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What a wonderful book for vegetarian and vegan kids! Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Melissa Sweet team up to create a playful adventure book about saving a chicken.

Set in the bayou, Chicken Joy on Redbean Road is the story of a rooster who lost his ability to sing. Because a rooster who doesn’t rouse the barnyard has no use on a working farm, the other animals realize his life is in danger. Thus, the hen sets out to get help from the most powerful man around — a renowned musician — while an anonymous animal keeps distracting the farmer by putting vegetables in her path, which causes the farmer to focus on cooking her stew before she slaughters the rooster.

The hen, the musician, other neighbors, and the animals all end up saving the rooster’s life by having a huge party/ concert in the barnyard — which distracts the farmer and inspires her to sell vegetable stew (without any rooster).

At the end of the party, all the farmed animals are mysteriously gone — and there’s a suggestion that they may have gone to live with the musician.

Ages 4-8. To learn more about the zydeco music that’s featured in the book, visit McBookWords.

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Loosely based on Malia and Sasha Obama’s quest for a canine companion, Now Hiring boasts a simple storyline where the girls take the dog search into their own hands. They fashion a homemade “Now Hiring” sign for the front lawn and receive half a dozen candidates on a particularly busy day for “the most important house in the land.” The girls’ parents assume the ding dongs of the doorbell are the high-collared invitees for the evening’s party. Names dropped include the Dalai Lama, the Queen of England, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and the Emir of Qatar.

The dogs all make their spiel – in rhyme – as to why they should be selected for the vacancy, and in the end only Lee, a hypoallergenic  pooch, makes the cut as “top dog.” The girls ask their parents about the fate of the other dogs. Let’s just say that the President now has a new canine cabinet.

Unlike the actual “adoption” process the Obamas went through, this tale doesn’t outright promote the fact that “Lee” is a purebred Portuguese Water Dog (although the breeds of the new cabinet members are mentioned). Lee, in fact, states that he spent some time in the pound. In short, this is a sweet, dog-friendly look at the White House from a kid’s perspective.

Ages 4-8.

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With a title like Cows Are Vegetarians, you would expect this book to tell you all about how cows eat grass all their lives. Fortunately, inside its cover is a message much more exciting and profound.

Educating your kids about the vegan or vegetarian lifestyle can be tough at times, which is where this book steps in. It explains the difference between vegetarian and vegan and goes into the environmental effects of meat production. You’ll also find a good explanation of the health aspects.

Cows are Vegetarians cleverly explains the reasons to be vegetarian and will provide your kids with answers to the probing questions they are undoubtedly asked. Kids are often asked why they are vegetarian (or vegan!) at school and now they’ll have something important to say.

One thing it needs more of is inviting illustrations. Sadly, there a only a few black and white images.

It’s quite a quick read too at 24 pages, but it manages to get the point across without getting lost in the details. At the end of the day, Cows Are Vegetarians is a great book to add to your kid’s collection.

Ages 8-12.

Review By CAROLYN M. MULLIN

What is it with princesses? Is it the lovely pink hue of their dresses? Good breeding? Financial success and widespread popularity from being cast in a Disney film? Personally, I find the little princess of Carmela LaVigna Coyle’s picture book to be more up my alley than most idolized cartoon heroines.

In this honest to goodness rhyme of an exploration, a mother answers all her daughter’s questions about the lives of princesses. A few of my favorite Q&A’s …

Q: Do princesses climb trees?  A: Is there a better way to catch the breeze?

Q: Do princesses eat the crusts of their bread?  A: They save them for the ducks instead.

Q: Do princesses have a favorite vegetable?  A: They find them all delectable.

And what would this self-reflective book be without our young protagonist asking her mother if princesses seem at all like her, and, in response, her mother providing a mirror and a message: “Look inside yourself and see…A princess is a place in your heart”?

Perfect for the girlie girl in the family that can’t help but be a tomboy too.

Ages 4–8.

Review By JENNIFER GANNETT

In The Berenstain Bears’ New Kitten, the popular series tackles the subject of stray animals. When Brother finds a kitten in a pond and brings her home, the whole family becomes involved in cleaning and comforting the animal. The Bear family elects to keep the kitten, but not before they take the feelings of Little Lady, the family dog, into account. Most of the story revolves around the decision-making process.

There are a few small things that vigilant animal activists will quibble with in this book, such as the fact that Brother is “hunting” frogs, the methodology by which Little Lady is temper tested around the kitten and that the kitten is introduced to the dog prior to her visit to the vet. One of the most glaring omissions in terms of how to handle finding a stray kitten is that the Bear family does not contact the local shelter to inquire about whether anyone is looking for a lost kitten.

