Every review published by Vegbooks from 2009 through 2021.
We have an overflowing bookshelf containing cookbooks so when we go back to a cookbook a couple times a month or more, it says something. Our go-to recipe for pancakes is in this cookbook and although we often use a…
Tags: Best Family CookbooksChef Brian P. McCarthyCookbooksCookingHuyen MacMichaelVegan CookbooksVegetarian Cookbooks
Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story delves deep into the historical, social and natural significance of one of America’s most well-known estuaries. Author/illustrator Thomas Yezerski treats us to a well written…
Tags: BirdsCrabsEarly ElementaryEnvironmentFishIllustrationJennifer GannettNew JerseyNonfictionThomas YezerskiWetlands
Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate Di Camillo (of The Tale of Despereaux fame) and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen is the first of what is currently a six book series centered around the exuberant pig Mercy Watson.…
Tags: Chapter BooksChris Van DusenEarly ElementaryHoma WoodrumHumorIllustrationInterspecies FriendshipKate Di CamilloPigsPreschoolersRead AloudSeriesUnconditional Love
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
Much like Jo MacDonald Had a Garden and generously provided in review form from the same publisher, Over in the Forest: Come and Take a Peek is patterned after a well known childhood song, “Over in the Meadow.”…
Tags: Animal FamiliesAnimal TracksBeaversCountingDeerFoxesHoma WoodrumJill DubinMarianne BerkesMothersOpossumsRaccoonsSkunksSquirrelsTurkeysTurtlesWildlifeWoodpeckers
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
In this latest installment of the “Aggie and Ben” series, Ben learns that Aggie does not listen well. After she chews his homework, he decides to send her to “Doggie school.” Unfortunately, Aggie does not listen to…
Tags: Andrea ZollmanChapter BooksCompanion AnimalsDogsEarly ElementaryEarly ReadersFrank W. DormerHumorIllustrationLori RiesPreschoolersSeries
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
A delectable, veg-friendly story about a wicked witch named Gritch who gets a craving for piggie pie. Of course the witch is not veg-friendly, but we can happily cheer on the clever piggies as they outsmart her. The…
Tags: Early ElementaryHoward FineHumorHuyen MacMichaelIllustrationsMargie PalatiniPigsWitches
We’ve been reading this book a lot lately. We picked it up at a garage sale over the summer, but it wasn’t until recently that my 2.5 year old became interested in it. The book depicts many different types of…
Tags: Animal FamiliesDiverse FamiliesDivorceFather's DayFathersGood for ToddlersGrandparentsJennifer KaliMother's DayMothersPreschoolersRobert SkutchTwo-Dad FamiliesTwo-Mom Families
Once upon a time, Newfoundlands were a very popular canine companion to keep, or so it seems. Emily Dickinson, one of America’s most beloved poets, joined the ranks of Newfoundland lovers when she was bestowed a…
Tags: Carolyn M. MullinCompanion AnimalsDogsEarly ElementaryFemale ProtagonistHistoryMarty Rhodes FigleyMassachusettsPoetryPoets
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
If you’ve read Huyen’s glowing review of Jo MacDonald Saw a Pond,my take on a publisher’s review copy of the companion Jo MacDonald Had a Garden will come as no surprise. We really enjoyed this book! In fact, my…
Tags: Female ProtagonistGardenGardeningGood for ToddlersHoma WoodrumLaura J. BryantLifecycleMary QuattlebaumNatureNature BooksPreschoolersSeasonsSpring
How to Take Your Grandmother to the Museum is written by Lois Wyse and Molly Rose Goldman and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay (the illustrator of the lovely Houndsley and Catina series previously reviewed on…
Tags: BugsDinosaursEarly ElementaryFemale ProtagonistGrandparentsHoma WoodrumLois WyseMarie-Louise GayMolly Rose GoldmanNatural HistorySpaceWildlife
Authored by humane educator extraordinaire Zoe Weil, Claude and Medeatraces the compassionate awakening of two twelve year olds. Both students at a prestigious private school in Manhattan, Claude comes from a…
Tags: Animal RescueAnimal Researchanimal rightsDogsHumane EducationJennifer GannettOlder ElementaryPortrayal of Vegetarians in BooksRatsVegetarian CharactersVegetarian ProtagonistZoe Weil
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
I checked out this book based on Jessica’s suggestion as it was just featured as a 2012 Sydney Taylor Honor Book for Younger Readers. As is apparent from the title, Naamah and the Ark at Night, by Susan Campbell…
Tags: ALSC Notable Childrens BookAnimalsEarly ElementaryFemale ProtagonistHolly MeadeHoma WoodrumJewish CultureNighttimeNoah's ArkPreschoolersSusan Campbell BartolettiSydney Taylor Honor Book for Younger Readers
This beautiful little story book is lovely to read aloud to young children. It’s about the relationship between Lilly, her grandmother, and the whales who appear at the ocean nearby, to sing their mysterious and…
Tags: ActivitiesDyan SheldonEarly ElementaryFemale ProtagonistGrandparentsLisa OnykahonieMarine AnimalsMarine MammalsPreschoolersWhalesWhaling
Billie the Unicorn by Brianne Brouhard is a vividly illustrated story set in what we learn is a world where unicorns grow plants and flowers. Billie is a little blue unicorn who seems to continually long for…
Tags: Animals in CaptivityBrianne BrouhardEarly ElementaryFemale ProtagonistGardenGardeningHoma WoodrumIllustrationUnicorn
In the same vein as the Grow It Yourself! series, the six titles in the Trash to Treasure lineup make arts and crafts an easy, green practice for early elementary students and also challenge their reading skills.…
Tags: ArtCarolyn M. MullinCraft ProjectsDaniel NunnEarly ElementaryEco-Friendly Kids BooksHomeschoolingPreschoolersRecyclingSeriesTrash
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.
“Born to Be Wild” is an IMAX film focusing on the conservation efforts of two women working a world away from each other in different conditions but with aligned goals. Both have set up systems of caring for and…
Tags: Animal RescueBiographyBirute GaldikasConservationDaphne SheldrickEarly ElementaryElephantsIMAXIndonesiaJennifer GannettKenyaMorgan FreemanOlder ElementaryOrangutans
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…
Lavishly illustrated, All Kinds of Kisses by Caldecott Medalist Nancy Tafuri is a big and bright book that follows animal parents kissing their babies. The unifying narrative that is noteworthy for veg parents,…
Tags: Animal FamiliesAnimalsBaby BookChickensFarmFarmed AnimalsFarmingGood for ToddlersHoma WoodrumIllustrationMother's DayMothersNancy TafuriPigsPreschoolersSheep