1. Tiger cub!, 2. our pet, 3. Bunny Nose, 4. dad’s old dog, 5. Puppy Dog, 6. bemused hamster, 7. Has the cat got your tongue ?, 8. goldfishes

Kindness is an attainable super power.

Teaching children kindness and compassion for animals is one way to foster this attribute. Even if you don’t have pets or access to animals in your everyday life, books are a great way to plant the seeds of kindness. Humane education began with the humane movement of the late 1800s, during which time Anna Sewell’s classic of humane animal treatment, Black Beauty, was published. While a great read for older kids, the National Humane Education Society offers the following book recommendations for kids Pre-K to 2nd grade.

Books about Companion Animals & Pets

101 Dalmations Sticker Book by the Disney Company

Mittens the Kitten by Nancy Parent

Puppies are Like That by Jan Pfloog

Widget by Lyn Rossiter McFarland

Books about Farmed Animals

Buzzzzz Said the Bee by Wendy Lewison, Hans Wilhelm

Mrs. Goose’s Baby by Charlotte Voake

Oink! Moo! How Do You Do? by Grace Maccarone, Hans Wilhelm

Books about Wild Animals

Caterpillar Dance by Will Grace, Scott McBee

Does Anyone Know Where a Hermit Crab Goes? by Michael Glaser

Guess Who? by Ann Willis, Yvette Banek

Kersplatypus by Susan K. Mitchell

Little Turtle’s Big Adventure by David Harrison, J.P. Miller

Nature Sticker Stories: Bugs by Sonja Lamut

Over in the Meadow: Book of Colors and Counting by Doug Bowles

Ten in the Meadow by John Butler

The Bugs Go Marching by Rozanne Lanczak Williams

The House I’ll Build For The Wrens by Shirley Neitzel

Time-To-Discover Series: Snakes Live in Grass by Melvin and Gilda Berger

Miscellaneous Titles

Animal Doctors: What Do They Do? by Carla Greene

My First Animals by Bettina Paterson

What am I? by Rose Williams, Fred Apps