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Peace, Love And Vegetables (Herb the Vegetarian Dragon)
In a faraway forest in a faraway land live Meathook and his band of carnivorous dragons who love feasting on tasty princesses. There is one dragon who is different...Herb is a peace-loving vegetarian who is prepared to stand up for what he believes in. As well as encouraging healthy living, Herb's hilarious story offers lots of food for thought. The gift set includes a book and a bendable Herb figure (measuring 178mm high and holding a detachable pink flower in one hand!). The box itself is covered in delicious vegetarian recipes easy for children to make, and is ideal for using as a planter - to make your very own Herb garden!
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Jules Bass
4 books4 followersJULES BASS has produced several animated films, including The Hobbit, The Last Unicorn, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, as well as several hit animated television shows such as ThunderCats. Jules has written two children's books for Barefooot Books: Herb, The Vegetarian Dragon and Cooking With Herb. They have been translated into seven languages and reprinted in paperback. Herb received a "Pick Of The Lists" from American Bookseller, Lifeworks Magazine's the "Real Life Award," IRA-CBC "Children's Choices Award", "top-of-the-children's list" at American Book Sellers Association. The London Times called Herb one of the best books of the season. It was short-listed for the Kate Greenaway Award and praised by Paul McCartney as: "A magical read for all new thinkers, young and old..." Herb made his television debut on The Food Network.
Bass' new novel for middle-grade readers from Eltanin Publishing, The Mythomaniacs, takes place in Devon, in the south-west of England, and from there transports the reader into many worlds of fantasy including a quest that leads back to Arthurian times.
To learn more please visit www.julesbass.com
Bass' new novel for middle-grade readers from Eltanin Publishing, The Mythomaniacs, takes place in Devon, in the south-west of England, and from there transports the reader into many worlds of fantasy including a quest that leads back to Arthurian times.
To learn more please visit www.julesbass.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
June 18, 2010
Well, Herb is definitely a vegetarian not a vegan (butter) but this is a cute story for veg*n children or for children who are different in any way.
I loved the illustrations, especially all the little vegetables and the vegetable garden patch.
While this is an appropriate story for veggie children, its messages are more about staying true to self, and that it’s okay to be different, and wise to let others live as they want to live, and it’s laudable to stand up for oneself. I wasn’t wild about the details of all the messages, actually, but overall I agree and, more importantly, would have no (or very little) trepidation about reading this book to children.
The reader really does get hit on the head (over and over) with these messages. So, it’s definitely didactic and it also hints of possible intense violence (that doesn’t happen) too, neither of which I appreciated.
But, Herb is so likeable and cute. And this is a better than average children’s picture book with a veg*n character. And all those illustrations of vegetables are absolutely adorable.
It probably deserves one less star, but it’s better than most others I’ve read in the “genre” so I’m bumping it up.
I loved the illustrations, especially all the little vegetables and the vegetable garden patch.
While this is an appropriate story for veggie children, its messages are more about staying true to self, and that it’s okay to be different, and wise to let others live as they want to live, and it’s laudable to stand up for oneself. I wasn’t wild about the details of all the messages, actually, but overall I agree and, more importantly, would have no (or very little) trepidation about reading this book to children.
The reader really does get hit on the head (over and over) with these messages. So, it’s definitely didactic and it also hints of possible intense violence (that doesn’t happen) too, neither of which I appreciated.
But, Herb is so likeable and cute. And this is a better than average children’s picture book with a veg*n character. And all those illustrations of vegetables are absolutely adorable.
It probably deserves one less star, but it’s better than most others I’ve read in the “genre” so I’m bumping it up.
March 25, 2017
Summary: The only dragon who doesn’t eat the people of Dark Castle is Herb, a vegetarian who tends to his garden daily. The knights of Dark Castle are tired of their people being eaten so they devise a plan to capture and kill the dragons. To his dismay, Herb gets captured and must find a way to make peace between the dragons and townspeople.
