Review By JACQUELINE BODNAR

As a nature lover, exposing my children to and helping them to learn about the great outdoors is paramount to me. From discussing things that fly by to taking nature walks, creating an appreciation for the natural world is an important mission.

I was excited when How Things Work in the Yard came in the mail, and so was my daughter. The book offers tidbits of information about a variety of things you may find in the backyard. It tells you how those things “work.” As you read along, you learn a lot about each thing, and develop an even deeper appreciation for nature.

From dandelions to clouds and snails, wagons to fireflies, and a lot in between, this book offers an interesting look at your backyard. This is a great book for anyone who wants to help their child explore some of what nature, and our yards, have to offer.

A vegetarian or vegan family may want to know that there is a brief mention of a cheese ball, and of wagons being pulled by horses. But overall, this book makes a great addition to any child’s collection (and it’s one that even adults will find interesting)!

Ages 4-8.

Review By JACQUELINE BODNAR

In the world in which we live, bugs usually get a bad rap! People fear them, don’t understand them and, well, tend to run from them. But one read through a book like Bugs by the Numbers and people may start to turn a new leaf.

This book piqued my interest from the moment I picked it up. I love the creative ways that the bugs are presented throughout the book. They are gathered in the shapes of numbers, and the numbers all relate to a fact about that particular creature. There are interesting fold-out flaps, lots of facts, and a lot of great information.

This book is animal-friendly, people-friendly and downright interesting! Although it is geared toward children, I really enjoyed reading through it every bit as much as they did. Adding this book to your collection will help your child learn interesting facts about a variety of bugs, including everything from spiders to mosquitoes, and fleas to cockroaches, and it does so in a fun way. As a member of a vegetarian family, I didn’t see anything that would be objectionable. This is just the type of book most vegetarian families will want in their collection!

Ages 4-8.

Review By JACQUELINE BODNAR

Both of these books deal with subjects that everyone should care about. They are stories of recycling, one about the aluminum can and one about plastic bottles. Each take the reader on a journey to learn about the recycling process of each.

With both books taking a diary entry approach, it keeps the reader interested. Plus, each are followed up with a list that defines all the new words kids will learn along the way. These are the type of books that are great for teaching children to be eco-friendly.

Another bonus with both of these books is that they are made from 100 percent postconsumer waste recycled paper. They also contain 100 percent vegetable based ink.

So while they have an eco-friendly message, they also stick to the mission during the printing process.

Ages 4-8.

Review By JACQUELINE BODNAR

Where Does the Garbage Go? is an interesting book to read with children and use as a teaching tool. It demonstrates the entire process of where our garbage goes, how much we produce per day and what we can do to try to do better.

Children will learn what happens when they throw something in the trash, as well as the process something undergoes that was put into the recycling bin. The book also offers various tips for helping the environment, from taking reusable bags to the store to putting wood scraps in the compost pile.

Both adults and children can learn a great deal from this simple, yet explanatory and interesting, book. There is one mention of putting food we don’t eat in the garbage can, such as chicken bones. Beyond that, vegetarian and vegan parents will mostly likely find this book to be a great fit for their collection.

Ages 4-8.

Review By JACQUELINE BODNAR

This is yet another great eco-friendly book by Alison Inches. The little monster in the book starts out not being environmentally friendly. He learns about all the ways that he is not making good choices and then on his journey learns that making eco-friendly choices is not only fun, but much better for the planet.

This is a fun book that will help children to identify some of the things they are doing that are harming the planet and what they can do to make better choices. Plus, like Inches’ other eco-friendly children’s books, they are printed on 100 percent postconsumer waste recycled paper and use 100 soy ink.

Vegetarian and vegan parents will be find this book a great choice to add to their collection. The message is solid and the story is entertaining!

Ages 4-8.

Review By JACQUELINE BODNAR

While many of us know that composting is an environmentally friendly thing to do, most of us are yet to do it. Many more don’t even know what goes into composting. In Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth, Mary McKenna Siddals gives the reader a crash course, ABC style in what goes into making compost.

With great illustrations and easy-to-read pages, this book offers a good look at composting and is easy for children to understand. It is also a helpful tool for parents who may wonder what all goes into composting.

There are some interesting things that are added to compost that some people may not have thought about before, such as hair snippings and laundry lint.

There is one reference to adding in eggshells that vegetarian and vegan parents may want to know about. Also, it says to add an “insect or two” which left me wondering and hoping they weren’t promoting the killing of insects.

Ages 4-8.

Review By JACQUELINE BODNAR

For every parent who wants to teach their child about urban sprawl and what happens when the woods are cleared for more houses, Where Once There Was a Wood is a great choice.

The book, which is perfect for young children, takes them through pages of what was once in the woods. From the fox to the violets and from the woodchuck to the heron, we learn there are many species of animals that do a variety of things in the woods.

In the end, the woods are replaced by a community of houses, representative of what happens on a large scale across the country. This book is a good book to add to your collection in raising an eco-friendly child and a great start to a conversation with them about what happened to the woods and all the animals that once lived in it.

There is nothing in this book that a vegetarian or vegan parent would not want their children to learn about. In fact, I think it fits right in line with the principles that most such parents have and want to raise their child with.

Ages 4-8.

Review By JACQUELINE BODNAR

In this story by Patricia L. Atchison and Jo-Anne Jagers, McKenzie is a Mallard duck with a mind of his own. Rather than follow the other ducks and make the annual migration when the weather starts to get colder, he insists on staying behind.

Soon thereafter, McKenzie learns that it wasn’t a good idea not to follow his mother on the migration. As he wakes up to a frosty morning and needs help, he is assisted by the Chinook wind that blows down from the Rocky Mountains. The wind helps him catch up with his mother and make the migration.

This is a cute book that most parents can appreciate because McKenzie is a lot like our children, pushing their limits and often finding out that mom was right. Sometimes, it is definitely better to take mom’s advice and stick by her side. Also, vegetarian parents would find this a good book selection as it respects animals and shows they have interests and personalities.

Ages 4-8.

Review By JACQUELINE BODNAR

If there is one thing that most kids find funny, it is farting! And this book helps not only to provide a few laughs about this normal bodily function, but also to provide interesting information. The book focuses on explaining what farting is, why we do it and even how much per day is normal.

Children love this book because it focuses on something that they find so funny. And, to be honest, adults find it pretty humorous, as well. It is refreshing to read a book about something so basic and normal in a way that teaches us something and makes light of it.

Vegetarian parents will love the fact that the book points out that farts smell differently, based upon what people eat. The book says that eating things like meat, eggs and dairy will produce farts that stink more, while eating things like beans and sweet potatoes won’t. This is a cute book for any young child, and it could be a great conversation-starter with other parents.

Ages 4-8.

Review By JACQUELINE BODNAR

Animals are dressed up on a regular basis and made to appear as something they are not. It may be in a circus, a show or even a photo shoot, as in Swine Divine. In this book, Rosie is a pig who gets a bath and then is taken to a photographer to have some pictures taken.

The problem is, Rosie doesn’t like the way she is being dressed up and posed for those photos. She’s made to wear such things as a bonnet and a tutu, and is even put into a pot of fake flowers and made to balance on a ball. All the while, the photographer continues to snap shots of the pig.

Rosie decides she has had enough and just wants to go back to being a pig in the mud. She breaks free from the photographer, running all the way home. In the end, she is back doing what she loves to do.

Ages 4-8.