In “How Much Stuff is Enough?” I intend to discuss the social phenomena of scarcity and abundance mindset. I’ve noticed that many children’s books have “deeper” topics but are still told in a way that younger children are able to understand. Most kids learn that “sharing is caring” and that sharing is simply just the nice thing to do. I wanted to show that that’s not always the case and that there is a psychological reason as to why some struggle to share more than others. I wanted to also use characters whose characteristics are similar to how their real-life counterparts act. Squirrels are often seen as greedy while other animals like crows and cats like to pick up odd gifts here and there. I spent a lot of time working the script to be child-friendly but also able to subtly explain how scarcity/abundance mindset affects you and the others around you. The juxtaposition between the depiction of a serious, internal mental conflict and the bright, cheery format the message is presented in is to emphasize that even complex, difficult concepts can be approached and understood in simpler, more accessible ways.
