A review by erine
That's Why We Don't Eat Animals: A Book about Vegans, Vegetarians, and All Living Things by Ruby Roth

I really appreciate the idea behind this book, but I found the execution lacking. Roth describes the environmental effects of factory farming and encourages people to give up eating meat. I do feel that Roth presents a biased view of this issue. She heavily anthropomorphizes the animals she talks about, and simplifies many concepts to the point of meaninglessness. After reading this, I am almost left with the impression that all the world’s problems will just disappear if I stop eating meat. It seemed as though she was trying to reach children through a topic she is passionate about, but perhaps she needed someone with a different perspective to help balance her book.

I did enjoy the illustrations, which were vibrantly colored, used large round shapes, and incorporated the text well. The illustrations, while not realistic, did not overly humanize the animals, but instead provided a fun backdrop to a heavy topic.

Although this was a picture book, the content seemed appropriate for older second graders and third graders. I can see young people getting interested in this topic. It actually strikes a personal note with me and made me remember learning about Earth Day in third grade, specifically learning about the rainforest (one of the topics in this book). This book did not focus on vocabulary, and while it provided a list of suggested activities for young people interested in vegans and vegetarians, there were no additional resources included.