StoriesAnimal stories for children
Stories where animals do the talking: a brave elephant calf, a squirrel who learns to share and a tortoise whose slowness saves the day. Young children follow animal characters easily, and the feelings in these stories, fear, pride and loneliness, are ones every child knows.
- The Elephant Who Was Afraid of PuddlesGajju was the biggest calf in the herd. He could push over a small tree. He could carry three monkeys on his back. But Gajju had a secret: he was afraid of puddles.Animal stories · Ages 4 to 8 · 3 min
- The Squirrel's Winter StoreChiku the squirrel lived in a hollow of an old neem tree. All autumn he gathered nuts and seeds. He counted them every night: forty groundnuts, twelve walnuts...Animal stories · Ages 4 to 8 · 2 min
- The Tortoise and the Flooded RoadDheeru the tortoise was the slowest animal in the mango grove. The rabbits zipped past him. The squirrels ran circles around him. "Hurry up, Dheeru!" everyone...Animal stories · Ages 4 to 8 · 2 min
- The Little Bat Who Wanted to See the SunIn an old banyan tree at the edge of a village lived a little bat named Chiku. Like all bats, Chiku slept through the day, hanging upside down, and woke when...Animal stories · Ages 4 to 8 · 3 min
Why children love animal stories
A small child may find it hard to talk about being afraid, jealous or left out. It is much easier to talk about an elephant calf who is afraid of puddles. Animal characters put a little distance between the child and the feeling, and that distance makes the feeling safe to look at. This is why animal tales are among the oldest stories told to children in India and everywhere else.
How to bring them alive
- Give each animal a voice. A slow, deep one for the tortoise, a quick, high one for the squirrel. Children will remind you if you get it wrong the next night.
- Let the child make the sounds. Rain, footsteps, a trumpet, a squeak.
- Stop at the turning point and ask, "What would you do?" before you read on.
- Afterwards, ask about the feeling, not only about the plot: "Why do you think the little bat wanted to see the sun?"
From story to real animals
These are stories, not science lessons: real squirrels do not talk, and real elephants are not afraid of puddles. All the same, a story is a fine starting point for curiosity. After reading, look for the animal in a book or from the window, and find out one true thing about it together. Children who meet animals first as friends in stories tend to treat real ones more gently.