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Serendipity
Fanny
Sharing life lessons and memorable morals, the Serendipity(tm) books are a seasoned favorite with children and parents alike. So journey to the magical, mystical land of Serendipity(tm) with these four cherished editions featuring newly revised text from the author.
Fanny, a kitten with only three legs, and her friend Ruby, a puppy, help the other farm animals learn that being handicapped is only a state of mind.
Fanny, a kitten with only three legs, and her friend Ruby, a puppy, help the other farm animals learn that being handicapped is only a state of mind.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 9, 2017
A touching tale of an handicapped cat with only 3 legs who is ostracized among the farm animals. Fanny is lonely, and none of the other animals will talk to her, until a over- friendly dog takes a dare. Illustrates in a wonderful way that those with handicaps still have feeling and are important.
December 8, 2020
I knew a feral black angora who had 3 legs. She was a wild beautiful thing that as a child I would sneak out cheese to. Fanny reminded me of her how she was able to move around and stay alive . Great story for teaching children about handicapped people and how they just want to be treated like every body else.
August 1, 2009
I have adored this book since I was little and now share it with my cat. Sad, I know, but he doesn't seem to mind.
March 29, 2019
The peaceful kitty 🐈
I liked this book because it’s about a handy cap kitty that had a lot to say but no one would talk to her but she stayed com and peaceful
I liked this book because it’s about a handy cap kitty that had a lot to say but no one would talk to her but she stayed com and peaceful
November 2, 2015
Ah, how glad I am that this one holds up when reading it as an adult.
I loved the Serendipity series as a kid, not least because the illustrations are beautiful. The illustrations are still beautiful, but this is also marvelous because it calls out a lot of ideas surrounding the disabled without being snooty about it.
Fanny is a three-legged cat on a farm full of animals who are sure they understand the plight of a three-legged cat. Nobody talks to her because they feel she'll be embarrassed by trying to make conversation with "normal" animals, so she just does her thing until a puppy who DGAF tackles her, loves her, and discovers that she's pretty awesome.
So great! This is such a wonderful lesson to kids about not letting your own discomfort about how to deal with somebody get projected onto that somebody being uncomfortable. Go forth, love the person underneath the external differences, and listen to everyone's stories. I really appreciated this lesson and this book, and am also still in love with the fluffy furball that is Fanny.
I loved the Serendipity series as a kid, not least because the illustrations are beautiful. The illustrations are still beautiful, but this is also marvelous because it calls out a lot of ideas surrounding the disabled without being snooty about it.
Fanny is a three-legged cat on a farm full of animals who are sure they understand the plight of a three-legged cat. Nobody talks to her because they feel she'll be embarrassed by trying to make conversation with "normal" animals, so she just does her thing until a puppy who DGAF tackles her, loves her, and discovers that she's pretty awesome.
So great! This is such a wonderful lesson to kids about not letting your own discomfort about how to deal with somebody get projected onto that somebody being uncomfortable. Go forth, love the person underneath the external differences, and listen to everyone's stories. I really appreciated this lesson and this book, and am also still in love with the fluffy furball that is Fanny.
July 3, 2017
Another "new" favorite and I wish I had found this earlier when I was growing up.
The illustrations are some of the best from Robin James while they fit the book so perfectly. It is also just enough to read the pictures.
I love the concept that Fanny goes around her business and isn't bothered by her missing leg. Sadly it is the other creatures that see she is different and it isn't the baby animals who want to talk with her. Instead their elders tell them or block them from speaking while making up excuses to not bother her while she acts like she doesn't hear.
And I have to say I just love, love, love Ruby the Scruffy Puppy. The zeal and the love of the pup is amazing while it makes me so happy that the two were the first and best of friends :).
The illustrations are some of the best from Robin James while they fit the book so perfectly. It is also just enough to read the pictures.
I love the concept that Fanny goes around her business and isn't bothered by her missing leg. Sadly it is the other creatures that see she is different and it isn't the baby animals who want to talk with her. Instead their elders tell them or block them from speaking while making up excuses to not bother her while she acts like she doesn't hear.
And I have to say I just love, love, love Ruby the Scruffy Puppy. The zeal and the love of the pup is amazing while it makes me so happy that the two were the first and best of friends :).
May 6, 2017
These Serendipity Books have always been favorite of mine when I got old enough to read and am now reading them to my children and grandchildren.
This one is about accepting disabilities and how those with various disabilities doesn't want to be felt like they are different. They want to be talked and treated just like everyone else. And in this book it takes a puppy to show a barnyard that lesson.
This one is about accepting disabilities and how those with various disabilities doesn't want to be felt like they are different. They want to be talked and treated just like everyone else. And in this book it takes a puppy to show a barnyard that lesson.
September 30, 2025
This is a review of the 1986 American edition. I have no idea if this was published in the UK, but if it was, I certainly hope the name was changed. In the UK, "fanny" is slang for vagina.
In America, "fanny" is slang for butt, which isn't much better, but Fanny is appropriately named, since she's the but of cruel jokes at the mysterious old farm in Serendipity Land. Fanny is shunned by the other farm animals, because she's a tripod (has only three legs.) Cosgrove accurately writes that missing a leg doesn't bother this cat at all. Cats and dogs usually aren't bothered by missing a leg (as long as there's no pain.)
In a story set up like this, it's inevitable that one animal finally doesn't shun Fanny. The Jack Russell-like puppy Ruby/Rhubarb (who gets her own book 2 years later) runs up and LICKS Fanny all over.
Hmm ... no overt sexual suggestion there, eh? And yes -- there are a couple of other tongue-in-cheek sentences about tongues being in places other than cheeks. Perhaps this was Cosgrove's sly wink to the adults.
There is no mention of a farmer or caretaker of the farm animals, so how they got to be behind fences and fed (or not completely overcrowded due to unrestricted breeding) is a complete mystery. Magic, I guess.
Fanny the long-haired cat winds up being one of the most realistically portrayed animals in the series. James often did overly cute animals (like the chicks and hens in this book), but made Fanny look like a CAT. Fanny is even more realistic than in other books in the series where cats appear. You can almost touch Fanny's fur. She stands out in 3D while the rest of the animals are in 2D. This could be a way to emphasize how different she appeared to the other animals. It's a shame that James very rarely had such realistic characters in the series. Perhaps the publishers preferred cute. What a shame.
You can currently find this book at the Internet Archive, but you need to search under "James, Robin" rather than "Cosgrove, Stephen." The Internet Archive is supposed to unveil a spiffy new search engine soon. Perhaps this glitch will be fixed ... but I wouldn't hold your breath.
This book is the exact opposite of the horrible Catundra from 1978.
In America, "fanny" is slang for butt, which isn't much better, but Fanny is appropriately named, since she's the but of cruel jokes at the mysterious old farm in Serendipity Land. Fanny is shunned by the other farm animals, because she's a tripod (has only three legs.) Cosgrove accurately writes that missing a leg doesn't bother this cat at all. Cats and dogs usually aren't bothered by missing a leg (as long as there's no pain.)
In a story set up like this, it's inevitable that one animal finally doesn't shun Fanny. The Jack Russell-like puppy Ruby/Rhubarb (who gets her own book 2 years later) runs up and LICKS Fanny all over.
Hmm ... no overt sexual suggestion there, eh? And yes -- there are a couple of other tongue-in-cheek sentences about tongues being in places other than cheeks. Perhaps this was Cosgrove's sly wink to the adults.
There is no mention of a farmer or caretaker of the farm animals, so how they got to be behind fences and fed (or not completely overcrowded due to unrestricted breeding) is a complete mystery. Magic, I guess.
Fanny the long-haired cat winds up being one of the most realistically portrayed animals in the series. James often did overly cute animals (like the chicks and hens in this book), but made Fanny look like a CAT. Fanny is even more realistic than in other books in the series where cats appear. You can almost touch Fanny's fur. She stands out in 3D while the rest of the animals are in 2D. This could be a way to emphasize how different she appeared to the other animals. It's a shame that James very rarely had such realistic characters in the series. Perhaps the publishers preferred cute. What a shame.
You can currently find this book at the Internet Archive, but you need to search under "James, Robin" rather than "Cosgrove, Stephen." The Internet Archive is supposed to unveil a spiffy new search engine soon. Perhaps this glitch will be fixed ... but I wouldn't hold your breath.
This book is the exact opposite of the horrible Catundra from 1978.
June 27, 2024
The illustrations by Robin James are just so beautiful, but some of the language feels a little dated. For instance, the word ‘handicapped’ is, as a disabled person myself, a word that I don’t particularly like.
The story begins with the farmyard animals thinking it “too embarrassing to talk to a creature who was handicapped” - the creature being a three-legged cat named Fanny. They eventually become friends and a lesson is learned.
Now, I can be very grown up about there being a cat called Fanny. I can. It’s fine. It’s fine. BUT, don’t then make her best friend a puppy called Ruby who, it is said, is “the fastest licker around”, and who pops out of the clover, with a giggle to “give Fanny a long and loving lick”. Stephen Cosgrove knew what he was doing, I’m telling you! 😅
The story begins with the farmyard animals thinking it “too embarrassing to talk to a creature who was handicapped” - the creature being a three-legged cat named Fanny. They eventually become friends and a lesson is learned.
Now, I can be very grown up about there being a cat called Fanny. I can. It’s fine. It’s fine. BUT, don’t then make her best friend a puppy called Ruby who, it is said, is “the fastest licker around”, and who pops out of the clover, with a giggle to “give Fanny a long and loving lick”. Stephen Cosgrove knew what he was doing, I’m telling you! 😅
July 7, 2023
I balk a little at the phrase "being handicapped", since I think the more accepted terminology is "differently abled" or "having a disability" (as a person is not defined by the handicap, even though a person might have a handicap).
Other than that, this is a lovely tale about how we might treat other people differently for happening to be different in some way, but these same people might not see themselves as hindered at all. Certainly I can attest to having a (stray) cat who would take no help for her injured paw, able to run away from me just fine with only three "good" legs, haha.
Recommended for all readers, since disability knows no age limit.
Other than that, this is a lovely tale about how we might treat other people differently for happening to be different in some way, but these same people might not see themselves as hindered at all. Certainly I can attest to having a (stray) cat who would take no help for her injured paw, able to run away from me just fine with only three "good" legs, haha.
Recommended for all readers, since disability knows no age limit.
March 25, 2018
Fanny I feel like the intent behind this one is good, but the repetition that being handicapped is only a state of mind doesn’t sound great? I mean, the story could have hit harder on the other animals’ prejudice towards Fanny than the fact that she has three legs?
February 16, 2020
My daughter read this to me. A blast from the past (for me) and a new read for her. Love it!
June 27, 2020
lowkey the most memorable book from my early childhood ♡ glad to have been raised on these
November 16, 2015
Fanny is an interesting story about a cat with three legs. Stephen Cosgrove has written a wonderful story that will help alleviate the fears of children about the handicapped. It is written in a way that children will understand that the handicapped are not to be shunned or failed to recognized, but to be valued. Cosgrove teaches that beings treat the handicapped as almost invisible.
The animals in the story see the three-legged cat as not worthy of being talked to, and if you did talk to her, she would only be embarrassed by her malady. Cosgrove proves all the animals wrong in their ignorance of the handicapped. Obviously, the animals represent humans. We humans fear the unknown. It is in our nature. But if a young child reads this book, or has this book read to them, they may begin to understand that they do not need to fear the handicapped, but treat them as equals. Robin James has done a wonderful job of illustrating this story.
Every full-color picture is beautifully painted and very realistic. James' artwork matched Cosgrove's words and enhances the enjoyment of the story.
I rated this book a 9 out of 10.
The animals in the story see the three-legged cat as not worthy of being talked to, and if you did talk to her, she would only be embarrassed by her malady. Cosgrove proves all the animals wrong in their ignorance of the handicapped. Obviously, the animals represent humans. We humans fear the unknown. It is in our nature. But if a young child reads this book, or has this book read to them, they may begin to understand that they do not need to fear the handicapped, but treat them as equals. Robin James has done a wonderful job of illustrating this story.
Every full-color picture is beautifully painted and very realistic. James' artwork matched Cosgrove's words and enhances the enjoyment of the story.
I rated this book a 9 out of 10.
November 20, 2008
Fanny is a cat who only has three legs. She is different from the rest of the animals on the farm, but she does not let that bring her down. Instead, she sets a great example by living her life to the fullest. She does not let her handicap stop her. This is a great book for children because it teaches them how to believe in themselves and not pay attention to negative comments or behaviors made by others. It is okay to be different, and each person must accept other peoples differences. That is what makes each person unique. Young children may have difficulty understanding handicaps and might be afraid of people who are handicap. This book can teach young children lessons about life and what it means to be a compassionate, accepting person.
February 16, 2017
Read this with my daughter because I remember reading these books as a kid and loving them.. in fact I believe my cousin had most of the books in the series and I was always jealous because I wanted to have these books too as I loved the pictures of the animals.
Anyways, this book is about a cat with three legs that lives on the farm. It talks about how one dog befriends her and helps overcome some of the older animal's shunning. This book was published in the late 80's and it is apparent to me that we have culturally overcome some labelling because as i finished the book and read the motto "Being handicapped is only a state of mind," my daughter asked me what handicapped meant. Even though the story begins explaining Fanny has 3 legs, it did not cross my daughter as strange.
Anyways, this book is about a cat with three legs that lives on the farm. It talks about how one dog befriends her and helps overcome some of the older animal's shunning. This book was published in the late 80's and it is apparent to me that we have culturally overcome some labelling because as i finished the book and read the motto "Being handicapped is only a state of mind," my daughter asked me what handicapped meant. Even though the story begins explaining Fanny has 3 legs, it did not cross my daughter as strange.
February 1, 2015
Horribly dated with terms like 'handicapped' - I wanted to like the message overall "handicapped is a state of mind" but I just can't. This book seemed a little more offensive than good and I think this one will go back into the basement too. Too bad because i really love these illustrations.
April 3, 2007
This is one of the Serendipity series books. This one is about a cat that is missing a leg. I don't remember the plot, but I do remember the illustrations.
May 10, 2010
A longer book about a cat that only has three legs but isn't really accepted by the other animals on the farm.
April 1, 2012
I loved this series as a child! It taught me a lot about real life in a very simplistic / childlike manner. I'll definitely be adding these into my classroom library at school.
September 9, 2014
A fantastic book that teaches kids about accepting and embracing those with disabilities, and the struggles that physically challenged people might face. It emphasizes compassion and kindness.
April 27, 2017
My all-time favorite of the Serendipity series! The moral of the story is so important for kiddos to learn. Check it out!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews