Why the Wild Things Are: Animals in the Lives of Children [Hardcover]

Gail F. Melson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674004817 | ISBN-13: 978-0674004818 | Publication Date: May 11, 2001 | Edition: First Edition

Whether they see themselves as King of the Wild Things or protector of Toto, children live in a world filled with animals--both real and imaginary. From Black Beauty to Barney, animal characters romp through children's books, cartoons, videos, and computer games. As Gail Melson tells us, more than three-quarters of all children in America live with pets and are now more likely to grow up with a pet than with both parents. She explores not only the therapeutic power of pet-owning for children with emotional or physical handicaps but also the ways in which zoo and farm animals, and even certain purple television characters, become confidants or teachers for children--and sometimes, tragically, their victims.

Yet perhaps because animals are ubiquitous, what they really mean to children, for better and for worse, has been unexplored territory. Why the Wild Things Are is the first book to examine children's many connections to animals and to explore their developmental significance. What does it mean that children's earliest dreams are of animals? What is the unique gift that a puppy can give to a boy? Drawing on psychological research, history, and children's media, Why the Wild Things Are explores the growth of the human-animal connection. In chapters on children's emotional ties to their pets, the cognitive challenges of animal contacts, animal symbols as building blocks of the self, and pointless cruelty to animals, Melson shows how children's innate interest in animals is shaped by their families and their social worlds, and may in turn shape the kind of people they will become.

(20010215)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The study of children, suggests Purdue professor Melson, has tended to be humanocentric, with the role of animals in childrens' lives ignored. Yet, as she amply demonstrates, young people often seem to have a closer relationship with their pets than they do with their parents. It is from animals, the author argues, that children first learn about love, loss, and loyalty; it is with animals that children learn how to nurture. Children, she suggests, may even understand animals better than they understand adult humans, since animals' behavior is simple and straightforward. It seems rather obvious that kids have a special bond with their pets, one that may never be re-created with a human, so it may come as a surprise to some readers just how unexplored this area of child development is. Those looking for a pop treatment of the topic may find Melson's rigorous study a bit tough going, but for anyone willing to work at it, this perceptive, groundbreaking account sheds valuable new light on a fascinating subject. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

As [Melson] amply demonstrates, young people often seem to have a closer relationship with their pets than they do with their parents...Children, she suggests, may even understand animals better than they understand adult humans, since animals' behavior is simple and straightforward. It...may come as a surprise to some readers just how unexplored this area of child development is...This perceptive, ground breaking account sheds valuable new light on a fascinating subject. (David Pitt Booklist 20010701)

[This book is] a reminder that each generation of humans needs an environment of living things to thrive as surely as it needs oxygen and water. It is an alert, warning us to ensure that children not lose their sense of connection to other species as they grow into adulthood. Obviously, this is an important book, not only because it provides a corrective lens for those in Melson's own field of study, but because it effectively argues for the importance of correcting the myopic vision of the culture at large. (Marion W. Copeland H-Net Reviews 20010617)

A particular animal book recently printed is worth sharing with you. Gail Melson's Why the Wild Things Are won't teach you why elephants weep or why cats paint. But Melson, a professor of child development at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., will give you fascinating insights into how kids interact with pets, wildlife and livestock. (Phil Arkow Courier-Post 20011001)

Melson has prepared a fascinating and thought-provoking book whose time has come. What varying roles do animals in the home, yard, classroom, park, and zoo play in the psychological, social, physical, and moral development of children? As Melson so thoroughly points out, scholars and researchers alike have long ignored the developmental consequences of relationships between children and animals...Melson explores the various impacts of keeping pets and effectively presents children's use of animals as symbols in exploring, clarifying, and reflecting different facets of children's sense of self...In this balanced look, Melson does not fail to point out the troubled side of some child-animal relationships, featuring a candid look at possible links between animal abuse and family violence and animal neglect and abandonment. (M. M. Slusser Choice 20020117)

