Reddit reviews Horton Hears a Who!

When I was teaching, I kept these in my classroom library. Not all have an overt vegetarian message, but they are all wonderful books that address vegetarian ideas.

She's Wearing a Dead Bird on her Head! Beautiful watercolor book about women fighting against the popular use of feathers for fashion. Covers some women's suffrage history and the founding of the Audubon Society. I used this one with 5th graders studying American history.

Of course, Horton Hears a Who. The message of this book resonates with kids' and preteens' experience being small and unheard: "A [being's] a [being], no matter how small." Most kids also relate to the feeling of believing in an idea that others dismiss. Horton's steadfastness is a great quality for veg kids to learn.

The Desert is Theirs by Byrd Baylor. Buy all of her books, for real. They're literal pieces of art, and each one has a message that kids sorely need, without preaching. Also, Everybody Needs a Rock is one of my all time favorites.

Hey, Little Ant As a boy is about to squish an ant, it begins to reason with him. The book ends by asking the reader what they would do. Cute and discussion-worthy story for younger readers.

The Story of Jumping Mouse My favorite children's book of all time! Empathy until you're bawling. This book is wonderfully illustrated and I cried every time I read it. It's a bit long - I used it for 3rd grade and up.

For nonfiction science/animal books, I can't say enough about the authors Gail Gibbons (for younger readers) and Seymour Simon (for older kids). They both are very good at presenting facts about animals that preserve the animals' interests.

Miss Rumphuis Beautiful book with the lesson of leaving the world a more beautiful place.

Yeah, looking down on someone for their economic status (like you) is very much different than me viewing someone like you as only concerned for self interest at the expense of their fellow citizens.

Economically downtrodden people cannot necessarily easily change their circumstances. You on the other hand, could try having empathy towards people without much cost (Though, admittedly it would take some effort for you, looking at how far you're gonna have to come from your current state.)


Might I suggest a classic work on the subject of empathy and standing up for those less fortunate than yourself.