Despite the above issues, there are many reasons to recommend this book. One reason is that the schoolyard bully is depicted as being very worried about the kitten and gives Brother the hat off of his head to use as a temporary kitten carrier– another reminder that animal lovers are a diverse lot and that we may find common ground when we least expect to. I also liked the Bear parents’ calm handling of Brother’s arrival with the kitten. I appreciated that the book shows Papa and Mama being open to adopting the stray and bringing the kitten to the vet as soon as possible. The ending also models a very important message: the vet encourages the Bear siblings to give Little Lady extra love and affection during the transition period as the family welcomes Gracie, the grey kitten, into their lives.

This feel-good book is a nice story for kitty lovers ages 4 and up.

Review By CAROLYN M. MULLIN

Music icon Bob Dylan penned the words for “Forever Young” back in 1973. In 2008, illustrator Paul Rogers, through his imagery, interpreted those lyrics into a sweet rendition for children…and of course Bob Dylan fans. While the book definitely reads like “words of wisdom” imparted to children by their (grand) parents, it shares an inspiring, ‘60’s look at the crossroads where youth, idealism, music, and friendship meet.

Within the storyline, a young boy is bestowed a guitar. He grows up alongside his good friend, both attending school, studying in the evenings, signature gathering under a banner that reads “Save the Planet,” and jamming out in city parks with their instruments. As they get older, the two head out on the road in an old Beetle and join the “Stop the War” march.

This book is not suitable for all kids, but would be a great resource for the history of American politics, music and cultural studies. For Dylan fans, you’ll enjoy trying to pinpoint all of Rogers’ references. (See if you can find Joan Baez, Thelonious Monk and Paul McCartney in the drawings!) There’s a helpful guide in the back of the book.

Ages 9 – 99.

Review By CAROLYN M. MULLIN

It’s been five years since Hurricane Katrina first struck New Orleans. While much of the city seems to have recuperated, sections like the Lower Ninth Ward look more like untamed fields than once lively homesteads. And emotional stories like that of the Two Bobbies still sit with us, reminding us of our fragility in the face of nature and the importance of keeping our family members, human and non-, safe and close at hand. (Speaking of which, do you have an emergency plan in place for your animal family?)

Tailless, but certainly not friendless, blind Bob Cat and previously chained canine, Bobbi, were abandoned (the authors speculate) when Katrina hit. They fended for themselves for four months, enduring hunger, danger and other struggles we can only imagine. The solemn beauty of the book is that it shows the incredible strength of friendship in the midst of harrowing hardship. New Orleans resident and illustrator, Jean Cassels, does a superb job capturing the stark, post-disaster landscape and the bright future that awaits the unlikely pair of friends. Thanks to Best Friends Animal Society volunteers and a TV appearance on CNN (I <3 you, Anderson Cooper!), the dynamic duo eventually finds a suitable new home.

Two Bobbies can be used to discuss natural disasters and the need for preparation, volunteering/ animal rescue efforts, what it means to be a good guardian/suitable adopter, and chained dog issues. A percentage of the proceeds benefit Best Friends.

Ages 4-8.

Review By MAUREEN MCDOWELL

What better way for baby to learn the colors of the rainbow than from the garden?  What’s in My Garden?, a board book by Cheryl Christian, will entice babies with the illustrated, cut-out veggies that slide up from behind a garden scene.

This simple book lacks a story, and instead invites interaction, a boon to fostering communication in tiny ones.  Every other page presents a vegetable with, for example, “I see tomatoes” and then asks the same question, “What color are they?”  Older babies who recognize the vegetables from supper can participate in answering the question, and all can help slide the veggie up that awaits discovery on the opposing page and learn the color.

Ages 0-3.

Review By JESSICA ALMY

Many people are inspired to become vegetarians after they learn about the widespread animal exploitation that supports the Standard American Diet. For those of us, we can only hope that the next generation sees animals differently than ours does — not as commodities to be manipulated to maximize yield, but as individuals who deserve our respect.

Joanne Ryder and Lynne Cherry’s storybook The Snail’s Spell can help us instill those values in the children in our lives. By inviting the reader to become a snail — one of the smallest and most reviled animals in our culture — the story inspires empathy for other beings, and may even spark an interest in the natural histories of the animals around us.

Using sparse language and simple drawings, this book is an ideal pick for a teacher or family member who would like to introduce these concepts to the children they care for without explicitly mentioning the V-word.

Ages 3-7.

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In Animalia, author and illustrator Graeme Base treats readers to a remarkably captivating alphabet book.  Each letter is represented with an alliterative phrase about a featured animal.  Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the detailed pictures contain not only illustrations related to the animals described but that there are also depictions of items and creatures that begin with the same letter.   This incredible work took Mr. Base over three years to complete.

From the armoured armadillos to the zany zebras, this enchanting book is a delight.  Poring over it with (or without!) a child while examining the many details incorporated into the pictures is a lovely way to spend time.  The complexity of the illustrations makes this perfect for ages 4 and up.