Plot: The plot involves Herb a vegetarian dragon, Meathook (the dragon leader) and the other meat eating dragons. The meat eating dragons eat the townspeople. Herb isn’t included in anything that involves the meat eating dragons since he is a vegetarian. The plot contributes to the conflict and the overall theme because it is Herbs calm demeanor that causes the king to not want a war and his demeanor comes from being a vegetarian and not a meat eater. This is reason why they could live in peace and harmony. If Meathook was caught instead of Herb, the result would have been much different. The narrative order is of a chronological one because the arrangement of events that happen throughout the story happen as they do on a timeline. For example, first you have the cause of a problem, the actual problem and a resolution. This is not only the way it appears on a timeline, but also in real life when issues arise. The conflict is a person against nature one between the townspeople and the dragons. We know this because at the beginning of the book, the narration tells us that Meathook (the dragon leader) ‘liked nothing more than to raid Dark Castle with his friends’ and that he liked the taste of princesses and knights. Since Meathook and his friends were eating the people, this is a direct contribution to why the knights wanted them dead.
Theme: I think the central theme in this picture book revolves around accepting people for who they are. This is expressed through the characters’ actions and words toward Herb. For example, in the beginning we are introduced to Herb as the ‘different’ dragon. I could tell that Meathook doesn’t like him since he doesn’t invite him to a meeting about the knights’ plan to attack them, which directly results in his capture. It isn’t until Meathook sees that Herb can be a part of the solution to live in peace and harmony that he starts to include him and we see Herb being invited to the meeting with the other dragons to hear about the Kings offer. I think the author included this theme because to children this can be a common feeling in the way that a child may feel like they are being left out and not accepted because they may be different (i.e. maybe they are the only one in their class who wears glasses, or has a learning disability)
Color: The colors used in the book allowed me to make predictions about key characters before the story even began. For example, the book cover shows Meathook colored red, which indicates danger and strength. I could predict that he was someone who was powerful and possibly dangerous since he had horns that are colored red as well. Herb is depicted in a light green which I immediately connected with the color of nature. Light Green also indicates calm and harmony which is a huge foreshadowing into his personality which is what saved the forest.
Motif: There is a recurring motif that occurs in almost every page of this book. For example, on the front cover we see Herb on a blanket with his vegetables surrounding him, three knights looking up over a ledge while one has a sword pointing up, Meathook and a small pink bird chirping. The small pink bird appears to be chirping at Herb as if he is trying to warn him about the knights peering over the ledge. This bird appears throughout the book during pivotal events. For example, during the climax of the story, right before Herb gets fed to the crocodiles, the bird is chirping while standing next to a girl that knows Herb is a vegetarian. In the very next scene we see the girl confess to the townspeople that Herb is not the one eating them and that he is in fact a vegetarian which prevents him from being fed to the crocodiles. It is insinuated the bird contributed to the reason why the girl stood up for him. This little bird plays an instrumental part in the story as every time we see him, he is chirping almost as if warning Herb about something that he doesn’t see or know. The bird is symbolic in the way that he could be representing an outside agency trying to help a child feel accepted (i.e. parent or teacher). I think the author included this in multiple pages of the story to show a child that even though it may feel like they are alone they are not and there are other people who love and care for them just as Herbs only friends were the forest animals who grew to love and care for him.
Explanation of Sci Fi / Fantasy: I know this book is a fantasy book because the main character is a dragon, which is a mythological creature, and this is a clue to the fantasy genre. Another indication is that there are talking dragons and that the way the dragons and townspeople are living would not be possible in real life, especially not being able to live in peace and harmony. For example, the knights wouldn’t be pulling Herb by his tail to get him to the crocodiles because if dragons were real, it would probably kill the knights. The last sign that this is a fantasy book is that the dragons take on human qualities like cooking soup and gardening.
