224 Vegbooks reviews by Jessica Almy.
If you’re ready for a quirky adventure story told from the perspective of a clam, then Necks Out for Adventure! by Timothy Basil Ering is the book for you. “For as long as anyone could remember, the wiggleskins would…
Tags: AdventureAnimal RescueAnimalsAnimals as FoodBest Books for Vegetarian KidsClamsEarly ElementaryInvertebrate AnimalsMarine AnimalsMollusksPreschoolersTimothy Basil EringVegetarian Kids Books
I’d first heard of Lorna Balian’s picture book Sometimes It’s Turkey, Sometimes It’s Feathers because it was recommended on the Vegetarian Resource Group’s veg parents listserv. Then I noticed that readers had also…
Tags: Best Books for Vegetarian KidsBooks for Vegetarian KidsCatsEarly ElementaryLorna BalianPreschoolersThanksgivingThanksgiving Books for Vegetarian KidsTurkeysVegetarianVegetarian Kids BooksVegetarian Thanksgiving
I love Carin Berger’s style. From the playful to the contemplative, her children’s book illustrations never fail to delight me. And so it was with great enthusiasm that I dove into OK Go, a picture book for young…
Tags: BicyclesCarin BergerCarsCollageEco-Friendly Kids BooksEnvironmentGood for ToddlersIllustrationPreschoolersPublic TransitRecycling
The animated movie “Rio” really had me at the first scene, where all the birds of the rainforest ascend into the sky to sing and fly in a huge, showy musical number. Add to the lush animation and the spirited music a…
Tags: AnimatedAnimated MoviesBirdsBrazilCaptive WildlifeEarly ElementaryFamily MoviesHumorJemaine ClementMusicParrotsPet StoresPet TradePreschoolersRainforestWild Animals in CaptivityWildlife
You gotta love that kids movies sometimes say what adult films never could. Continuing the tradition of “Bambi” and “The Fox and the Hound,” the 2006 release “Open Season” depicts hunting from the animals’…
Tags: Animated MoviesAnti-HuntingBearsEarly ElementaryHuntingOlder ElementaryRabbitsWildlifeWildlife Rehabilitation
We’re going to have a hard time returning this book to the library. After having the book read to her once, kiddo was able to read it by herself, and she’s gotten in the habit over the past few weeks of reading it to…
Tags: ActivismEarly ReadersEco-Friendly Kids BooksElisa ChavarriEnvironmentEsmé Raji CodellFairy TalesPigsSolar PowerWolves
This book would make a fantastic gift for a dear friend going through a particularly hard breakup. But as a kids’ book? I’m skeptical. What I do know is that vegan and vegetarian kids are unlikely to enjoy the way…
Tags: ButterfliesCaterpillarsControversial Kids BooksFrogsJeanne WillisMetamorphosisPredatorsTadpolesTony Ross
Don’t let the title put you off too much. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is actually a decent animated flick. While there aren’t strong animal or environmental themes, vegetarians will be interested to know that…
Tags: Animated MoviesConsumption of MeatDepictions of Meat in FilmEarly ElementaryFamily FilmsFood ChoicesGenetically Modified FoodMeteorologyOlder ElementaryScience
Illustrating Fibonacci’s famous Rabbit Problem, in which the mathematician explored the numerical ramifications of a hypothetical world in which a rabbit population increases exponentially, Emily Gravett’s delightful…
Tags: AnimalsAutumnEarly ElementaryEasterEmily GravettFibonacciMathematicsNeuterPet OverpopulationRabbitsReproductionSeasonsSpaySpringSummerWinter
Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson, the team behind The Carrot Seed, created this lovely little book, which captures the life of an egg in simple terms for young listeners and beginning readers. While the use of the…
Tags: Animal FamiliesBaby BookBirdsCrockett JohnsonEasterEggsGood for ToddlersParentsPreschoolersRuth KraussSpring
I’m probably not the best person to review this book, since I’m not Jewish and this book is about the celebration of Passover in early 20th century St. Louis. Still, ever since my daughter attended a Jewish preschool…
Tags: Anna OlswangerEarly ElementaryHoliday BooksHolidaysJewish CultureJudaismPassoverPaula Goodman KozveganVegan AuthorVegetarianYiddish
I’ve been on a quest for vegan-friendly Easter books for two years now, but the pickin’s are awfully, awfully slim. It’s a surprise too, since Easter is about new life, so you’d think there would be a huge number of…
Tags: Baby AnimalsBest Books for Vegetarian KidsDori ChaconasEarly ElementaryEasterHoliday BooksHolidaysLife-AffirmingMargie MooreMothersPreschoolersReverenceveganVegetarian
