Animism in Preoperational Thought

Animism is the belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive (Berger, 2016).  Animism is the belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive. When reading about animism, it made me question whether this was the basis of imagination and imaginary friends of young children. This topic was something that I found very relatable, because of how I believed in animism when I was young. I found it interesting how animism is actually a normal part of pre-operational thought. As a child, I collected a lot of stuffed animals. I remember believing that they were alive and had feelings. Because of this, I was very protective of them and tried to make sure they were "happy" and well cared for. I remember an incident where my younger brother and I had gotten into a fight.He became so angry with me that he simply chucked my stuffed rabbit out of our second floor bedroom window. I was shocked and became upset because I was worried that my rabbit was "hurt".
It is amazing to me how as children, our minds can be very fragile and innocent towards life. Also, it is interesting when I think back to how many times my rabbit had gotten "hurt", and never "died". I think that this was because as a child, I was very positive and did not understand the concept of death.