Humane Education Teacher | READING COMPASSION
"I ask for the privilege of not being born ...not to be born until you can assure me of a home and a master to protect me, and a right to live as long as I am physically able to enjoy life...not to be born until my body is precious and men have ceased to exploit it because it is cheap and plentiful." ~ Author Unknown
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| Books that Inspire Compassion |
The Humane Education movement began in the United States with George Angell, founder of the Massachusetts SPCA, who in 1889 founded the American Humane Education Society. Storybooks were an important part of Angell’s Humane Education initiative. By 1909 Angell had distributed three million copies of the novel Black Beauty to American schoolchildren. Because Black Beauty inspired so many to join the animal protection movement, Angell ran a contest soliciting stories that would engender the same sympathy for dogs that Black Beauty, had for horses. The winning entry was Margaret Marshall Saunders' book Beautiful Joe. Humane Education creates a kinder world for all having evolved to include the teaching of human rights and environmental ethics in addition to animal concerns and revealing how interconnected the issues are. Titles, primarily picture books, that foster a humane ethic in youth as well as a love of literature were selected for this book list that provides a literature-centered resource for those working to create a compassionate world through education. Award-winning children's literature, recently published and forthcoming titles may be found here. The Professional Collection features many teaching resources including links to many free downloadable lessons and audio visual materials. Lessons and links are also being added to each children's literature page. Humane Education Children's Literature Index:
Selecting Humane Children's Books To learn how to evaluate and select books that promote humane values and how to use literature to talk about real-life animal issues, read the ASPCA Animal Lessons Newsletter - Humane Literature. The Animal Rescue League of Southern Rhode Island's Animals in Literature page and Dumb Friends League's Humane Education Guidelines for Children's Literature provide tips that are helpful too. To learn how to analyze children's books for bias, read "10 Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books for Racism and Sexism." from The Council on Interracial Books for Children. And for the topics of peace, social justice, world community, as well as equality, the Jane Addams Children's Book Awards Official Guidelines page is another helpful document. Additional reading: Stories as Teaching Tools. Humane Society Youth [Online Resources]. What Makes Kids Care? American Psychological Association [Psychology Topics: Children]. Humane Children's Literature Resources: ASPCA Henry Bergh Book Award Winners Doris Day Animal League Book Bag Humane Society Youth Best Books Humane Books for Adults: Institute for Humane Education Resources for Humane Educators In Defense of Animals Bookshelf Boycott Amazon.com: The Humane Society of the United States has sued Amazon because they have refused to stop selling animal fighting magazines. Click to learn more. ©2007-2009 Humane Education Teacher |
