Develop compassion for all living beings in your children from an early age, and also instill a love for reading!
Carl Sagan, in his introduction to Stephen Hawking’s ‘A Brief History of Time’, famously wrote that there are many secrets in the world and the Universe; why is nature the way it is, why we remember the past and not the future, will time one day flow backward, Gravity, why mountains instill a sense of adventure and humility in us etc. And NOT surprisingly, he wrote that only children spent time wondering about this stuff, and went about their daily lives trying to understand something about the world.
It would be ideal if children could retain their thought-process even when they grew up, the world would simply be a better place for all living beings involved. Hence, keeping the above in mind, below is a compiled list of 5 more books on wildlife and animals that your child(ren) can and should read.
Tales from the Wild: Roars and Trumpets by Gurpreet Singh.
Set in the heartbreakingly beautiful and remote North-Eastern India of the late 1960s and 70s, this book is full of adventure! Children will enjoy these tales of the truly wild jungles in Assam’s tea country, while adults will feel a sense of nostalgia. Sir Ruskin Bond has described the book as ‘full of incident, and written with a fluent literary style’. Concepts such as encroachment, habitat, and symbiotic relationships are present in the simplest of manners in the book.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The story of two dogs and a boy.
If your family has/ever had a dog (pet), you’d know that the bond between a kid and their dogs is unexplainable and unbreakable. And to its credit, this book truly epitomises and expresses that bond.
‘Where the Red Fern Grows’ is a charming novel set in mountainous Idaho (USA), about a boy who works odd jobs to fulfill his dream of owning two pet dogs. The emotion in the book has earned it the status of being a timeless animal classic for children. Although, you should be warned that the book is tragic, and so you might need to lend a shoulder to your kid! But the book is so replete with life lessons, that it is easily worth a wet shoulder!
Funny Bums, Freaky Beaks by Sean Taylor and Alex Morss.
This is a fact-based book, but a very hilarious one at that! A storehouse of knowledge, your kid will be sent on a journey across body parts and extraordinary evolutionary adaptations. The title itself should be self-explanatory.
In addition, if your kid wants to be ‘knows-amazing-facts’ kid or loves an illustrated book, this is the one.
The NOT BAD Animals by Sophie Corrigan.
With all the peer pressure, it is hard to resist stomping on the classroom spider or throwing stones at crows or the dirty dog down the street. This book is an ideal one to teach kids the serious repercussions of their actions. Because even though we think the described animals and others such as vultures, rats and hyenas are ‘filthy’, they truly aren’t and are actually much more dynamic than we could ever dare to dream. And yes, they actually keep Earth clean!
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
A short-novella classic, it is a beautifully crafted and ultimately tragic story. It is a brilliant insight into the wonders and absurdities of human life, and will teach your hyper-active little one that life, like racing, isn’t simply and all about going fast. Be warned again; this one is a big-time tear-jerker!
H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald.
People say that an experience with a bird can be life-changing. Some have even described being attacked by a mother bird as ‘epiphanic’ while others have mentioned that up-and-close encounters with birds have left them in tears, for reasons understood only later in their lives.
Keeping this perspective in mind, this book is a brutally honest account of the author coming to terms with her father’s death, and her struggle with grief when she realizes hawks and falcons, the wildest of animals, should be left untamed. However, the language can be slightly difficult for the children below 12 years of age.
Author of this Blog
Aryaman says that he is just a regular boy with hope, love and tears in his heart for animals and wildlife, especially big cats. He wishes to do something tangible in life in the conservation sector, while also harnessing his love for chess, handstands and skate-boarding."
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