Why vegan books for children?
A note from the author on her reasons behind creating the series.
When Lucas, my first child was in preschool my family and I had been living the vegan lifestyle for about four years. I started noticing that Lucas was being looked at differently by his teachers because of the foods he was bringing for snack and lunch. At times he was being singled out when they had “ice-cream day or pizza Fridays” just because he didn’t eat dairy by choice.
I realized that I needed to prepare my child for when these uncomfortable situations arise, because there were going to be many more of those times throughout his childhood, when he would have to defend why he didn’t eat animals, go to zoos, or drink cow’s milk.
I admit it was scary at first —to explain “the why” to a four year old was complicated. I couldn’t find the words, I didn’t want to cause him any trauma but at the same time I didn’t want to sugarcoat it to the point that it wasn’t honest.
Why as parents are we always afraid to tell our kids the truth? I get it, the truth is cruel. But it’s also powerful. We have a duty as parents to be transparent with our children in order to give them the best shot at understanding the world and its challenges. You want your kid to have that advantage, right? You also want to be their first and main source of information, no? That’s why I set out to create Little Animals, Mean World —to help dads and moms kickstart those challenging but empowering conversations in a straightforward and honest way.
The first issue I opened up to Lucas about was the dark secrets of the dairy industry and how babies were taken away from mommy cows so they didn’t drink their milk, but instead for humans to have it and use it to make yogurt, cheese, butter, and ice cream. And even though he was very little, he understood the concept. “If it hurts someone for me to have it, then I don’t want it!” he told me. After that, he knew where the Fridays cheese pizza came from and why he wasn’t eating it.
Sharing transparently with my child why we were vegan felt so good. As a mom felt empowered to continue testing this honest parenting thing. I continued to share the truth behind other industries that use animals as ingredient, materials, etc. It was mind-blowing how well he received all this information and how eloquently he interpreted it on his own. Lucas was the only vegan kid in his pre-k class, and even though I’ve gave him the tools he needed to feel confident about our way of living, there were times when I felt very alone in this journey. I refused to believe that we were always going to be the exception. Now with vegan and sustainable living lifestyles, on the rise and where 3 out 4 vegans are women, and most are in childbearing age, it became clear to me that I wasn’t alone. Somewhere scattered around the world there is this group of women that I am determined to find so we can bond together in this quest to raise vegan, healthy, strong and compassionate little humans.
How was I going to find you? By our common denominator —our children. At the end, aren’t they the force for which we make the choices we make? That’s when the idea of the book series started to take off. I wanted to create space for conscious parents, especially moms, because let’s face it, moms always have to do the dirty work… just kidding! I wanted us to have an aid to assist in those hard conversations with our little humans about veganism, animal rights, compassion, and how our choices not only affect us, but that most of the time they create a domino effect around us.
This process has enable me to be a more honest parent in many facets of my everyday interaction with my kids. I am not longer holding back when talking to them about social issues and injustice, and my hope is that you as a parent will find that same push and courage after sharing these challenging but empowering topics with your kids. At the beginning, writing the stories of Little Animals, Mean World, was all about veganism, but now, it has become about honest parenting in ALL aspects of raising my two boys. I am so thankful for the little seed that those pre-k teachers planted in me when they frowned upon Lucas not eating dairy, because without that episode, these books wouldn’t have never come to life. I am now raising my second vegan baby and cannot wait to use my own books to teach him about compassion towards all the animals being used in all these cruel industries. I feel relieved that I don’t have to look for words to tip toe around the truth about dairy, meat, fashion, animal testing, and animal entertainment. I’m sure we will still have many conversations about these topics, since that’s what our picture books are —conversation starters.
Are you a vegan, vegetarian, conscious parent, or just curious about honest parenting? It’s time to start talking to the kids in your life about this.
I would love to hear from you! email me at angela@kindroar.com
In gratitude & kindness,
Angela 🧡