Opinion: The title of this book initially caught my eye and I was immediately interested in what this book was about and why a dragon would be a vegetarian. I really liked this story but most of all I liked how the forest animals were friends with Herb and tried to help him because I was able to remember a time when my dog helped me when I was hurt. I think that helps kids relate to the forest animal and how sympathetic they are portrayed. I also thought that the way the author turned a story about a vegetarian dragon into a lesson about acceptance was done in an unexpected but brilliant way since the conflict has nothing to do with Herb being accepted nor is it mentioned anywhere in the book.
Plot: The plot involves Herb a vegetarian dragon, Meathook (the dragon leader) and the other meat eating dragons. The meat eating dragons eat the townspeople. Herb isn’t included in anything that involves the meat eating dragons since he is a vegetarian. The plot contributes to the conflict and the overall theme because it is Herbs calm demeanor that causes the king to not want a war and his demeanor comes from being a vegetarian and not a meat eater. This is reason why they could live in peace and harmony. If Meathook was caught instead of Herb, the result would have been much different. The narrative order is of a chronological one because the arrangement of events that happen throughout the story happen as they do on a timeline. For example, first you have the cause of a problem, the actual problem and a resolution. This is not only the way it appears on a timeline, but also in real life when issues arise. The conflict is a person against nature one between the townspeople and the dragons. We know this because at the beginning of the book, the narration tells us that Meathook (the dragon leader) ‘liked nothing more than to raid Dark Castle with his friends’ and that he liked the taste of princesses and knights. Since Meathook and his friends were eating the people, this is a direct contribution to why the knights wanted them dead.
Theme: I think the central theme in this picture book revolves around accepting people for who they are. This is expressed through the characters’ actions and words toward Herb. For example, in the beginning we are introduced to Herb as the ‘different’ dragon. I could tell that Meathook doesn’t like him since he doesn’t invite him to a meeting about the knights’ plan to attack them, which directly results in his capture. It isn’t until Meathook sees that Herb can be a part of the solution to live in peace and harmony that he starts to include him and we see Herb being invited to the meeting with the other dragons to hear about the Kings offer. I think the author included this theme because to children this can be a common feeling in the way that a child may feel like they are being left out and not accepted because they may be different (i.e. maybe they are the only one in their class who wears glasses, or has a learning disability)
Color: The colors used in the book allowed me to make predictions about key characters before the story even began. For example, the book cover shows Meathook colored red, which indicates danger and strength. I could predict that he was someone who was powerful and possibly dangerous since he had horns that are colored red as well. Herb is depicted in a light green which I immediately connected with the color of nature. Light Green also indicates calm and harmony which is a huge foreshadowing into his personality which is what saved the forest.
Motif: There is a recurring motif that occurs in almost every page of this book. For example, on the front cover we see Herb on a blanket with his vegetables surrounding him, three knights looking up over a ledge while one has a sword pointing up, Meathook and a small pink bird chirping. The small pink bird appears to be chirping at Herb as if he is trying to warn him about the knights peering over the ledge. This bird appears throughout the book during pivotal events. For example, during the climax of the story, right before Herb gets fed to the crocodiles, the bird is chirping while standing next to a girl that knows Herb is a vegetarian. In the very next scene we see the girl confess to the townspeople that Herb is not the one eating them and that he is in fact a vegetarian which prevents him from being fed to the crocodiles. It is insinuated the bird contributed to the reason why the girl stood up for him. This little bird plays an instrumental part in the story as every time we see him, he is chirping almost as if warning Herb about something that he doesn’t see or know. The bird is symbolic in the way that he could be representing an outside agency trying to help a child feel accepted (i.e. parent or teacher). I think the author included this in multiple pages of the story to show a child that even though it may feel like they are alone they are not and there are other people who love and care for them just as Herbs only friends were the forest animals who grew to love and care for him.
Explanation of Sci Fi / Fantasy: I know this book is a fantasy book because the main character is a dragon, which is a mythological creature, and this is a clue to the fantasy genre. Another indication is that there are talking dragons and that the way the dragons and townspeople are living would not be possible in real life, especially not being able to live in peace and harmony. For example, the knights wouldn’t be pulling Herb by his tail to get him to the crocodiles because if dragons were real, it would probably kill the knights. The last sign that this is a fantasy book is that the dragons take on human qualities like cooking soup and gardening.
