What roles does storytelling fulfill in this novel?

In the author's note at the back of the book, Lynda Rutledge quotes a 2004 TED talk by nature writer Jon Mooallem: "Storytelling matters now. Emotion matters. Our imagination has become an ecological force."

Does Rutledge's storytelling support this? How so?
How might this storytelling inspire conservation efforts for giraffes?

Stories are magical. They take us to places we might never be able to see in real life. They give us characters and situations that we can understand, puzzle over, and recognize. In West With Giraffes, storytelling gives even more power to the taking of the giraffes across the US. Storytelling provides readers with the grit, the hardship, and the joy Woody feels along this journey.

Two things come to my mind when I think about storytelling and its power. First, there is the role of storytelling to pass on history and keep it alive. Second, stories can teach us important lessons that can guide our own thinking and actions.

As I consider the quote, I also think that stories can be used to ignite a passion in the reader or as a call to action. Rutledge used her story to highlight the importance of caring for animals and to compare and contrast the way humans view them and treat them. Her description of the flock of birds over the Panhandle, the noises made by the giraffes when they were scared and happy, and how jackrabbits express their terror communicated to me that animals are not here for my entertainment. They inspire wonder, teach us about ourselves, and are capable of feeling. This story will help me make better choices where animals are concerned.

Stories are powerful and can take us to places we have never been eithe4r in the past or in the future but they can unite people positively if we let them and the novel did connect the characters life stories to each other and to the reader.

The whole book was basically a story, told by Woody . Storytelling is what connects us to the past and keeps us connected to history.

Story telling is our window to the past. If done well, story telling will teach us, remind us and guide us. The story telling in this book brought the past back to life.

A story helps order events that are often too difficult to retell. A story has an end. Life's experience don't always.

What I particularly liked about the storytelling in West With Giraffes was that Woody felt the importance of his story for Augusta Red’s life. He was giving her something about her mother that she could get no other way.
Story telling can make the past alive for those who never lived through it. I've known about the Dust Bowl exodus, but I have never felt the effects of it like I did hearing about Woody’s mother and sister dying of dust in the lungs. The hacking he describes brings his feelings back to him, and thus to me.
The story Ms. Rutledge made around the bones of an actual event was imaginative and magical. The giraffes were alive and overwhelming. I loved the story she made with Woody’s discoveries of his feelings for animals and his realization that his story must be told.

A well-told story not only can entertain but allows the reader/listener to experience what is being described almost as though they are present within the action. Both Galatea and astrine spoke eloquently in their responses. Like them, I felt like Lynda Rutledge provided me with much more than a history lesson. I felt as though I came away with an authentic experience/understanding of living in the Dust Bowl, dealing with the desperation of unemployment during and after the Great Depression, navigating life as a person of color in rural America in the 1930s, and traveling cross-country & lodging at the motor camps along the route each night. The story also left me with an appreciation for what animals can teach humankind, if we only allow ourselves to be present to the connection between us. I think most of us experience this with our pets. However, this was a call to action for humane treatment & conservation efforts for all animals.

I agree with squared--I learned so much history reading this book, but the storytelling made it so engaging. The giraffes became actual characters in the story, and Rutledge's research on how the animal would react when they were hauled across the country was much better than any new article could have accomplished.

Storytelling brings so much to life; history, perspective, viewpoints, the beauty of our world, emotions, attitudes, and so much more. People have been telling stories for thousands and thousands of years and writing them down for not as long, but still for an incredibly long time. I've always thought that without storytelling, we would not have history or civilization.