Wow! I love David Wiesner’s work — Tuesday is a classic around these parts — and so I was delighted to discover the new-to-me title The Three Pigs at the library recently. This book won the 2002 Caldecott Medal, so…
Tags: Animal RescueCaldecott MedalClassic Fairy TalesDavid WiesnerEarly ElementaryFatePigsStorytellingWolves
This cookbook is probably a great find for vegetarian families — since all of the recipes, geared to preschoolers, are vegetarian — but for vegans like us, it was a bit of a disappointment. Mollie Katzen’s recipes…
Tags: CookingEarly ElementaryKids CookbooksMollie KatzenPreschoolersRecipesVegetarian ChildrenVegetarian CookbooksVegetarian Cooking
One of the challenges that children’s authors and animal rights activists alike face is to portray animals as they are — not as humans in costume, but as feeling, sentient, and diverse creatures. In the new book…
Tags: Alan MarksEarly ElementaryFemale ProtagonistPreschoolersSandra MarkleWild AnimalsWildlifeWolvesYellowstone
Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee teamed up to create All the World,a book so beautiful that it received the Caldecott Honor last year. (The Caldecott Medal went to The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney.)…
Tags: BeachBedtimeCaldecott HonorCookingCybils AwardDepictions of Dairy in BooksDiverse FamiliesEarly ElementaryFamilyGardenGardeningHoneyLiz Garton ScanlonMarla FrazeeNaturePreschoolersShoreSummer
As a parent, I find myself grappling with how to talk to my daughter about the serious issues our world faces. Sometimes books can help start the conversation in an age-appropriate, nonthreatening way. The…
Tags: Alex WaltonConservationEarly ElementaryEnvironmentEnvironmental Children's LiteratureIllustrationIssues Facing WildlifeOrangutanPet TradeSandra F. SternWildlife
Bertie loves the color blue, so much that he’s got a blue dog collar and pretends he has a bluedog. So when a “black and white, beautiful, spotted, perfect dog” comes into his life, he decides that he should give the…
Tags: Animal CareAnimalsCompanion AnimalsDogsEarly ElementaryKIND Children's Honor BooksPolly DunbarPreschoolers
If you’re the kind of person who likes animals attired in 1940s garb and dark story lines revolving around persecuted animals secreted away from Gestapo-like police cats, you’ll love Mrs. Marlowe’s Mice. (For the…
Tags: Animal RescueCatsDark Children's BooksDevin AschEarly ElementaryFemale ProtagonistFrank AschMiceMoralityPersecutionPreschoolersWorld War II
I didn’t give the new picture book from Darrin Lunde and Patricia J. Wynne Hello, Baby Beluga enough credit when I first picked it up. Scanning through it on my own, I got the impression that the way it presented…
Tags: Animal EmotionAnimal FamiliesAnimalsDarrin LundeEnvironmentMarine AnimalsMarine MammalsNatural HistoryPatricia J. WynnePreschoolersWhalesWildlifeWildlife Books for Kids
Review By HUYEN MACMICHAEL This is such a beautiful and peaceful tale that it was a joy to read. I absolutely adore the soft and colorful watercolors, the well-rounded characters with such expressive faces and…
Tags: Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book AwardsCabbagesCatsCompanion AnimalsEarly ElementaryErika OllerFriendshipGardenGardeningHumorHuyen MacMichaelIllustrationPreschoolersVegetables
There are a few classic books that belong on every nursery shelf. Take for example Goodnight, Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear by…
Tags: Amy Krouse RosenthalBaby BookBoard BookCandyEarly ElementaryGood for ToddlersHealthy ChoicesHealthy EatingHealthy LivingIllustrationJen CoracePreschoolersVegetables
This lighthearted picture book gives kids a realistic view of what the lives of wild turkeys are like. If you’ve ever been to a farm or farm sanctuary, you might be surprised to learn that wild turkeys — who have not…
Tags: Animal EmotionAnimal FamiliesBirdsCommunicationGood for ToddlersJim ArnoskyNatural HistoryPreschoolersThanksgivingTurkeysWild AnimalsWildlife
The words that come to mind to describe “Where the Wild Things Are” are not ones I often use to describe things geared to kids. They’re words like melancholy, dark, and eerie. Reading Maurice Sendak’s book Where the…
Tags: Coming of AgeDreamyFamilyFamily FilmsFriendshipMax RecordsMonstersOlder ElementarySpike JonzeSurreal