Review By HOMA WOODRUM

We are Eric Carle fans so I love discovering new (to us) books with his illustrations. Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? is a great book with a veg and family friendly theme (and a wonderful companion to Mister Seahorse). Each page asks if a different animal has a mother, responding on each following page to the affirmative. The featured animals are kangaroo, lion, giraffe, penguin, swan, fox, dolphin, sheep, bear, elephant, and monkey.  The final pages ask and answer:

And do animal mothers love their babies?
YES!  YES! Of course they do. 
Animal mothers love their babies, just as yours loves you.

I thought this book would be perfect for Vegbooks because it asks children to relate to the love their mothers feel for them and feel compassion in the process. As with many Eric Carle books, there is an informational page in the back, this time listing the animal baby, mother, father, and group names. Did you know, for instance, that a group of monkeys is called a group, troop, or tribe? My favorite new (to me) fact is that a group of giraffe can be called a tower. What have you learned lately from reading a children’s book?

Ages 1 and up.

Review By JESSICA ALMY

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 great adventure story, featuring memorable characters, exotic travel, a narrow escape from pirates, and of course, plenty of discourse with members of other species.

Written in 1920 and set a century earlier, The Story of Doctor Dolittle entered the public domain in the United States fifteen years ago, resulting in numerous versions and adaptations. Kiddo and I recently read a fully illustrated and adapted version, published by Creative Edge, that’s geared to readers age 8 and up. The simple sentence structure and engaging illustrations make this an ideal book to read aloud to younger children.

Lest you’re confused (like I was) about how Doctor Dolittle can talk to the animals, the novel explains how a parrot versed in human English taught Doctor Dolittle how to decipher the languages of animals and how he became fluent through taking copious notes and conversing with the animals. (Pretty good pointers for kids learning a second language!)

As a parent, I appreciated many aspects of this book, including Doctor Dolittle’s compassion for animals, his disregard for money and worldly possessions, and the engaging story that makes it so hard to put down. This is also the first chapter book that really captivated my kiddo. She explained that hearing it read aloud was like watching a movie.

While there is passing mention of eating fish, several themes in this book make it commendable to vegetarian and vegan families. For starters, Doctor Dolittle believes that exotic animals belong in their homelands, and so when he travels to Africa to treat a disease outbreak among the wildlife there, he brings a monkey, a parrot, and a crocodile native to that continent home again.  Then, when the animals want to give him a gift to show him their gratitude, and they decide upon a rare two-headed animal called a pushmi-pullyu (“push-me/ pull-you”), he ensures that the animal actually wants to travel with him back to England before accepting. And the book also calls attention to circuses and zoos, explaining that the animals in Africa find that concept abhorrent. People concerned about animal rights should be aware that Doctor Dolittle himself tours small towns with the pushmi-pullyu to raise money after he returns to England — but still, he refuses to sell the animal, explaining that it’s important that he’s free to come and go, and is not confined to a cage.

While the original version of this novel contained some racially-charged passages, the adapted version does not.

This book is a great read for kids ages 8-12, or to be read aloud to younger children.

Review By JESSICA ALMY

It’s hard to believe that people have called It’s a Book by Lane Smith subversive, simply because it uses a mild expletive. I can see calling this picture book (which I suspect is geared more to adults than children) crude, dumb, or mundane. But subversive should be reserved for books that really seek to upset the established order of things – books like Ruby Roth’s That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals or Nathalie VanBalen’s Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice. I mean, what could be more subversive than getting children to reject the animals-are-things-for-us-to-eat-use-and-abuse mentality that underpins a large part of American culture? Getting them to curse? I don’t think so.

This book’s shtick is its use of the word Jackass. Introducing the donkey character as Jackass at the beginning of the book sets up the joke. The donkey sees Monkey reading a book and proceeds to ask a series of ignorant questions about the book: How do you scroll down? Do you need a password? etc. Eventually, he becomes absorbed with the content of the book, and ends up mumbling, “Don’t worry, I’ll charge it up when I’m done,” to which a third character Mouse responds, “You don’t have to … it’s a book, Jackass.” Ha ha.

I wouldn’t recommend you buy this book. Parents of elementary age children may, however, consider borrowing it from the library and reading it with their kids. While it’s not really funny, and may encourage a potty mouth, the use of the word jackass could inspire an interesting exchange about the use of words, especially bad words, in our culture. Why, for example, is it insulting to call a person a jackass? Or a pig or a rat, for that matter? Why do so many expletives target women and other females, such as female dogs? And perhaps most importantly, why do we call every other species “animals,” but never apply the term to ourselves, even though humans are every bit as animal as dogs, cows, and kangaroos?

This book is geared to ages 4-8, but is most appropriate for ages 7-10.

Review By JENNIFER GANNETT

With Hug Time, Patrick McDonnell, longtime cartoonist and creator of “Mutts” (as well as the artist behind New Jersey’s animal friendly license plate), has crafted another winner. The sweet rhyming cadence and nicely balanced illustrations happily hook adults and children as they follow Jules the Kitten. Jules is feeling a little down about the state of global affairs and has come up with a solution: to hug the whole world. Caregivers of young children can probably relate to Doozy as she helps Jules with his sweater and asks, “hug the whole world, will that make it better?” Jules answers in the affirmative (ah! the certainty of the very young!) and sets out.

Along the way, there are allusions to various environmental themes as we follow Jules through the world and he experiences finding (and hugging) charismatic mega-fauna and lesser-known species as well. A nod to climate change and its impact on polar bears makes its way into the end of the story but before the plot becomes too heavy, we are reminded that change begins with our actions at home, sometimes with just one hug.

An adorable book to share with huggable folks ages 3 and up.

Revisiting the original book about everyone’s favorite chimpanzee, Curious George by Margret and H.A. Ray, I was surprised by some of the details I’d forgotten as a child.  Of course, The Man with the Yellow Hat baits and captures George, removing him from his African homeland and ultimately placing him in a zoo — there’s that.  But there is also the bit where George smokes a pipe and another part where George is placed in prison.

I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t love Curious George’s sense of adventure, but there’s lots to talk about after you read the original book.  What, for example, is the difference between the prison and the zoo?  Why would George love one and not the other?  (I’d also throw in a quick chat about the dangers of smoking.)

Ages 4-8.

A related note: There was a lot of controversy surrounding the release of the Curious George movie several years ago.  What did you think?  I’ve yet to see it, but kiddo and I love Jack Johnson’s soundtrack.