Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon

Rating:
Summary: WRONG AGE GROUP!!!
Review: ...is just beautiful--the art throughout the book is the same colorful, vivid style as on the cover. However--there's a lot of text which makes it somewhat tedious for beginning readers, and I was rather shocked by both the text and pictures--even though the protagonist is veg, the book's message is more about tolerance for others' choices then portraying any one dietary choice as better than any other. ... This book leaves out the "why" of vegetarianism, which is for many parents the main thing they are trying to make clear to their children when buying a pro-veg book such as this. My personal qualms with the foggy message and the violence depicted are such that if it wasn't for the AWESOME artwork I would consider actually getting rid of it....

Rating:
Summary: Don't eat people
Review: I adore this book, and my five year old delights in it as well. The message is excellent -- some people (and dragons) like to eat meat, some people (and dragons) like to eat veggies, and no one should eat people. I like that it isn't the least bit preachy. I happen to be a vegetarian, and my husband and child are not, and it isn't about one kind of eating being better than another, just different. If you have a "mixed" eating family like mine, or if your meat eating child has vegetarian friends, or your vegetarian child has meat eating friends, or if you enjoy any well-written, well-illustrated children's book, then this book belongs on your shelf.

Rating:
Summary: terribly disappointed
Review: I bought this for my niece and she just loves this book. In a country where you can be made to feel like a freak for being vegetarian, it is good to have a children's book with a vegetarian protagonist. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is cute.

Rating:
Summary: Not strictly pro-vegetarian but rather pro-choice
Review: I purchased this book hoping to start a library in which vegetarian/vegan children could find stories that celebrate the lifestyle. This book's illustrations are cute and colorful, but the story and message were lacking. Not only did the book never touch upon WHY it shouldn't be okay to eat people, but it insisted that dragon meat-eaters and dragon vegetarians, AND people can all get along. That is, as long as dragon meat-eaters just don't eat people. The story also never addressed the reason Herb was a vegetarian. Rather than the meek and bland, "I don't ask you to stop eating meat, so why do you ask me to stop eating vegetables?" when Herb is offered a piece of meat for his freedom, I would have liked to see Herb express a REAL feeling about WHY eating it was unconscionable - no matter the price.

All in all, I was hoping for a more gutsy approach -- WHY isn't it okay to eat people? And if it's not okay to eat people, then shouldn't the next logical question be why eat animals? The people in the story kept calling the people-killing dragons "meat eaters" while they themselves ate meat. But, the hypocrisy was never addressed.

Instead of delivering a great philosophical discussion on the ethics of meat-eating in a way children could relate, it chose the more squeamish approach of trying not to offend.

Rating:
Summary: A little disappointing
Review: I purchased this book hoping to start a library in which vegetarian/vegan children could find stories that celebrate the lifestyle. This book's illustrations are cute and colorful, but the story and message were lacking. Not only did the book never touch upon WHY it shouldn't be okay to eat people, but it insisted that dragon meat-eaters and dragon vegetarians, AND people can all get along. That is, as long as dragon meat-eaters just don't eat people. The story also never addressed the reason Herb was a vegetarian. Rather than the meek and bland, "I don't ask you to stop eating meat, so why do you ask me to stop eating vegetables?" when Herb is offered a piece of meat for his freedom, I would have liked to see Herb express a REAL feeling about WHY eating it was unconscionable - no matter the price.

All in all, I was hoping for a more gutsy approach -- WHY isn't it okay to eat people? And if it's not okay to eat people, then shouldn't the next logical question be why eat animals? The people in the story kept calling the people-killing dragons "meat eaters" while they themselves ate meat. But, the hypocrisy was never addressed.

Instead of delivering a great philosophical discussion on the ethics of meat-eating in a way children could relate, it chose the more squeamish approach of trying not to offend.

Rating:
Summary: Not strictly pro-vegetarian but rather pro-choice
Review: It would have been easier to write a children's book about a vegetarian among carnivores as a parable of good and evil. The vegetarian would live in harmony with nature. The carnivores would be constantly at war. In Herb, The Vegetarian Dragon, author Jules Bass instead presents a tale of acceptance, difference and compromise. Herb, as the title foretells, is a vegetarian dragon. The other dragons in the forest of Nogard are meat-eaters. The King and his brave knights at Castle Dark are also meat eaters. In fact, one major complaint the human carnivores have about the dragon carnivores (in addition to the dragon leader's penchant for "the sweet taste of royal princesses") is that they eat the finest wild boar meat. Through the intervention of a little girl who has befriended Herb, the story is resolved with all parties free to eat what they choose, as long as they stop eating each other. So, despite the characterization of meat eaters as violent warmongers, the resolution is not strictly pro-vegetarian but rather pro-choice. Debbie Harter's illustrations are exquisite. Rich and colorful, full of small detail as well as huge characters, the pictures allow the book to reach that perfect combination of engrossing story and mesmerizing visuals. For the vegetarian child, Herb, The Vegetarian Dragon has the added benefit of presenting a happy character who is different because of what he eats. Herb is a wonderful role model. --Reviewed by Jake Aryeh Marcus

Rating:
Summary: Stop the slaughter!
Review: Pleasant artwork, and a good story. Although I have not yet converted to vegeterianism as a result of this tome, I have vowed to quit killing dragons.

Rating:
Summary: Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon
Review: This is a wonderful book for teachers to use with either a dragon or friendship unit. Besides exploring the dietary habits of dragons, it also delves into the character traits of acceptance and loyalty. The colorful pages keep a child's full attention. It is a welcome addition to my third grade library.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Great Book. Kids and Adults Agree.
Review: We received this book as a gift and it has become one of my 4-year-old daughter's favorites. Rarely do we agree so enthusiastically about a bedtime story! She goes for Disney, I go for Robert McClosky. Further, it has stood the test of time (18 months). This is an eternity for a 4 year old. No other book has been such a perennial favorite. I think I have read this book to her about 250 times over the past 18 months. The crazy thing is I enjoy it every time. Because the pictures are so detailed, you often see something you missed on previous reads. It is a fairy tale, so I say to those who are quick to attack it as not having enough meaning for Vegetarians or being gruesome, they are missing the point. It is harmless and entertaining. Kids really enjoy it. And I teaches acceptance of others for what they are, which in my humble opinion is more important than preaching a particular view point on Vegetarianism.

A side note, the book has helped my daughter recently with school where they have been studying Dinosaurs and their eating habits. She now loves to identify people and animals as Herbivores, Carnivores or Omnivores.

I love this book so much I have bought 2 additional copies as gifts now myself. And, by the way, everyone in our family is an omnivore.