Animals are one of the essential components of fictional literature. Often used as a representation of human beings, there is more to animal storybooks than meets the eye.
When people think about treasure, they conjure images of a chest filled with gold coins, valuable jewelry, sparkling diamonds, rubies, and all kinds of expensive gems.
Do people think the same way when it comes to fictitious animal stories?
Do people associate animal stories with a treasure chest?
Why do people love animal stories?
As far as many people can remember – or to the Generation X (’80s) and Millennials (’90s) – Aesop’s Fables have been a staple part of a kid’s childhood while growing up. Aesop’s Fables is a compiled series of stories by Aesop, a Greek storyteller. The tales are mainly led by animals as main characters and would revolve around plots that would help readers to learn a moral lesson.
Or how about The Jungle Book?
This beloved classic novel-turned-Disney-world-famous-movie is a story about a group of animals raising and protecting the “man-cub” Mowgli against the jungle’s predators.
Then there’s Animal Farm, Black Beauty, Charlotte’s Web, and all many other fictional animal stories that were able to make their way into the world of literature and won the hearts of readers of all ages and from all walks of life.
Animal storybooks have this defining aura – albeit set in a fantasy world – of comfort, warmth, compassion, and all of the positive values that readers would take away from the feeling of being content, satiated or indulged.
Is it because those authors would portray animals as lovable creatures in the way they’d describe them as colorful characters full of life? Or is it because of how authors describe these creatures as similar to living human beings?
Connection
Like in real life, there’s something special between people and animals, so it is the same for animal storybooks and readers.
Storybook writers would create animal characters that would emulate and depict humans in the real world. These characters would walk and talk just like the way people would, laugh, cry, sing, dance, and play just like any other average person.
This is the connection readers felt when they opened those pages of the animal storybook. It is more of an emotional connection, a kind of sensitivity that is evoked as these animals play their part in the stories on behalf of a real-life person. The readers see themselves in these characters’ shoes and, consciously or unconsciously, feel what the animals are feeling and learn the lessons that the characters gain – an emotion known as empathy.
Free Flow
Animal storybooks provide readers a venue and a space to freely express their thoughts, feelings, emotions, and other abilities that they would otherwise find themselves being judged in the real world.
How so?
For readers who are shy type in real life, they’d be able to envision themselves in the shoes of animals who are aggressive, open, and a bit risky or adventurous. Readers who longed to be loved could relate and imagine themselves with these characters as they share their compassion and love towards others.
Moral Lessons
A bit of a cliché, but yes, animal stories are often used as a reference for personality and character development and teach readers valuable life lessons.
Parents and educators commonly use this type of literature to teach their young ones or students essential character traits in the hope that they’d become responsible, caring, and resilient adults later in the future.
And animal stories are full of moral lessons, if not all of the books!
A Link that Goes Beyond Books
Interestingly, the love for reading animal stories goes beyond literature. Subconsciously, one of the reasons why someone would grab a copy of this type of storybook is because they have an inherent love for animals.
It has become about the relationship between men and animals in real life.
Dog lovers in real life would find themselves looking through books that touch on canine topics. A cat lover would be interested in reading a story about felines. Fish, a mouse, a reptile, and all other animal lovers have a natural inclination to read literature, whether fiction or non-fiction, on wildlife or the animal kingdom.
Animals and Literature
Animals play a significant role when it comes to literature. They are the “humans in disguise” that depicts human ideals to their readers.
JoJo’s Adventure by Joyce Nealy is a book that exemplifies the beautiful impact that children’s animal stories bring to their readers. The book describes the adventure of Jojo the bird and his other animal friends as they set foot in the world outside. The story is about the human side that thirsts for adventure and touches on the significance of friendship and loyalty.
Yes, animal stories are treasure chests full of the human side of characters, emotions, and values.
The Happy Hammock 