BBC Wildlife - UK (2019-12)

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December 2019 BBC Wildlife 73

CHAESTRATHIEis anaward-winning

authorofmorethan 20 picturebooks

andfiction titles for children.

thewolfinTheThreeLittlePigsisn’t

portrayedasanamiablefellowintent

onhelpingthediminutiveporcinetrio

witha spotofDIY.

Doesthishaveaneffectinforming

opinionsinyoungmindsregardingreal-life

animalsthatmightlastintolaterlifeand

skewthewaysomeanimalsareviewed?

Oris thattakingthingstoofar?Perhaps

not– eveninadulthoodmanystillregard

foxesascunning(Pinocchio,TheTaleof

JemimaPuddle-Duck), miceasnice(The

Gruffalo,StuartLittle) andratsasrotten

(ScabbersinHarryPotter).

Inapplyinghumantraitstocertain

animals,perhapswedothema disservice,

oratleastmisleadsmallreadersinterms

ofthinkingofsomeanimalsasgoodand

someasbadwhenallanimalsare,of

course,neutral.

AndsoI cometomyownwork.In

writingthispieceI’veexaminedforthefirst

timemymotivationsforfocussingsome

ofmypicturebooksonanimals.Whyhave

I usedmice,gorillasandassortedother

creaturesinmywork?

Well,I havetoadmitthatBedtimeforTiny

Mousewasa decisionbornoutofsheer

cuteness.It’sa tinymouse!Whocan’t

sleep!Whogetsa lullabysungtohim!

Comeon,people– havea heart.AndGorilla

LovesVanilla? Thebookwassetinanice

creamparlour.Youtellmeanotheranimal

thatrhymeswith‘vanilla’.Sometimes the

answer really is that simple.

toanimalbooks.There’smoneyinthem

tharbunnies,mice,cats,etc.Thatis

oftendowntothewarmtha cute,cuddly

creaturecanbring,particularlytoan

illustratedpicturebook.Asthesebooksare

particularlyusedasbedtimestories,there’s

somethingdeliciouslycosyaboutsnuggling

inandtellinga taleofa loveablefurry

creaturedoingsomethingsweet.

A

nyonewhohasreadSam

McBratney’stimeless 1994

picturebookGuessHow

MuchI LoveYoucan’tdeny

thatthecharactersbeing

animalselevatesit toanotherlevelof

“Aww,bless”.Upto 11 onthecuteamp.In

thestory,BigNutbrownHareandLittle

NutbrownHaretelleachother,youguessed

it,howmuchtheyloveeachother,andthe

factthattheyarelovely,soft,floppy-eared

haresjustmakesit worksomuchbetter.

It couldhavebeendonewitha human

adultandchild,butit wouldn’thavebeen

nearlyasendearingoreffective– oras

commerciallysuccessful.

Kidsrespondtocuteanimals,which

meansadultsdotoo– andthatmeans

puttingtheirhandsintheirpocketsand

forkingoutforthebooks.

Anotherreasonanimalsprove

popularis thepotentialforhumour.

Kidsloveanythingthatmakesthem

giggle,andadultsarehappytopay

tohearthatsound.

Throughouttheages,animal

charactershavemadechildren–

andadults– laugh.There’sjust

somethinginherentlyfunnierabout

ananimalbeingdroll,dopeyor

indulginginslapstick.It’sthelong

ears,necksorlegs,thehorns,the

trunks,thesizedifferences.The

combination of familiarity and

‘otherness’thatanimalslendtoa storycan

reallyrampuptheopportunitiesforhilarity,

eitherinpicturesorinprose.

Goingbacktotheearlydaysofchildren’s

literaturewehavethesillysurrealismofthe

grinningCheshireCatinAlice’sAdventures

inWonderland, theridiculouspomposity

ofToadinTheWindintheWillowsandthe

knock-kneedwhimperingoftheCowardly

LioninTheWizardof Oz.

Inmoremoderntimes,we’veseenthe

deadpanbearsearchingforhishatinJon

Klassen’sThisis NotmyHat, anexasperated

mouse(andanotherbear)inRossCollins’

hilariousThere’sa BearonmyChair

andDogManbyDavPilkeyofCaptain

Underpantsfame.Funnysellsandanimals

sell– it’stheperfectcombination.

S

o is thisa cynicalandsuperficial

useofourfurryfriendstofeather

thenestofthebookindustry?

Somemaysayso,butif theside-

effectis thatourchildrenare

surroundedbyanimalsinstoryformfrom

tottoteen,isn’tthatjustificationinitself?

Doesn’tit makethemmorelikelyto

becomeanimalloversastheygrowup

if theyseethemasmorethanjustbeasts

andbirds,andinsteadhavea senseof

creaturesascharacters?

Onequestionthisraisesis thatof

theeffect– bothpositiveandnegative

• ofanthropomorphism.Aresome
  animalsgivenanunfairlybadpress
  whenit comestotakingonhuman
  characteristicsinbooks,for
  instance?Doesthewolfin
  LittleRedRidingHoodreally
  reflecttheactualcharacter
  traitsofwolves?Aretheyreally
  someanthatthey’ddressupasa
  deadgrandmothertotricka small
  girlinto becoming dinner? Similarly,

Featuringeverything

fromgatecrashingtigers

andintransigentfrogs

toinsatiablecaterpillars,

children’sliteratureis

wall-to-wall with animals.

WATCHIT CatchTheSnailandthe

Whale, starringSallyHawkins,RobBrydon

andDameDianaRigg,onBBCOnethis

Christmas. CheckRadio Times for details.