[Why the Wild Things Are] draws on psychological research, history and children's media over a 10-year period to examine youngsters' connections to animals and how their experiences may shape them as adults. The book also explains how caring for pets helps children develop nurturing skills...Caring for a pet is a gender-neutral responsibility and can be especially valuable for boys who may feel, rightly or wrongly, that other forms of nurturing compromise their masculinity. (Pet Age )

[A] fascinating new book...Melson says the child-animal connection is underresearched, underestimated, and underutilized. It's not that every child needs a pet, but every child benefits from exposure to animals, she says, whether it's fish in a bowl, pigeons in a park, or zebras at the zoo. (Barbara F. Meltz Boston Globe )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press; First Edition edition (May 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674004817
• ISBN-13: 978-0674004818
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #894,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kids, Animals, and Psychology, December 12, 2001

By 

Harold Herzog (Cullowhee, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why the Wild Things Are: Animals in the Lives of Children (Hardcover)

Roughly 75% of American households include a pet. However, it was not until about 15 years ago that social scientists discovered that animals were an important part of people's lives. The result was an explosion of research in "anthrozoology"(the study of human/animal relations) and the publication of a number of books describing the sociology, history, anthropology and ecology of human-animal interactions. Surprisingly, until the publication of Why the Wild Things Are by Gail Melson there has been no equivalent book describing the psychology of these relationships. Melson, who is Professor of Child Development and Family Studies at Purdue University and well known for her research on the role of animals in the lives of children, has produced a terrific book on the psychology of kid-animal relationships.

While the focus of the book is on the developmental psychology of human-animal interactions, it is an excellent introduction to general field of human-animal studies. The book covers a wide array of topics. For example, in the early chapters Melson discusses the evolutionary psychology of pet keeping, the emergence of pet keeping in the American middle class, and the demographics of companion animals in the United States. Other chapters focus on topics such as gender differences (or lack there of) in interactions between children and their pets, the role of animals in the development of empathy, and how children cope with the death of a pet. Later chapters deal with topical issues such as the role that animals can play in child psychotherapy and the connection between animal abuse and violence directed toward humans. In addition, there are treatments of the role of animals in children's literature and in the fantasy life of kids.

In short, Melson has provided a fascinating picture of the complex roles that animals can play in the psychological lives of children. Published by Harvard University Press, the book will certainly be of interest to scholars. However, Melson has an engaging style, and the general reader - particularly parents and animal lovers - will find this book useful and interesting. To my mind, it is one of the best books yet on human/animal relationships.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild about "Wild Things", August 9, 2001

By 

Kathleen (Lewiston, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why the Wild Things Are: Animals in the Lives of Children (Hardcover)

Why the Wild Things Are is a long needed, wonderful, thoughtful and comprehensive review of child animal relations. Author, Gail Melson has reviewed and integrated research from a variety of disciplines including history, social work, psychology and literature. She has effectively walked a tightrope between producing a scholarly work and writing a book that is readable to a lay person who is not a professional psychologist. In addition to documenting the field of child animal relations she has also provided the reader with an insightful and critical review of the works that she covers. She does this in a way that makes her conclusions and findings comprehensible to the lay reader while acknowledging the academic concerns of the professional.

She suggests areas for future research, introduces the reader to programs of animal assisted therapy, animals in the classroom and covers the emerging area of the relationship between animal abuse and violence toward humans. She not only discusses academic research but gives plenty of real life, compelling examples. In addition her references are arranged on a chapter by chapter basis at the end of the book. They are very easy to either follow if you are looking for more information or easy to ignore if you don't want to be bothered by details. Anyone who has children, works with children or animals in any capacity or teaches child development should consider this most worthy book required reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why the Wild Things Are: Animals in the Lives of Children, March 8, 2007

By 

Nancy E. Deren - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Why the Wild Things Are: Animals in the Lives of Children (Paperback)

An excellent, comprehensive overview of the relationship between animals and children. Children's relationships with household pets, therapy animals, wildlife, and fictional animals are all explored, and many interesting questions are raised about what aspects of the relationship are the most beneficial, how caring for animals relates to caring for other humans, and what children may be most likely to benefit. The issue of children who harm animals is also discussed. The book is enjoyable to read and cites many references that may be of further interest.