224 Vegbooks reviews by Jessica Almy.
Today is Albert Schweitzer’s birthday. Those of us who work to instill in our children reverence for life are indebted to the Nobel Peace Prize winner for developing an ethical framework based on the basic principle…
Tags: Albert SchweitzerBiographyCompassionEarly ElementaryHistoryReverenceVegetarian Protagonist
Polar bears aren’t the only victims of climate change. In real life, we know that species that inhabit mountaintops and islands are imperiled by the shifting tree compositions and rising sea levels. In fiction, that…
Tags: ChristmasClimate ChangeEarly ElementaryGlobal WarmingHoliday BooksMirna KantarevicPreschoolersSanta ClausVictoria Perla
By HOMA WOODRUM* Our Vegbooks reviewers pooled our resources and came up with our go-to favorites that we’d gift to our friends and family if they were welcoming a new baby. Since so many of our reviews cover the…
Tags: Homa WoodrumHuyen MacMichaelMaureen McDowellParentingSandi LancasterVegan ParentingVegan ParentsVegan PregnancyVegetarianVegetarian Baby FoodVegetarian Children
Kiddo and I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure story about a young girl named Tua (meaning “peanut”) and her friend Pohn-Pohn, the elephant. Set in Thailand, the chapter book opens with their meeting — where Tua…
Tags: Animal LiberationAnimal RescueCaptive WildlifeChapter BooksEarly ElementaryElephant SanctuaryElephantsFemale ProtagonistInterspecies FriendshipOlder ElementaryR. P. HarrisTaeeun YooThai FoodsThailandWild Animals in Captivity
By JESSICA ALMY Vegbooks is three today! You’ve read our lists of the best books for one-year-olds and two-year-olds, and we’re keeping the tradition by celebrating our birthday with recommendations for…
Tags: Best Books for Vegetarian KidsHoma WoodrumJane CowlesJennifer GannettPreschoolersRobyn Moore
A book about interspecies friendship? Written by Jane Goodall, hero for animals and founder of Roots and Shoots? AND illustrated by Alan Marks? Imagine my excitement when I found this title at my local library! Based…
Tags: AfricaAlan MarksCaptive WildlifeChimpanzeesDogsEarly ElementaryInterspecies FriendshipJane GoodallPet Trade
Hey Vegbooks friends & fans, we’re hosting a board book giveaway. We’ll soon be reviewing the bright, beautiful board books you see pictured — I Say, You Say Animal Soundsand Opposites!— but in the meanwhile, three…
When you first hear that “The Secret World of Arrietty,” is a hand-drawn Japanese film based on an English novel (The Borrowers) dubbed by American actors, you may wonder about its authenticity. Just go with it, I…
Tags: Animated MoviesEarly ElementaryEnglandJapanKindnessOlder Elementary
hello I am Ivan. I am a gorilla. It’s not as easy as it looks. So begins the spare, beautiful tale of The One and Only Ivan, a novel about a gorilla kept in a shopping mall exhibit, next to animals forced to perform…
Tags: Animal AbuseAnimal Rescueanimal rightsAnimals in CaptivityBest Books for Vegetarian KidsBooks that Teach EmpathyCaptive WildlifeCircusEarly ElementaryElephantsEmpathyGorillasKatherine ApplegateOlder ElementaryPatricia CastelaoPet TradePrimatesWild Animals in CaptivityZoos
Although I’d heard some buzz about Scaredy Squirrel ever since I began thinking seriously about kids’ books, I had not read the book — or more importantly, heard it read aloud — until this spring. On a car ride to a…
Tags: BraveryEarly ElementaryFlying SquirrelsHumorMélanie WattOvercoming FearPicture BooksPreschoolersRead AloudSquirrelsWild AnimalsWildlife
Following a loggerhead turtle from her hatching on a Florida beach until she returns 25 years later to lay eggs of her own, “Turtle: The Incredible Journey” is a visual feast, with beautiful images of life underwater…
Tags: Atlantic OceanEarly ElementaryFamily FilmsFamily MoviesFloridaGood for ToddlersMarine AnimalsOlder ElementaryPreschoolersTurtles
After falling in love with J. Patrick Lewis’ Swan Song, I was certain I would like his early reader Tugg and Teeny, published last year. It’s a sweet, short book of 1,100 words that focuses on the friendship between…
