Dense but engaging. Definitely more of a reference book than one to read straight through and be done with forever. The bulk of the book is dedicated Dense but engaging. Definitely more of a reference book than one to read straight through and be done with forever. The bulk of the book is dedicated to "how not to die" from various common ailments (heart disease, diabetes, etc); the shorter second half is about what foods and practices to implement in order to emulate the author's actual diet. I found it really helpful to focus on what we SHOULD be eating every day instead of what we shouldn't, and I appreciated the author's laidback and research-focused writing style....more
Buddy the Monster is all set to eat the cute baby rabbits he finds in a forest, but they convince him to bake cupcakes instead. As the days - and bunnBuddy the Monster is all set to eat the cute baby rabbits he finds in a forest, but they convince him to bake cupcakes instead. As the days - and bunnies - multiply, so do the cute critters' excuses and excursions with Buddy. Soon they've gone swimming, visited a carnival, and played Hide and Seek. They've formed a bond. None of this bothers Buddy, though, or deters him from his original plan to eat his new friends. ...Until the bunnies quote the old adage (and the book's title), "Don't play with your food." Buddy realizes he'll be lonely without his fluffy new pals to play with. And then, "Wait a second...my food never makes me sad! Maybe you are not my food at all! Maybe you are my...friends! And I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to eat your friends!"
I've seen other reviewers read this as a jokey reminder not to eat one's human friends, and maybe that was Bob Shea's intent. But Buddy and the bunnies are completely different species. This is a carnivore realizing he has something in common with the (other) animal life around him, and that they exist for their own purposes aside from serving as his next meal. Basically, Buddy is experiencing a vegan awakening. Oh, sure, I'm not saying this fictional frolicking monster is literally becoming vegan and swearing off animal flesh forever. I am saying that his revelation, stated above, is a very similar, simplified version of what humans think when they become vegetarian. Maybe that wasn't the author's agenda, but it works well. Buddy and the Bunnies can be read as a fun, simple story, and be left at that...or it can serve as a conversation starter with kids for why someone might choose not to eat animals. However one reads it, it's a delightful little book, and I look forward to finding out what these unlikely friends get into next!...more
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