224 Vegbooks reviews by Jessica Almy.
I remember the long stretch of days when I was a kid, how summer seemed endless, and that we settled into games quickly enough to (nearly) finish them in twenty minutes of recess. Looking back, I think that time…
Tags: AnimalsBirdsEarly ElementaryEco-Friendly Kids BooksEnvironmentHuman BodyIllustrationNatural HistoryNature BooksPreschoolersSteve Jenkins
Inhae Lee’s children’s book was my introduction to her delightfully funny photo essays about two milk “teef” named Ickle and Lardee. Lest you’re concerned the term “milk teef” refers to cow’s milk, Lee explains in…
Tags: Early ElementaryHumorInhae LeePhotographyPhotosTeethTooth Fairy
Anyone who believes the old adage that publishers and producers can make works featuring male protagonists because they will appeal to both boys and girls (in contrast to female protagonists, which allegedly are of…
Tags: 1980s CultureEarly ElementaryFamily FilmsFamily MoviesHumorMuppetsMusicOlder ElementaryPop Culture
My daughter loves clothes, shoes, and accessories. She can’t understand why I don’t wear earrings, and often tells me that she can’t wait to grow up so that she can wear high heels. Not only does she love to play…
Tags: Annelore ParotAsiaAsianClothingEarly ElementaryHairIllustrationJapanKimono
Through poetry and illustration, Joyce Sidman and Beth Krommes explore all the diverse places — from snail shells to hibernating chipmunks — that spirals appear in the natural world in Swirl by Swirl. This stunning…
Tags: Beth KrommesEarly ElementaryEco-Friendly Kids BooksElephantsEnvironmentIllustrationJoyce SidmanMathNatureNature BooksPreschoolersScienceSeahorsesWildlife
It’s no secret that Nathalie VanBalen’s Garlic- Onion- Beet- Spinach- Mango- Carrot- Grapefruit Juice gets me totally, TOTALLY pumped! Or that ever since my husband and I started making our free-form garlic mashed…
Tags: Best Books for Vegetarian KidsColoringEarly ElementaryNathalie VanBalenNative AmericanNative PeoplesOlder ElementaryPreschoolersRecycled Paper BooksThanksgivingThanksgiving Books for Vegetarian KidsVegan ThanksgivingVegetarian Kids BooksVegetarian Thanksgiving
By JESSICA ALMY It’s our second anniversary, and while we’ll be announcing the winner of our 500th Review Contest shortly — hold onto your socks! — we wanted to commemorate this milestone by sharing with you our…
Tags: Best Books for Vegetarian KidsBoard BooksGood for ToddlersHoma WoodrumHuyen MacMichaelJennifer GannettJennifer Kali
I’m charmed by Carole Boston Weatherford’s picture book on how First Dog Bo became part of the First Family. Living in Washington, DC, my family and I are intimate with the president’s motorcade, helicopters, and…
Tags: Amy BatesBarack ObamaCarole Boston WeatherfordCompanion AnimalsDogsEarly ElementaryFamilyPreschoolersPresidentWashington D.C.White House
I love this book the way I love Goodnight, Moon. I love its simplicity. I love that it touches on the metaphysical, but does not dwell. And above all, I love its illustrations. Margaret Wise Brown wrote both books,…
Tags: 1940s Childrens LiteratureCaldecott MedalCatsEarly ElementaryEnvironmentEnvironmental Children's LiteratureFishGullsIslandsLeonard WeisgardLobstersMargaret Wise BrownMarine AnimalsNatural HistoryPreschoolersSeals
Leo Landry’s new book Grin and Bear It is a good pick for kids interested in a silly book with short chapters and lots of illustrations. Consisting of 7 chapters over 48 pages, the book tells the story of Bear, a…
Tags: BearsChapter BooksComedyEarly ElementaryHumorLeo LandryOvercoming FearWild AnimalsWildlife
Life isn’t so lucky for most lobsters. Snatched from their habitats, they are kept in crowded tanks until they’re bought and boiled alive. Given new evidence that despite their simple nervous systems, lobsters may…
Tags: Animal Liberationanimal rightsAnimal SufferingBooks for Vegetarian KidsCrustaceansE-BooksGary DorionJennifer TaylorLobstersVegan Childrens Books
Pairing rhythmic, sometimes-rhyming prose with expressive illustration, the forthcoming book Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art tells the uplifting story of the Detroit native who saved his neighborhood…
Tags: ArtBiographyCommunityDetriotDetroit RiotHeidelberg StreetJ.H. ShapiroPaintingPovertySocial JusticeTrashTyree GuytonVanessa Brantley-Newton
