After much searching in winter weather, a homeless cat finds an abandoned building to deliver her kittens. When she leaves her kittens to find some nourishment, she returns to find the building up in flames. As the firefighters work to put out the fire, the mother cat works to save her kittens, walking through the fire to find and carry them out one at a time. Hero Cat is a story about mother love as much as it is a cat story.

Spinelli describes a mother determined to do the best she can for her young and it is not so much that she’s a cat that makes the story amazing to me, but that she goes repeatedly into the burning building to save every single one of her babies. And then I read the final page and discover it’s based on a true story with a picture of the burnt cat and her kittens at a shelter. It brought me to tears seeing the photo and reading the biographical note. Stammen’s illustrations are
appealing and my daughter fell in love with the cat and the book. So did I.

Ages 4-8.

About Huyen: Huyen MacMichael is a stay-at-home mom, artist, and art therapist. She feels lucky to have found the sweetest rescued blue tick coonhound at the local no-kill shelter. She is raising her daughter vegan with her husband Ryan of Vegblog.org. As a mom, she enjoys the opportunity to read large quantities of children’s books to her daughter. As an advocate for the creative process, she appreciates a well-told and well-illustrated story.

In this holiday story, the poor turkey remains on the run, even when he thinks he is finally safe. The farmer plans to cook him for Thanksgiving and when he sets out to get him, the turkey runs. He ends up using multiple methods around the farmyard to camouflage himself from the farmer, who ends up sparing his life for this feast.

As the farmer’s family sits down to Thanksgiving dinner, the farmer is shown dreaming of a cooked turkey. The woman is staring at the empty turkey platter on the table, while the two children happily dine on grilled cheese sandwiches, peas and mashed potatoes. No turkey is served at this holiday feast, much to the disappointment of the adults in the story.

This is a fun book that gives kids a chance to root for the turkey as he continues running away from the farmer. Vegetarian parents and kids alike will appreciate the way the turkey outsmarts the farmer. It is important to note that the story takes place at an old-fashioned farm that depicts other animals, such as pigs, horses, and ducks.

Ages 4-8.

About Jacqueline: Jacqueline Bodnar is a professional writer who blogs about vegetarian issues at VegBlogger.com. She and her husband have been ethical vegetarians since 1995 and are raising two vegetarian children. She is also a nature lover, environmentalist, and avid reader. Jacqueline is a Michigan native, who now resides in Florida, after spending almost a decade in Las Vegas.

This book not only illustrates the meaningful friendship between a man and his dog (Fala is buried with President Roosevelt) but also provides a concise history lesson about important events of our collective past.  Because of the complexities of some of the situations described, such as discussions about World War II and President Roosevelt’s decline and eventual death, this book may be better suited for older children. More here and here.

Ages 4-8.

About Jennifer: Jennifer Gannett lives outside of New York City with her family.  A long-time environmentalist, in her free time she enjoys cooking and eating mouthwatering vegan fare and advocating for animals in need.

While I’m shopping, I decided to compile a list of my favorite (veg) parenting books.

1. Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron: How-tos of preparing homemade, organic baby food with a strong emphasis on plant-based and vegetarian foods.
2. Raising Vegetarian Children: A Guide to Good Health and Family Harmony by Joanne Stepaniak and Vesanto Melina: Nutritional and social advice, plus fantastic vegan recipes.  We love the muscle muffins!
3. New Vegetarian Baby by Sharon K. Yntema and Christine Beard: Age-by-age feeding guidelines and nutritional information.
4. Healthy Eating for Life for Children by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: Draws on nutritional research, such as the China Study, to make the case that children should be eating exclusively vegan foods.  Includes a section on healthy eating during pregnancy.
5. Vegan Lunch Box: 130 Amazing, Animal-Free Lunches Kids and Grown-ups Will Love! by Jennifer McCann: From the simple to the fancy, this cookbook provides great menu ideas and recipes that the whole family will enjoy.
6. Vegan Family Favorites by Erin Pavlina: Lots of kid-friendly recipes.  Our favorite is the lemon-garlic asparagus!

Any other suggestions?

Kids Can Cook is a vegetarian cookbook that is specifically for kids. The recipes are designed to be easy to follow, with manageable tasks. Most recipes will require the help of an adult if kids are not yet ready to use a sharp knife or use the stove.

