10 Questions to Ask a 9-Year-Old About Animals

Conversation questions we've tested with actual 9-year-olds about animals. Use them at dinner, bedtime, or on the drive home. Each one is age-tested so it lands — not too simple, not too abstract.

1. If animals could vote, what would they vote for?
2. Why do some people fear spiders? Do you?
3. Which animal has the most impressive skill, in your opinion?
4. Do you think dogs are really as loyal as people say?
5. What's one thing humans do that animals probably think is strange?
6. Which extinct animal do you wish still existed?
7. If you wrote a law to protect one species, which would it be?
8. Do you think animals understand kindness?
9. Which bird would you want as a messenger?
10. Why do you think some animals migrate thousands of miles every year?