This week’s theme over at ThatArtsyReaderGirl is bookish pet peeves; my take on it is simply bookish pets, or rather Favorite Fictional Pets!! From childhood favorites to books I read as recently as last year, from imaginary creatures to real-life pets, this list has it all.

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So here is my list of

10 Favorite Fictional Pets

Black Beauty

One of my forever favorites, Black Beauty reminds me of this quote from a current read

“Few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart. Those first images, the echo of words we think we have left behind, accompany us throughout our lives and sculpt a palace in our memory to which, sooner or later–no matter how many books we read, how many worlds we discover or how much we learn or forget–we will return.“ – From The Shadow of the Wind

Ganesh

So Inspector Chopra’s unexpected inheritance – a baby elephant – turns out to be life-changing indeed. Baby Ganesh is sure to keep you smiling throughout this read.

George

I first fell in love with this naughty, clever, curious monkey when I was watching the TV series based on the books with my kids ages ago (seems like). Falling in love all over again when I read the book was no surprise! George reminds me of every kid (and adult) whose curiosity and need to try out things lands them in, well, unexpected scenarios. I know I have been George many a time, and seen my kids ‘ape’ George often as well, with cool consequences – ranging from the oh-well to the wow-wonderful (sorry for the ape pun!!!)!

Hachiko

I first saw the Richard Gere movie (thankfully by myself, as I was weeping buckets towards the end) and more recently, read the book. Hachiko remains a symbol of love, loyalty, and the bond animals and humans share.

Marley

Again, this was a movie first, book later kind of thing. But I loved both of them. For those who are looking for Marley’s story for younger readers,

Timmy

I grew up on a steady diet of Enid Blyton books, and devoured the Famous Five series! Timmy is simply oh-so ‘I wish I had a dog like him’ pet all around – adorable, clever, and fiercely protective. And yes, it helps that he can sniff out secret passages and has a super-powerful-villain-radar!!

Toothless

My son received this book as a gift from a friend, and this was around the time the first movie was being made from what I can recall. It was also one of the first books both I and my son read at the same time (like in a book club). Toothless is certainly one adorable dragon pet who I would love to have on my side!!!

White Fang

I first read this book as a young girl in an illustrated comic version, and more recently read the unabridged version. You can find my complete review here. I think White Fang was one of the first animals I admired totally for his pure grit and steadfast loyalty. You can read the illustrated comics version over at the cool wonderful resource that is the Internet Archive – here.

Zing Zing Bar

TBH, I have not read the book but I watched the movie when I was in elementary school (so ages ago now!!) The friendship between Zangbo and Zing Zing Bar, and their adventures (I was in a Famous Five phase at the time) made me want a dog of my own, briefly! Looking for this book and movie took me to the Children’s Film Society of India’s website, and I am discovering many more delightful children’s movies (some based on books) there now. (Note that many of these are in various Indian languages – though they are also likely to be subtitled)

‘Maci’ (meaning cat in Bosnian)

This appears at the end of this list because this was not really a pet, and not named as well, but at the same time, the cat kind of ‘adopted’ the author’s family. A must-read book that I talk about here.

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And Now, the End of this Post

Dear reader, have you read any of these books? And do any of these pets make it in your list of favorite pets from books? Your thoughts on them are as always, welcome and needed! Do you have any recommendations for books with pets? Fiction, non-fiction, and all ages recommendations are welcome!