This book features an exciting liberation story and an egalitarian friendship between a little human boy and a dragon. When I first read it I don't th...moreThis book features an exciting liberation story and an egalitarian friendship between a little human boy and a dragon. When I first read it I don't think I yet had the understanding to see it as a story of oppression overcome through solidarity, but that's how I see it today, and I don't doubt that it had an impact on my social consciousness.(less)
I read this when I was a kid and it had a big impact on me. It's got social justice themes in several stories, and two, "The Boy Who Talked to Animals...moreI read this when I was a kid and it had a big impact on me. It's got social justice themes in several stories, and two, "The Boy Who Talked to Animals," and "The Swan," which profoundly impacted my relationship with animals.(less)
I read this when I was a kid and I think it helped me along the way to animal rights. It showed me you can be very, very different, and very kind, and...moreI read this when I was a kid and I think it helped me along the way to animal rights. It showed me you can be very, very different, and very kind, and that this can be okay, even a plus - but it also makes you vulnerable. The main character is very closely identified with deer, and is horrified by meat and leather.(less)
When I was a kid I read this because I loved animals, and didn't realize it was an Abolitionist tract written against slavery of Black folks in the U....moreWhen I was a kid I read this because I loved animals, and didn't realize it was an Abolitionist tract written against slavery of Black folks in the U.S. Later I figured that out and it took on a whole new meaning. For me as a child though, this book helped me toward an animal rights consciousness. I had never before examined the many ways in which humans controlled and exploited animals, and I found the cruelty endured by Black Beauty and his friends horrifying. This book helped me empathize with animals and helped my dawning awareness that I needed to speak for those with no voice.(less)
When I read these books as a child the Christian messaging went right over my head. Instead, I read it as a great liberation story, and it added to my...moreWhen I read these books as a child the Christian messaging went right over my head. Instead, I read it as a great liberation story, and it added to my love of and respect for animals - it features many main characters who are animals, including the savior character himself, Aslan. However, I remember noticing strange distinctions in these stories, even as a child, well before I'd developed an animal rights consciousness: Some animals can talk and use their hands like humans, and thus appear to have special rights. I remember loving this one joyous breakfast scene, sharing in the human and animal characters' enjoyment - and yet feeling uneasy about where the sausage they were eating came from. The explanation that some animals were somehow more "magical" and thus were treated like human characters, while other animals were treated as expendable, was confusing, and the book was rife with contradictions. Even so, I do think these books - perhaps most especially "The Horse and His Boy," helped me to see how a relationship between a human and an animal can be egalitarian and non-exploitative.(less)
I didn't read this until I was in my 20s, but I'm including it in this list of early animal rights influences because I think it would be of value to...moreI didn't read this until I was in my 20s, but I'm including it in this list of early animal rights influences because I think it would be of value to any young person looking to develop their relationships with and understanding of our non-human brothers and sisters. Adams has an extraordinary sensitivity to animals' feelings and thoughts, and the book really helped me in my struggle to understand animals' perspectives. It also includes numerous very animal rightsy messages about the need for animals to maintain their autonomy from humans to remain true to their identities, and is really a book all about environmental speciesism.(less)
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