Opinion: The title of this book initially caught my eye and I was immediately interested in what this book was about and why a dragon would be a vegetarian. I really liked this story but most of all I liked how the forest animals were friends with Herb and tried to help him because I was able to remember a time when my dog helped me when I was hurt. I think that helps kids relate to the forest animal and how sympathetic they are portrayed. I also thought that the way the author turned a story about a vegetarian dragon into a lesson about acceptance was done in an unexpected but brilliant way since the conflict has nothing to do with Herb being accepted nor is it mentioned anywhere in the book.
March 15, 2020
A sweet book. The theme is about accepting differences in others, in this case vegetarian, but a nice moral generally.
Appropriate for elementary school kids I think.
Appropriate for elementary school kids I think.
May 24, 2020
What a great book! I love how it explains being vegetarian and the use of dragons to explore differences.
December 29, 2021
Love the "voice" in this book. It feels like a traditional old dragon tale... reads just right!
December 1, 2021
3.5 stars -- The illustrations are a delight to look at. They are brimming with color and detail, and filled with funny, cartoony dragons, people, and medieval scenery.
Unlike the other dragons who love to chomp on knights and pillage the castle, Herb is a peaceful dragon who just wants to tend his vegetable garden. Yes, there is a climactic scene in which gentle Herb is blamed for his carnivorous family members' wanton destruction of the kingdom and is slated for beheading. A young child who realizes the mix-up rescues him at the last moment. This scene has caused some controversy, but it will up to parents to decide whether it is too scary for their kids. As stated before, the setting is very fantastical and cartoony, and kids who are able to handle the scarier moments in fairy tales and Disney movies should be okay.
Herb helps the dragon kingdom negotiate a treaty with the human one, and he and his vegetarian ways end up being accepted with the message that it's okay to be different. HERB is not a book that promotes vegetarianism, but rather the acceptance of others, no matter if they like the same things you do or not. Kids who are vegetarians--or feel a bit different from their peers for any other reason--will find messaging of pride while those who are not still come away with a message of greater acceptance and understanding of others.
Unlike the other dragons who love to chomp on knights and pillage the castle, Herb is a peaceful dragon who just wants to tend his vegetable garden. Yes, there is a climactic scene in which gentle Herb is blamed for his carnivorous family members' wanton destruction of the kingdom and is slated for beheading. A young child who realizes the mix-up rescues him at the last moment. This scene has caused some controversy, but it will up to parents to decide whether it is too scary for their kids. As stated before, the setting is very fantastical and cartoony, and kids who are able to handle the scarier moments in fairy tales and Disney movies should be okay.
Herb helps the dragon kingdom negotiate a treaty with the human one, and he and his vegetarian ways end up being accepted with the message that it's okay to be different. HERB is not a book that promotes vegetarianism, but rather the acceptance of others, no matter if they like the same things you do or not. Kids who are vegetarians--or feel a bit different from their peers for any other reason--will find messaging of pride while those who are not still come away with a message of greater acceptance and understanding of others.
May 14, 2020
“Herb, The Vegetarian Dragon” Is a fun read! Herb is a dragon who doesn’t eat meat which means he doesn’t need people and the other dragons don’t know how to cope with that! Ha! The villagers don’t understand that herb doesn’t eat people and eventually is caught! Read the story to find out what happens to Herb the vegetarian Dragon!
After reading the story some of the following activities could be implemented:
* there are plenty of opportunities for accounting, maybe multiplying
* The colorful pages could lead to the students creating their own gardens or pictures of their own dragons
* students could plan a garden and explain why they would plant what they were including
* talk about the differences between omnivores, herbivores, carnivores, vegetarians, vegans, pescatarian’s, etc. This could then lead to how do people eat healthy if they follow a diet that does not include meat or vegetables.