Some recipes call for honey, eggs or milk. However, it is simple to make substitutions in order to have vegan recipes. There are a limited number of black and white photos included, which makes being able to imagine the prepared dishes a little more necessary.

The recipes are tasty and the kids will likely enjoy them, especially such dishes as the BBQ tofu, apple walnut salad, and banana pudding. This book is a great way to get vegetarian kids more interested in cooking — especially if given the opportunity to choose what recipes to prepare.

Ages 9-12.

About Jacqueline: Jacqueline Bodnar is a professional writer who blogs about vegetarian issues at VegBlogger.com. She and her husband have been ethical vegetarians since 1995 and are raising two vegetarian children. She is also a nature lover, environmentalist, and avid reader. Jacqueline is a Michigan native, who now resides in Florida, after spending almost a decade in Las Vegas.

Fortunately, Mr. Miller, the next door neighbor, plays the unwitting hero by providing Boy the care and attention a dog needs, true companionship, a real home, and even a real name: Lucky Boy. The key to the relationship between Mr. Miller and Lucky Boy is the statement “You and I are lucky to have found each other, Boy!” The author cleverly shows that Mr. Miller gains as much as Lucky Boy when they become friends and that the family never realizes or appreciates what Lucky Boy offers.

For animal lovers and activists, the family’s neglect would raise hackles but I feel like the author was accurate in the descriptions. That family could easily describe the many families that go out to get a dog but don’t have time to walk him or take him anywhere. The tone the author takes is a gentle criticism of the busy lives of families which to me, makes it more effective than painting them with a black brush for their neglect.

Ages 4-8.

About Huyen: Huyen MacMichael is a stay-at-home mom, artist, and art therapist. She feels lucky to have found the sweetest rescued blue tick coonhound at the local no-kill shelter. She is raising her daughter vegan with her husband Ryan of Vegblog.org. As a mom, she enjoys the opportunity to read large quantities of children’s books to her daughter. As an advocate for the creative process, she appreciates a well-told and well-illustrated story.

While there are two non-veggie elements to the book (the pair split a hot dog and meet circus entertainers that have a performing chimpanzee), parents can tailor the book to meet their ethics. Perhaps Jim and Maxi found a veggie hot dog option at the stand? Maybe the circus clowns employed a fake chimpanzee? This could develop into a nice discussion about how no animal should be forced into the entertainment industry. Although it must be said that Maxi is a natural comedian.

P.S. – This is also a Reading Rainbow-endorsed book!

Ages 4-8.

About Carolyn: Carolyn M. Mullin is the founder of the National Animal Protection Museum (working title). She has worked extensively with youth as an education coordinator with Farm Sanctuary, an AmeriCorps reading tutor for K-3, and a camp counselor at a nature preserve for too many summers to count. Still a kid at heart, she can’t resist an enchanting children’s tale.

This heartwarming picture book details the enchanted evening a little girl Hannah, somewhat neglected at home, experiences with her toy gorilla-turned-real.  What makes this book a keeper from my perspective is Hannah’s reaction to viewing primates — gorillas, an orangutan, and a chimpanzee — in the zoo.  Despite her joy at seeing these animals in person, she views them through cage bars and observes that they are “sad.”

The next morning, Hannah awakes to an attentive father who offers to do finally what she’s been asking him to do all along: bring her to the zoo.  Whether the pair goes is ambiguous.  I like to think that they spent a leisurely day in the park instead.

Ages 4-8.

It is a silly story that provides clean, fun entertainment. But the underlying message here is that even worms have feelings and should be respected. This book may help young vegetarian children to see how even the smallest of animals are interesting and deserving of compassion. There is one reference to fishing, in which the worm states that, as fishing season started, the worms all dug deeper in the dirt in order to hide.

If you are a vegetarian parent trying to teach your kids to have compassion for animals, “Diary of a Worm” is a big hit. This book will help children see that even the smallest animals have interests and thoughts of their own.

Ages 4-8.

About Jacqueline: Jacqueline Bodnar is a professional writer who blogs about vegetarian issues at VegBlogger.com. She and her husband have been ethical vegetarians since 1995 and are raising two vegetarian children. She is also a nature lover, environmentalist, and avid reader. Jacqueline is a Michigan native, who now resides in Florida, after spending almost a decade in Las Vegas.