13 Literary Takes on the Lives of Animals

"Here’s a look at a dozen books that memorably explore the lives of animals — some to mysterious effect, some focusing on their interaction with humans, and some using them to counterpoint the foibles or challenges of humanity. They range in tone from the comic to the tragic, from the esoteric to the surreal."

13 Literary Takes on the Lives of Animals

Steve Best: The Politics of Total Liberation

Steve Best is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at El Paso, but he’s perhaps best known as an advocate for the liberation of the earth and all who live on it--humans as well as other animals.

Dr. Best has published 13 books and hundreds of articles and has been active nationally and internationally for more than 3 decades, challenging the conventional wisdom. He speaks about his new book, The Politics of Total Liberation: Revolution in the 21st Century. Audio podcast, Approx. 65 minutes.

Steve Best: The Politics of Total Liberation

Religious Publishers Get A Boost With Animal Books

Ever since author John Grogan scored a megahit with 2005’s “Marley & Me,” publishers of all stripes have been looking for the next chart-topping, boo-hooing, man-and-his-dog story. Nowhere has this been more true than in religion publishing, where books such as “Heavenly Humor for the Dog Lover’s Soul,” “The Dog That Talked to God” and “Four Paws From Heaven” have been good sellers for their various Christian publishers. These books look beyond the earthly relationships between people and their companion animals to the religious and spiritual lessons the four-footed can teach.

Now as booksellers look ahead to Christmas, they are adding cats, horses and birds to the animal spirituality roster.

Read more about it here:  Religious Publishers Get A Boost With Animal Books 

Gift Idea Picture Books Especially for Pagan Families (with animals too!): Winter Solstice

Lucia and the Light, by Phyllis Root

In a cozy cabin high in the mountains of the Far North, Lucia and her family live a snug and contented life. But one day the wind screams fiercely and the sun does not rise over the mountain. Someone has stolen the sun! "Perhaps it has lost its way," says Lucia, who despite her mother's pleas sets out to find it with only a bit of bread, a tinderbox, and her milk-white cat to keep her company. In dramatic pastels, Mary GrandPré illuminates troll-pocked frozen mountains and wraps Lucia's family in a blanket of warmth. Inspired by Nordic lore, Phyllis Root spins a golden yarn of courage, love, and the age-old longing for the return of light.

Sun Bread, by Elisa Kleven

Winter's gray chill has set in and everyone misses the sun-especially the baker, who is a dog.  So she decides to bring some warmth to the town by making sun bread.  And as the bread bakes, rising hot and delicious, everyone comes out to share in its goodness.  Everyone, including the sun itself.  With a lilting, rhyming text, colorful illustrations, and a recipe for baking your own sun bread, this tasty treat from the illustrator of the best-selling Abuela is just right for all ages to enjoy.

La Lagartija y el Sol/ The Lizard and the Sun, by Alma Flor Ada

A Folktale in English and Spanish

Once, a long, long time ago, the sun disappeared from the sky. Everything was dark for many days. All the animals went to search for the sun in the rivers and lakes, through the fields and forests, but the sun was nowhere to be found. Little by little all the animals gave up, except for the faithful lizard. Finally one day she found a strange glowing rock and discovered the sun fast asleep. But no one could persuade the sun to wake up. Then the emperor organized a great feast, with the finest dancers and musicians, so the sun would wake up and never fall asleep again. Since that day, all lizards love to lie in the sun, to remember the day when one of their own brought light and warmth back to the world.

Spiritual Signs

My favorite spiritual podcast on iTunes, Psychic Teachers, had a topic on really paying attention to signs in your life as that's one of the many ways the spirit world sends us messages. And to especially notice signs from your hobbies or interests.

While listening to that, I suddenly had an "ah-ha!" moment, regarding how I became vegan.

I can remember it vividly. One weekend morning in 1982, I was watching a TV "movie of the week" called Tell Me My Name. It was a familiar storyline about an adopted teenage girl who went looking for her real mother. She found her mom, and while spending Thanksgiving Day with her mother, her step brothers and her mom's husband, she started acting out in a rebellious way. The teen said, while looking at the dead turkey, how the turkey was slaughtered...giving explicit details. The two brothers were so sickened by it they left the table, "ruining" their Thanksgiving Day. This scene lasted about no longer than a minute, but it really effected me so much that I literally became a vegetarian right then and there, then became vegan in a year. Funny thing was, the teen wasn't even a veg; she just said that (which is the truth about how turkeys are treated) to upset the family.

I often thought that was a pretty weird way of seriously becoming veg for life as most become veg by way of reading animal rights/veg books, or by people telling them about animal cruelty/veganism.

But after listening to Psychic Teachers, it made me realize since the spirit world knows that I love watching films, that was the perfect way for me to become enlightened to becoming veg as I am a huge film buff, watching at least one film daily.

So watch for signs, especially in your hobbies/interests. You never know what the spirit world wants to tell you.

The Truth About Male and Female Dogs

 

I've read many books on dogs, specifically Chihuahuas since I have two of them. What I have noticed in all the books I've read is although they give good instructions on how to house train, groom, feed, and avoid illnesses regarding your companion animal, not one mentions in depth on the many personality, less noticeable physical, and emotional differences of a male and female dog; I wonder why there is not much information on this in a book?

This is about as much information I could find anywhere:

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/articles.html?s=choosing-a-male-or-a-female-dog-what-is-the-difference

http://www.thebark.com/content/gender-gap

It's difficult finding information about male and female differences in general, and much less on male and female difference according to specific breeds. Surely there are many differences.

Places where I do find information about the differences between genders, they are in regards to when choosing a companion animal and not pertaining to just scientific research.

Maybe authors feel there isn't much to say about gender differences, but I feel that those who write a half-way informative amount in an article could flesh it out into a book, or even a decent size booklet.

I think possibly the best thing for me to do is not to look for companion animal books for the average person interested in getting a companion animal, but to look for some sort of historical, zoological dog book to find the full truth about male and female dogs, or any kind of companion animal.

Gary Kowalski - Minister and Animal Rights Activist

Gary A. Kowalski is a minister and an American author noted for his books on eco-spirituality, science, history, and animals. He is the author of eight books including:

The Souls of Animals, Science and the Search for God

Goodbye Friend: Healing Wisdom For Anyone Who Has Ever Lost A Pet

Blessings of the Animals: Celebrating Our Kinship With All Creation

The Bible According To Noah: Theology As If Animals Mattered, Earth Day

Green Mountain Spring and Other Leaps of Faith

Revolutionary Spirits: The Enlightened Faith of America's Founding Fathers

A graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Divinity School, Kowalski was the senior minister of Burlington's First Unitarian Universalist Society for over 20 years. While there, he performed about 25 marriage ceremonies each year, including same-sex marriages because Kowalski said that the church should support all long-term, mutually committed relationships. He also served on the Vermont State Advisory Panel to the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

In the summer of 2010, Kowalski left Burlington and moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to begin a 12-month interim ministry for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe. In the following year, he became interim minister at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist, of Sudbury, Massachusetts.