This beautiful picture book sensitively examines the roles of predator and prey and is accompanied by a wonderful teacher's guide.
Many children—indeed, many adults—believe that there are "good" animals and "bad" animals. The Big Bad Wolf myth lives on. This new story puts predators in an entirely new light as a sensitive young girl, shocked and confused by the death of her cat, learns the roles that predator and prey play in the balance of nature. Gently and gradually, she comes to understand why some animals kill and eat other animals in order to live. It is one of nature's most exciting and important lessons. Children and all who read to them will come away with a new respect for all wildlife. In keeping with our commitment to diversity education, this story also shows an extended family rich in racial and cultural diversity.
The important roles that predator and prey play in the balance of nature are gently explained to children in Everybody's Somebody's Lunch. The Teacher's Guide provides educators with information, activities, and play that can easily be incorporated into wildlife and nature study programs. Included are the history of the persecution of predators due to human ignorance and fear; profiles of predatory mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and marine life; humans as predators; and hopeful evidence of change in today's attitudes. These critical environmental lessons are structured so that they are interesting, instructive, and fun.
". . . Amid the moral meandering of most kid lit, this respectful and daring piece of work takes on an uphill battle so controversial in its genre that it transcends traditional review. First off, there's the guts: it takes a lot of them to challenge the moral point-of-view that most parents have ingrained into their kids for the sake of convenience and comfort (there is a just world, it's wrong to kill). And then there's the delivery. Mason and Moore are so perfectly matched in their approach. . . . This is one of the most wholly satisfying and emotionally nutritious children's books I've ever read . . ."
—Chris DeVito, CD Syndicated (Canadian Radio)
"This is one of the best books I have seen on predators and prey."
—Portals
"Yes! Here's a story that takes us beyond wolves and bears and presents the important and influential role of many predators, including humans."
—Tom Skeele, The Predator Project
". . . the difficult but important tale of predation in a format children will understand and accept."
—Paws in Print
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