Unlocking the Animal World: New Book Teaches Kids How to Be Heroes for Animals

For Immediate Release:
September 17, 2024

Contact:
Rachel Hershkovitz 202-483-7382

Just in time for the new school year, TeachKind, PETA’s humane education division, has released its first book for kids in grades 4–6 that explores how other animals “talk” and love their family and friends, just as we do—and teaches readers how to make the world a better place for everyone.Written by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk, Unlocking the Animal World: Incredible Facts and How Kids Can Be Superheroes for Animals helps kids explore why all animals—from ants to elephants and humans—deserve to live in peace and gives kids the tools to help them by pursuing careers in animal protection, performing small everyday acts of kindness, and more. TeachKind has mailed thousands of free copies of the book to public libraries across the country, and it’s also available to purchase for $12.95 at the PETA Shop.

Some fascinating facts and helpful tips for kids from Unlocking the Animal World include the following:

• Just like humans, bats argue with their siblings. Scientists who studied Egyptian fruit bats’ squeaks learned that the tiny animals quarrel over pieces of fruit and perching spots on cave walls. In addition, most people are surprised to know that mice like to sing. By using special microphones, humans have been able to hear them sing sweet songs to each other. Male mice especially enjoy singing to impress female mice.
• There are tons of cool jobs for kids who want to help animals when they grow up. Whether they use their passion for fashion to create stylish vegan clothing, put their science skills to work inventing animal-saving technology, or catch the “bad guys” as a cruelty investigator, all types of exciting possibilities abound for kids who want to combine their compassion for animals with the things they enjoy.
• At home, kids can encourage family members to buy only household products that aren’t tested on animals. At school, they can request vegan options for lunch. And when out and about, they can admire birds and other animals while leaving them in peace and never chasing or scaring them and stand up for animals by always reporting to an adult anyone who they see being mean to an animal.

“From bats who experience sibling rivalry to mice who sing, Unlocking the Animal World pulls back the curtain on the complex lives of animals, who are feeling individuals with fascinating capabilities,” says PETA Vice President of Youth Programs Marta Holmberg. “TeachKind’s kid-friendly chapter book helps students hone their reading skills while teaching them how to—and why they should—make the world a kinder place for all animals.”

Unlocking the Animal World was inspired by Newkirk’s Animalkind: Remarkable Discoveries About Animals and Revolutionary New Ways to Show Them Compassion. TeachKind’s free lessons for teachers include worksheets on text features and structure, summarizing, and inferencing as well as accompanying chapter questions with an answer guide.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. TeachKind offers free presentations, lessons, and other resources to help teachers add compassion to their curricula. For more information, please visit TeachKind.org or follow the group on Facebook or Instagram.