Tags: ActivitiesArtChristopher DeniseEarly ElementaryEarly ReadersFemale ProtagonistFriendshipGorillasHomeschoolingInterspecies FriendshipJ. Patrick LewisMonkeysMusicPaintingPoetry
My kiddo’s kindergarten class has been focusing on nonfiction books lately, both reading and writing/illustrating books that make a detailed exploration of the science and natural history of wild animals. Of course,…
Tags: BirdsEarly ElementaryEarly ReadersMigrationNatural HistoryNature BooksNonfictionPaul MirochaRoma GansScienceScience BooksWildlifeWildlife Books for Kids
Although my kiddo and I aren’t the target demographic for this children’s cookbook, described by author Jules Bass as “LOVE children: L=lacto O=ova V=veggie E=eaters” (in other words, vegetarians who eat dairy and…
Tags: CookbooksCookbooks for KidsCookingDebbie HarterJules BassKids CookbooksVegetarian CookbooksVegetarian Cooking
“People and animals share the same earth. They have shared it for a long, long time.” So begins Faith McNulty’s simple, beautiful early reader that introduces children to the conservation of endangered species. This…
Tags: BearsCarol SchwartzEarly ElementaryEarly ReadersEco-Friendly Kids BooksElephantsEndangered SpeciesEnvironmentFaith McNultyGorillasHabitat DestructionHuntingWild AnimalsWildlife
The Great Turkey Racestarts with a silly premise. The turkeys have overheard the farmer saying one of them will be the Thanksgiving turkey, and so they begin a competition — the great turkey race — to determine who…
Tags: Best Books for Vegetarian KidsEarly ElementaryJim PaillotPreschoolersSteve MetzgerThanksgivingThanksgiving Books for Vegetarian KidsTurkeysVegan ThanksgivingVegetarian Thanksgiving
It’s probably inevitable that a book on factory farming will elicit strong reactions from vegetarian and vegan families, and no doubt some people will have a quarrel with Old MacDonald Has No Farm … ee-i-anymore.The…
Tags: Animals as FoodChickensCowsDepictions of AnimalsEarly Elementaryfactory farmingFarmFarmed AnimalsKathy CoughlinPigs
Ever since I learned that Universal Pictures was making a film recounting the rescue of a family of Alaskan whales in the 1980s, I’ve been looking forward to seeing it. Happily, “Big Miracle,” starring Drew…
Tags: 1980s CultureAlaskaAnimal RescueEarly ElementaryFamily FilmsFamily MoviesMarine AnimalsMarine MammalsOlder ElementaryWhalesWhaling
I love Keith Baker’s Who Is the Beast? but had never read any of his other children’s books, so when I discovered he had written a series about two alligators, I eagerly sought out a book for my six-year-old…
Tags: AlligatorsCampingEarly ElementaryEarly ReadersKeith BakerMarriageSeries
Surprisingly dark for a family film, “Babe: Pig in the City” didn’t please all the fans of the first “Babe” movie who had so eagerly awaited the sequel. Still, animal rights advocates will find much to like in the…
Tags: 1990s MoviesCatsDiscriminationDogsEarly ElementaryFamily MoviesHomeless AnimalsPigsVivisection
I have a weakness for folk tales, and I really enjoy this retelling of a story that has, according to the authors’ notes, Cherokee, Abenaki, and Iroquois roots. How Chipmunk Got His Stripesis a picture book about a…
Tags: AbenakiAriane DeweyBearsBraggingCherokeeChipmunksEarly ElementaryFolk TalesIroquoisJames BruchacJose AruegoJoseph BruchacTeasing
When a mama mouse living in a field must save her family from the plow, including her son who is stricken with pneumonia, she discovers a secret world of super-intelligent rats who have suffered at the hands of…
Tags: 1980s Childrens MoviesAnimal Researchanimal rightsAnimated MoviesDon BluthEarly ElementaryFemale ProtagonistMiceOlder ElementaryRatsVivisection
In honor of Squirrel Appreciation Day, I thought it would be appropriate to review a book that my daughter received from some fellow squirrel enthusiasts entitled One More Acorn. The story follows a father grey…
Tags: AutumnCivil RightsDon FreemanEarly ElementaryFallPreschoolersPresident KennedyRoy FreemanSeasonsSquirrelsUrban WildlifeWashington D.C.
The other day, my 6-year-old was slumped over Sylvia Plath, moping. Before you assume she’s terribly precocious or that I’m semi-negligent in giving my child depressing books, however, let me direct you to a recent…