10 Books For Vegetarian Children And Families
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The last Vegan Soapbox post was about vegan gifts. There were a few good ideas listed, but not for a certain vegetarian I know, an eight-year-old boy.
My nephew went vegetarian a few months ago when his uncle and I took him to the Farm Sanctuary. The trip wasn’t his first exposure to vegetarianism, in fact, his mother and his grandmother are vegetarians, too, and the kid wanted to go veggie last year on his 7th birthday. The Farm Sanctuary trip just sealed the deal for him. He’d been wanting to go vegetarian for quite a while, but after seeing the farm animals at the sanctuary, learning more about factory farming and vegetarianism, and after spending a week with us as a vegetarian, he went home and announced he was vegetarian.
I was surprised. I hadn’t expected him to go veggie completely. In fact, I only recommended that he go veggie while he was with his mother, but not while he was with his father (who is not a vegetarian). My nephew’s parents have joint custody and my nephew spends half his time with my sister and half his time with his father. In order to make vegetarianism easy for him, I suggested he only do it with the side of the family who supported it. I didn’t want him to have to worry about sticky situations with his father, step-mother, and step-sisters, all of whom are heavy meat-eaters.
But kids, in many ways, are just little adults, and they make their own decisions. My nephew decided to go vegetarian not just three to four days a week, but all the time. What can I say? The kid’s taking after his aunt. I decided to go vegetarian when I was six. I announced it to my family and expected my mom to cook me veggie meals. Luckily, I had a supportive mother. And so does my nephew.
Now, a few months later, he’s still committed. He’s still a vegetarian.
Here is a list of books to help newly veg*n kids and families deal with being a minority vegetarian in a society of omnivores:
Salad People And More Real Recipes: A New Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up
The New Becoming Vegetarian: The Essential Guide To A Healthy Vegetarian Diet
I’m a Vegetarian: Amazing facts and ideas for healthy vegetarians
101 Reasons Why I’m A Vegetarian
The Natural Lunchbox: Vegetarian Meals for School, Work & Home
Better Than Peanut Butter & Jelly: Quick Vegetarian Meals Your Kids Will Love! Revised Edition
Kids Can Cook: Vegetarian Recipes
A Teen’s Guide to Going Vegetarian
I know this kid…oh yeah, he’s my grandson!
He was a picky eater. It used to drive me up a wall the way he had to have crusts removed from bread, how he wouldn’t eat a large number of foods, how he wouldn’t countenance a different brand of peanut butter.
Since he went veg, though, he has become far more open to other foods and seems genuinely interested in trying them. He still holds onto some of that pickiness but far less than before. This is a side effect I had not anticipated. I think I do not sometimes give the boy enough credit!
So cool! I just started a blog reviewing kids books from a veg perspective but I’d never seen the “Salad People” book before. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!
Your story was really inofrmaitve, thanks!