Why Do Animals Populate Children's Books?
I have a few theories.
Historical: Once upon a time animals were a more familiar part of our world. We raised animals for food and labor. We feared wild animals, which were an everyday threat. Children’s books are vestigial relics of our own historical childhood.
Ontological: Aristotle defines human beings as animals who possess language. But babies lack explicit language and toddlers are just beginning to find facility with language. Their liminality means that are not fully human, in Aristotle’s sense. They are closer to animals than we are, and so must learn language precisely by objectifying animals. (Note: Descartes sees an absolute difference between man and animal, and so we should expect Cartesians to be less interested in animals.)
Mythological: All children’s books pay homage, whether they know it or not, to the Biblical moment in which Adam names the animals.
Pragmatic: Children's books are not for children, but for adults—to feel like children. Since it is basically impractical to know the names of so many animals as compared to other vocabulary, we can assume that one way adults re-enact childhood and enter a state of play is by returning to knowledge that has little import to their day-to-day lives.
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