That New Animal

by Emily Jenkins

Book Overview

A new baby changes everything . . . for two dogs FudgeFudge does not like that new animal. Marshmallow does not like it either. Not even a little bit. So begins this forthright, hilarious, and boldly illustrated story about two dogs that see the arrival of a new baby as a huge problem. They don't like the way that new animal smells or the way the people just sit and stare at it, forgetting all about FudgeFudge and Marshmallow. They have to do something...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374374430
• ISBN13: 9780374374433
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.2" x 11.3"
• Age Range: 3 to 6 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 1

Customer Reviews

Great for

This book cracked us up. We got it for our [...]who will be welcoming a new baby brother or sister into our home any day now. Of all of the different books we got from the library on welcoming a new sibling into the home, this was our favorite. We also have a furry member of our family (Daisy, a Golden Retriever) so we can relate to the puppies in this story too. FudgeFudge and Marshmallow just couldn't help but be naughty in the story because of their jealousy of "that new animal". Sometimes you wonder what goes through the minds of our furry little friends. This book gives you a glimpse of that! My cousin is pregnant with her first baby and this book is absolutely perfect for her and her husband because they have two naughty puppies at home right now! I just ordered her a copy. I think this book is especially appropriate for the "parents" of dogs who are getting ready to welcome a baby of the "human" kind into their home! It is a very cute story and well-illustrated.

very cute- kid approved!

This a very cute books written from the point of view of the pets when their owners bring a new baby into the home. I read it to about 100 1st graders and it was a huge hit!

humorous depiction of pets' response to new baby

My 3 year old and I happened on this book at the library. It is very funny, showing two pet dogs' strong emotions at being displaced by a "new animal". The conversation between the dogs is delightfully frank; one suggests that the "new animal" be buried along with the bones in the back yard. Gradually the dogs become accustomed to the new baby's smell, and by the end of the book, the dogs are beginning to accept the baby as one of their family members. Highly recommended for families with children and pets.

Do bow that bow-wow you wow with so well

My mother has a phrase that often occurs to me when I see babies or toddlers driving their parents/siblings bonkers. "Cute is a defensive mechanism". I think this may be true. No matter how obnoxious a young `un is, if they've the saving grace of adorableness, they'll probably survive a little longer in the wild or the family home. But what if someone doesn't find the new baby in the family cute in the least? Emily Jenkins has taken a most basic tale of new-baby-blues and applied it to a pair of family pets. The result, my friends, is picture book gold. Family pups FudgeFudge and Marshmallow are displeased. There is a new animal in the home. An unpleasant animal with an unpleasant smell and it's stealing valuable attention away from the dogs. Now no one is throwing a stick or a ball or scratching Marshmallow's tummy (even when he really really wants them to). And the dogs cannot help but notice that when they whine or bark they're disciplined, but when the new animal cries it gets cuddles and kisses. FudgeFudge is particularly upset. She suggests eating the animal, biting it, burying it, taking over its cradle, and chewing up its toys. Each time Marshmallow tells her no, but eventually even the calm Marshmallow can't take it any longer and proceeds to pee on the carpet in several places. Then one day Grandpa comes by and the dogs do not know Grandpa. They know one thing, though. He's trying to get near the new animal and since they don't know him, he's a threat to it. He tries again and again and each time they bark to keep him away. "It is our new animal to hate as much as we want to", reasons Marshmallow. "But it is not his new animal to go picking up whenever he feels like it". Slowly things start to get back to normal. Sticks are thrown and the new animal says the word "Da", which obviously means "dog". By the end, the dogs have accepted the new animal, "To hate as much as they want to. And to like, just a little bit". The last picture in the book, a small in-joke for those who see it, shows the baby now grown into a toddler looking up at his now once-again pregnant mother as the oblivious doggies chase a stick. The book has an understated wit and intelligence that kids and adults will be able to equally appreciate. Jenkins was already the author of the laudable, "Daffodil", so it comes as little wonder that "That New Animal" is as sophisticated as it is. Now admittedly, there are lots of metaphorical "new baby" books for kids using family animals. The strongest, aside from this new contender, would have to be Charlotte Voake's, "Ginger", in which an old cat has to deal with the arrival of a new kitten. When you consider the sheer number of terrible what-to-expect-when-mommy's-expecting type books written for children (many of which lack verve, smarts, and a sense of humor), then "The New Animal" comes as a definite relief. Best of all, the book also has accomplished illustrator Pierre Pratt well in hand as we

Funny and True to Life

This book made my husband and I laugh out loud as he read it to our 3 year old daughter. She loves it, too. If you had dogs, then had a baby, you need this book. Now we know what our dogs were really thinking. A children's book that is charming without being sappy.