Let’s Rally through the Winter Season with Trickster & Animal Stories

In celebration of the long-term thinking required of radical generosity, let’s read some cathartic stories of animals acting selfishly and impulsively, before finally learning the benefits of working together.

Read

• Spirits of America (7+)
• Rabbit’s Snow Dance (ages 3+)
• The Origin of Day and Night (ages 6-9)
• The Raven and the Loon (ages 4+)

Watch

• Owl & Raven: An Inuit Legend.

Discuss

• How does this story show us what personal and community qualities the storyteller values?
• Why do we still tell this story?
• How would this lesson apply to a real-life decision we’ve faced before?
• To be satisfied and happy with the process, what expectations and hopes do we have to let go of when we help someone else?

Additional resources to dig deeper into this topic:

• Find Trickster Stories that connect to your family’s culture, or stories told with permission from your local Indigenous nations.
• Animal Stories
• Winter Favorites
• A rundown of our favorite Sun Wukong stories for kids
• On animal personhood & rights: Stories About Animal Rights & Anti-Speciesism