Lit That Sheds Light

For avid readers like me, any time is a good time to curl up with a book.  A recent heat wave had me looking for ways to stay cool and not over exert.  I looked no further than my bedroom bookshelf.  I love collecting books and always have a selection of those read and loved as well as those waiting to be read.  In looking for my next read, I stumbled across a copy of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. 

Black Beauty holds a dear place in my heart because when I read the book as a child, it made me think about life from the perspective of an animal, always at the mercy of humans - some kind, some not.  My mother taught her children compassion by reminding us to be gentle with our dolls and stuffed animals.  When we came into contact with real babies and animals, we already knew how to stroke gently or respect a creature who did not want to be touched.  Black Beauty put a voice and a face to my mother’s lessons.

I’ll always be grateful to Mom for teaching us that animals have feelings but many lack anyone to protect them from harm.  The books I chose to read as a child often lent a voice to the voiceless and it was a great way to reinforce the concept of animals as sentient creatures.  

When Black Beauty was published in 1877, it was the first book of its kind to promote sympathy, respect, and kindness for horses.  It inspired its own kind of animal activism among horse lovers and led to abolishing the use of the checkrein, a practice where the horse’s head was forced into an unnaturally high position that caused pain and permanent damage to the animal’s neck.  Animal activists still use the book as a symbol of compassion.

As the children in our lives embark on summer vacation, there are a host of good animal-centric books to be devoured and many lessons on compassion to be gleaned from these treasures.  Consider Charlotte’s Web, Call of the Wild, My Side of the Mountain and The Incredible Journey to name just a few.  What books impacted you as a child?  If you could choose just one to share with a young person, which would it be?  

These days my reading lists often center on 21st Century solutions to making the world a better place.  It’s amazing how many of these books - The China Study, The Starch Solution, Veganist - encourage better treatment of animals as a means of saving ourselves and the planet.

by Elizabeth Sundstrom 

Wishing all of my readers and the animals in their lives a safe and happy summer.  I will be on vacation July 12-29.  This column will resume on August 4.