Talking animals in fiction Talking animals in fiction Talking animals are a common theme in mythology and folk tales, as well as children's literature. Fictional talking animals often are anthropomorphic, possessing human-like qualities but appearing as a creature. The usage of talking animals enable storytellers to combine the basic characteristics of the animal with human behavior, to apply metaphor, and to entertain children. There are a number of alleged real-life talking animals. The creature retains its original form without much change, other than being able to speak. Sometimes it may only speak as a narration for the reader's convenience. The rabbits in "Watership Down"
Watership Down of other people have seen their histories in that book...some people see it as an allegory for struggles against the Cold War, fascism, extremism...a protest against materialism, against the corporate state. "Watership Down" can be Ireland after the famine, Rwanda after the massacres." Kadish has praised both the fantasy genre and "Watership Down" for its "motifs [that] hit home in every culture...all passersby are welcome to bring their own subplots and plug into the archetype." Adams won the 1972 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject. He also won the annual