The 7 Weirdest Fictional Pets from Children’s Books

Hedwig (The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling)
Not only did Harry Potter receive the news that he was a wizard and would be attending Hogwarts as a magical 11th birthday present, but he also got his snowy owl, Hedwig, from Rubeus Hagrid. The gamekeeper purchased Hedwig from Eeylops Owl Emporium in Diagon Alley. Like other owls in the wizarding world, Hedwig delivered mail, but more importantly, she is Harry’s constant companion for six years as he attends school and battles Lord Voldemort.

George (Curious George, by H.A. Rey)
As you know, George is a very curious little monkey, and as we learn in his first-ever book published in 1942, George’s curiosity is actually how he ends up with his pal, the Man in the Yellow Hat, in the first place. The Man spots George in an African jungle and decides he’d like to take the little monkey home. George pops down from a tree to check out the Man’s hat, and the rest is kid-lit history as the Man in the Yellow Hat brings George to America to live with him. And George really does try to be a good monkey, but he keeps getting into trouble—accidentally calling the fire department, escaping from jail, flying away with some balloons—typical monkey business, but perhaps not so typical for a family pet.

Lyle (Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, by Bernard Waber)
Mr. and Mrs. Primm and their son, Joshua, live in New York City with their pet, Lyle—NBD, right? Except Lyle is a crocodile. A caviar-eating, homework-helping, hide-and-seek–playing crocodile. Still, the only folks who seem to have a beef with Lyle are the Primms’ cranky neighbor, Mr. Grumps, and his cat, Loretta, who end up getting Lyle shipped off to a zoo. But our crafty croc friend escapes only to save Mr. Grumps from a fire. Looks like it pays to have a crocodilian in your corner—just ask this raccoon.

Arnie (Arnie, the Doughnut, by Laurie Keller)
Arnie watches as customers come into the bakery to select their doughnuts and take them home. He can’t wait for someone to select him from the display case and is so excited when he’s whisked away by Mr. Bing. Of course, this is before he knows the typical fate of a doughnut, which is to quickly get into their new owner’s belly. But Arnie refuses to let Mr. Bing eat him and instead offers to be his chauffeur, who can’t see over the steering wheel, or his bodyguard, who can’t defend Mr. Bing from anyone besides other baked goods. In the end, Mr. Bing agrees to let Arnie be his pet, but if we were Arnie, we’d sleep with one eye open.

Popper’s Performing Penguins (Mr. Popper’s Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater)
Mr. Popper loves his wife and children dearly, but he does wish he had seen the world before he settled down with Mrs. Popper. He’s never even left his little town of Stillwater, much less seen his dream locations: the Poles. He spends his spare time outside of painting jobs reading about Polar expeditions and one day receives a gift from one of the explorers, Admiral Drake, to whom he sent a fan letter. But this isn’t just any gift: It’s a penguin. And there are 11 more on the way. Now Mr. Popper has to figure out a way to support his new brood of a dozen penguins, so they go to work as “Popper’s Performing Penguins, First Time on Any Stage, Direct from the South Pole” in this hilariously absurd book that makes for a perfect read-aloud.

Wilbur (Charlotte’s Web, by E. B. White and Garth Williams)
Wilbur is “some pig,” at least according to the words woven into the spider web above his alcove. A spider named Charlotte wants to help her pig friend escape his fate to end up on a dinner plate, so she scrawls words on her web like “radiant” and “humble” to describe Wilbur in hopes of convincing the farmer that he’s no ordinary swine. Fern, who saved Wilbur’s life once before when he was born the runt of the litter, is also hoping to turn the tide for the piglet she raised as her pet in this sweet and sad classic children’s book.

Skunk (A Pet for Petunia, by Paul Schmid)
Petunia really likes skunks—no, make that she LOVES skunks. And she wants, wants, wants a real pet skunk. But her parents are not having it, despite the fact that she promises to feed it every day. “You said no when I wanted a python, too! I bet Katie’s parents would get her a skunk.” So Petunia is forced to set out on her own to find a real live skunk to adopt as her very own. Will she find that they really do stink like her parents say? Find out in this adorable and entertaining picture book.
What do you think is the weirdest fictional pet?