Books for and About Children

By Ruth Taronno | 1990-06-01 12:00:00

Fourteen Rats and a Rat-Catcher by Tamasin Cole (Penguin Books Canada, 1976. $5.95)

This is a delightful book that teaches children to look at both sides of an issue. The story starts out with a picture of a nice old lady with the caption:

"Once upon a time, long ago, a nice old lady lived in a cottage in the forest. But she had a nasty family of rats under her floor." On the opposite page isa picture of 14 nice rats with this caption: "Once upon a time, long long ago, a nice rat family lived under the floor of a tiny cottage in the forest. But they had a nasty old lady living above them." The old lady hires a rat-catcher to get rid of them, but the rat-catcher and the head rat get together and work out a compromise that they are all happy with! The story is suitable for children three years and up, and the language is simple enough for an early reader.

Conservation: A Thoughtful Way of Explaining Conservation to Children, by Robert Ingpen and Margaret Dunkle. (MacMillan of Canada, 1988.)

This is a beautifully illustrated book that explains to children how to make our world sound, safe and sensible. "Conservation is our way of looking

after our world, just as we would look after our homes. Using our intelligence and common sense to keep it safe, to make it comfortable and beautiful, to repair any damage and upset, to preserve it for the future." The text is suitable for children six years and up.

Parenting for Peace and Justice, by Kathleen and James McGinnis. (Orbis Books: Maryknoll, New York, 1981.)

The book is divided into seven chapters, such as "Nonviolence in the Family" and "Helping Children Deal with Violence in our World. The authors are well known educators in this field.

Peace Magazine Jun-Jul 1990

Peace Magazine Jun-Jul 1990, page 26. Some rights reserved.

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