* Discussion about accepting others even when they’re different
After reading the story some of the following activities could be implemented:
* there are plenty of opportunities for accounting, maybe multiplying
* The colorful pages could lead to the students creating their own gardens or pictures of their own dragons
* students could plan a garden and explain why they would plant what they were including
* talk about the differences between omnivores, herbivores, carnivores, vegetarians, vegans, pescatarian’s, etc. This could then lead to how do people eat healthy if they follow a diet that does not include meat or vegetables.
* Discussion about accepting others even when they’re different
July 20, 2025
Herb is a vegetarian who refuses to pillage and plunder like the other dragons in this story. It puts him at odds with others and when he’s arrested while gardening, you wonder if there’s any hope for him at all.
Moral: Be yourself.
Length: This book is unnecessarily wordy. I about gasped at the paragraphs that makes up each page turn. I think it’s faster to train a dragon on how to be a vegetarian than to read this book. I feel like some of Mavis’s developmental years passed me by as we read.
Favorite Line: “But dragons have always burned and pillaged and devoured knights and princesses! It’s what we do.”
Overall impression: Not only does this book describe violence, its lousy illustrations show us the impending death faced by the dragon named Herb. Characters we have never been introduced to randomly pop into the story to move it along (a sign of terrible writing) and Herb is bullied and ridiculed throughout. This isn’t a story I need to read again and it’s certainly not one we’ll subject Mavis to any more. She was bored, disinterested and started flipping through the other book she could have picked for story time. I’m not sure how this book got through development, let alone published and put on store shelves.
Moral: Be yourself.
Length: This book is unnecessarily wordy. I about gasped at the paragraphs that makes up each page turn. I think it’s faster to train a dragon on how to be a vegetarian than to read this book. I feel like some of Mavis’s developmental years passed me by as we read.
Favorite Line: “But dragons have always burned and pillaged and devoured knights and princesses! It’s what we do.”
Overall impression: Not only does this book describe violence, its lousy illustrations show us the impending death faced by the dragon named Herb. Characters we have never been introduced to randomly pop into the story to move it along (a sign of terrible writing) and Herb is bullied and ridiculed throughout. This isn’t a story I need to read again and it’s certainly not one we’ll subject Mavis to any more. She was bored, disinterested and started flipping through the other book she could have picked for story time. I’m not sure how this book got through development, let alone published and put on store shelves.
October 30, 2025
Meat Hook and his dragon friends ate meat, and princesses and knights were their sweet treats. Herb, the vegetarian dragon, was an exception. His past time was gardening and meat was not his appetite. People of the castle made a decree, “We must murder the dragons so that they don’t eat us or our meat.” Meat Hook and his friends did not tell Herb the plan he overheard and Herb was caught and put in the dungeon to be beheaded.
The people watched as Herb was set up to serve as an example of all the dragons who harmed them. A little girl that gardened with Herb ran to him and told everyone that they must spare his life because he doesn’t eat meat. The little girl proved it by sitting in his mouth. Meat Hook was then caught and the king asked him to stop harming his people to be spared. The dragons voted to be peaceful and stop eating the king’s people. Instead, Herb helped the other dragons to learn gardening and the flesh eaters and herbivores lived in peace.
The people watched as Herb was set up to serve as an example of all the dragons who harmed them. A little girl that gardened with Herb ran to him and told everyone that they must spare his life because he doesn’t eat meat. The little girl proved it by sitting in his mouth. Meat Hook was then caught and the king asked him to stop harming his people to be spared. The dragons voted to be peaceful and stop eating the king’s people. Instead, Herb helped the other dragons to learn gardening and the flesh eaters and herbivores lived in peace.
September 17, 2017
My son loved this book as just a lad. Now a lad still remembers this book fondly.
This has a good message laying underneath the knights and dragons, it's good to be different and we should learn to respect and tolerate each other in doing so we might find out we can be good friends also.
It shows that it takes the courage of one to stand up for the rights of others, and this is positive thing for the betterment for everyone.
I have read it with preschoolers over a few days with cliff hangers keeping their interest. One child loved the story so much they took home for their daddy to read too.
