Timminy knows that moving to a new town just in time to start middle school when you are perfect bully bait is less than ideal. But he gets a great consolation prize in Maxi—a gentle giant of a dog who the family quickly discovers is deaf. Timminy is determined to do all he can to help Maxi—after all, his parents didn't return him because he was a runt. But when the going gets rough for Timminy, who spends a little too much time getting shoved into lockers at school, Maxi ends up being the one to help him—along with their neighbor, Abby, who doesn’t let her blindness define her and bristles at Timminy’s “poor-me” attitude. It turns out there’s more to everyone than what’s on the surface, whether it comes to Abby, Maxi, or even Timminy himself.
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A Boy Called Bat by Elana Arnold
For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter. But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet. This is the first book in a funny, heartfelt, and irresistible young middle grade series starring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum.
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Jeremiah’s heart skips a beat before his first soccer game, but it’s not nerves. It’s the first sign of a heart attack. He knows he needs to go to the hospital, but he’s determined to score a goal. Charging after the ball, he refuses to stop...even if his heart might. J6 is a pig and the only one of his five brothers who survived the research lab. Though he's never left his cell, he thinks of himself as a therapy pig, a scholar, and a bodyguard. But when the lab sends him to live with Jeremiah's family, there’s one new title he’s desperate to have: brother. At first, Jeremiah thinks his parents took in J6 to cheer him up. But before long, he begins to suspect there's more to his new curly-tailed companion than meets the eye. When the truth is revealed, Jeremiah and J6 must protect each other at all costs—even if their lives depend on it.
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Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again. Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything? In her first novel since The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate delivers an unforgettable and magical story about family, friendship, and resilience.
Descriptions adapted from the publisher.