Animal Rights Movement (Essential Library of Social Change)

In the face of injustice, people band together to work for change, and through their influence, what was once unthinkable becomes common. This title traces the history of the animal rights movement in the United States, including the key players, watershed moments, and legislative battles that have driven social change. Iconic images and informative sidebars accompany compelling text that follows the movement from the first work to improve animals' welfare through the awakening of the animal rights movement and up to the battles that continue today. Features include a glossary, selected bibliography, Web sites, source notes, and an index, plus a timeline and essential facts. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards.Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Expanding the scope of the Essential Library of Social Change series beyond examinations of human-rights initiatives (there is also a volume on the Green movement), this survey begins with the rise of the animal-welfare movement in the nineteenth century, then traces the growth of vegetarian and vegan practices as well as the philosophical and organizational foundations of animal-liberation advocates. While highlighting major cases and protests, successful or otherwise, the author describes farm, circus, and testing-lab abuses without dwelling on gory details. Furthermore, few, if any, of the sparse assortment of photos are explicit enough to disturb younger viewers. Largely based on published sources but incorporating some new material, the study offers readers a relatively dispassionate picture of a hot-button emotional issue with its major agendas and obstacles. Grades 5-7. --John Peters