For planning purposes it is full of opportunities across the curriculum.
This has a good message laying underneath the knights and dragons, it's good to be different and we should learn to respect and tolerate each other in doing so we might find out we can be good friends also.
It shows that it takes the courage of one to stand up for the rights of others, and this is positive thing for the betterment for everyone.
I have read it with preschoolers over a few days with cliff hangers keeping their interest. One child loved the story so much they took home for their daddy to read too.
For planning purposes it is full of opportunities across the curriculum.
August 4, 2017
I think I would have enjoyed this more if they hadn't hammered the message in so much. Sure, letting everyone do their own thing without judgment is an important lesson to learn, but I felt like the author could have made the book a little less preachy if you will. I just wanted to give my son a little taste of the diversity we have in our world and read about dragons. Lectures are not for bedtime, unless my son repeatedly put his junk on me, then lectures happen again about the importance of "no means no" lol. I've learned more than I really wanted to know about men when I had a son.
July 3, 2018
I rarely rate children’s books, but this one is overtly agenda driven.
I think having more children’s books where the hero isn’t the typical one is great. Let the hero be the princess, or someone who is a PoC, or gay, or - yes - a vegetarian.
But the language is much too adult. And the story is much too literal. Which is honestly a bummer because the premise is a great one.
Oh well, now it’s bedtime.
I think having more children’s books where the hero isn’t the typical one is great. Let the hero be the princess, or someone who is a PoC, or gay, or - yes - a vegetarian.
But the language is much too adult. And the story is much too literal. Which is honestly a bummer because the premise is a great one.
Oh well, now it’s bedtime.
February 2, 2023
I can see why Sir Paul McCartney loves this book. The pictures are vibrant, the alliteration is lyrical, and the overall message of vegetarianism is just the right amount preachy-yet-tolerable. With a villainous dragon named Meathook, "veggie slurp" soup, and world peace despite gastronomical differences, this was just a fun jaunt all-around.
May 18, 2022
More French practice for me. This one was about a vegetarian dragon who helped people and dragons live in peace without killing each other. The level was a bit harder for me—a lot of unfamiliar words. It was a good challenge.
April 20, 2026
Very trippy to read this long-forgotten storybook my mom used to read to me as a kid. There weren't many children's books on vegetarianism back then! I enjoyed the illustrations and nostalgia. Very wordy and violent!
October 15, 2017
A good way to teach kids kindness and living a plant based lifestyle
January 24, 2019
I loved this book as a kid.
July 13, 2020
Facebook LIVE 2020
Dragon Challenge
Dragon Challenge
July 27, 2020
Cute!
December 23, 2020
Первый шаг к вегетарианству это не есть человечинку, по крайней мере для драконов
January 27, 2021
Educates children on being vegetarian.
April 8, 2021
Really adorable book about accepting people's differences and learning to get along with one another. Also, the illustrations are detailed and hilarious.
December 28, 2021
This book is a cute way of encouraging kids (and everyone) to accept new ways of thinking that don't harm others, despite old habits.
Read
December 30, 2021This one's kinda fun and silly. Not one of my favourite picture books but it's okay.
February 21, 2022
I am unsure of the author's target age group is for the book but it sure isn't for my 5 year old who I didn't want to talk to yet about words like "death," "murder," "kill," etc.
October 17, 2022
Wonderful book
January 12, 2023
Bright, whimsical, and cute.
July 18, 2023
Zmaj Biljojub
May 16, 2024
Gardening
Nice vegetables
Staying true to yourself and your values
Nice vegetables
Staying true to yourself and your values
June 17, 2024
Je l'ai lu en français !
C'était très mignon ! J'etudie plus de français par lire les livres des enfants. J'ai compris beaucoup des mots, et j'ai pourrais comprendre l'histoire.
C'était très mignon ! J'etudie plus de français par lire les livres des enfants. J'ai compris beaucoup des mots, et j'ai pourrais comprendre l'histoire.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews