Eleanor and the Babysitter

I bought a used copy at our library, based solely on the title and great cover illustration. My 3-year-old and I read it that night and we both loved it! Eleanor is a toddler who is suitably stubborn about being left with Allison, the sitter. My little one loves to fill in Eleanor's "I hate Teddy, I hate hot dogs" reponses to Allison's patient queries. My daughter is entranced with how the monster in the closet turns out to be boxes, brooms, and tennis balls. We substitute our sitter's name for Allison and our daughter's name for Eleanor!Our only question is, what kind of animals are Eleanor and her parents? My elder daughter says they're ferrets. I think they look like Mr. Ratburn in Arthur.This is a very cute book and great for kids who have fears of being left with the sitter or monsters in the closet.