Last year’s big screen release, “How to Train Your Dragon” has a powerful message about tolerance and respect for animals. Set in a Viking village, the film opens on a scene of terrible violence in which humans and…
Tags: AnimatedAnimated MoviesDepictions of Meat in FilmDragonsEarly ElementaryFamily FilmsFamily MoviesGenesis AwardsOlder Elementary
Popular culture and movies abound with depictions of Doctor Dolittle, the man who could talk to the animals. The original series spanned several novels, of which The Story of Doctor Dolittle is the first. It’s a…
Tags: 1920s Children's LiteratureAfricaAnimals in CaptivityCommunicationCrocodilesDoctor DolittleDogsEarly ElementaryHugh LoftingMonkeysOlder ElementaryParrotsWild AnimalsWildlife
This colorful picture book by Judy Sierra and Jesse Sweetwater brings to life a folktale from Bali, in which a dancing pig saves twin girls from an ogress. Using bold illustrations and expressive language, The…
Tags: BaliEarly ElementaryFemale ProtagonistFrogsJesse SweetwaterJudy SierraMicePigsPreschoolers
A Day with No Crayons is likely to inspire you to view the world differently — and I love any book that can do that. This charming picture book by Elizabeth Rusch and Chad Cameron follows budding artist Liza through…
Tags: ArtArtistsChad CameronCreativityDogsEarly ElementaryElizabeth RuschPreschoolers
Kiddo and I love the humorous title of this chapter book by Christine McDonnell, and we now often refer to tofu (one of our favorite foods) as “toad food.” Vegetarian kids will get a kick out of how Leo Nolan, an…
Tags: Chapter BooksChristine McDonnellDepiction of Vegetarian Food in BooksDiane deGroatEarly ElementaryG. Brian KarasOlder ElementaryTofuVegetarian Characters
I tend to oppose zoos and zoo literature for children. As much as zoos try to replicate the natural habitats of exotic animals, an image from a childhood visit to a zoo is indelibly marked in my mind: the eyes of a…
Tags: Animal WelfareBiographyBooksCaptive WildlifeChimpanzeesGeorge Ella LyonHelen MartiniTigersZoo
Mister Bud had the life that I’d wish for all dogs — a loving home and things of his own. So, he’d be forgiven, even if he weren’t a little gray in the snout, for being resentful about the arrival of a second dog.…
Tags: Carter GoodrichCompanion AnimalsDogsEarly ElementaryNew SiblingPreschoolersPug
Based on her own experiences, Cari Best has penned a picture book that is equally heartfelt and thought-provoking. She tells Goose’s Story from the perspective of a girl who first observes and then befriends an…
Tags: BirdsCanada GeeseCari BestFemale ProtagonistGeeseHenry Bergh Award WinnerHolly MeadeIllustrationLiving with DisabilitiesWild AnimalsWildlife
I can’t imagine a more ambitious project than creating a book of children’s poems and illustrations to pay tribute to species of animals now extinct — and yet, J. Patrick Lewis and Christopher Wormell have…
Tags: AnimalsChildrens Poet LaureateChristopher WormellEarly AdultEarly ElementaryEco-Friendly Kids BooksEndangered SpeciesEnvironmentEnvironmental Children's LiteratureExtinctionIllustrationsJ. Patrick LewisOlder ElementaryParentsPoetryPreschoolersWoodcut
I have a soft spot for The Poky Little Puppy because it reminds me of my childhood. And since the book was originally published in 1942, my mother probably read it to me because she remembered it from her childhood.…
Tags: 1940s Childrens LiteratureCompanion AnimalsDogsEarly ElementaryFoodGood for ToddlersGustaf TenggrenJanette Sebring LowreyPreschoolers
Beginning with the words, “Dads do many things,” this charming book by Sneed B. Collard III and Steve Jenkins draws parallels between the dads of other species and human dads. The use of the first person plural is…
Tags: Animal FamiliesDadsEarly Elementaryemperor penguinsFamilyFather's DayFathersNatural Historyprairie volesPreschoolerssicklebacksSneed B. Collard IIISteve JenkinsWild AnimalsWildlife
Kiddo and I were surprised that I hadn’t reviewed Tuesday for Vegbooks. We love this book, because as kiddo puts it, “It’s funny and strange.” With few words and very detailed illustrations, David Wiesner has crafted…
Tags: 1990s BooksCaldecott MedalDavid WeisnerDogsEarly ElementaryFrogsHumorIllustrationMysteryNearly Wordless BooksPigsPreschoolers