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.
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.
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.