“I’m not dinner!”
Said the chicken to the boy,
“I am a person just like you
With a life I want to enjoy.”
“I’m not dinner!”
Said the chicken to the girl,
“I have feelings just like you,
I want to see my life unfurl.”
“I’m not dinner!”
Said the chicken to the man,
“A short caged life is not for me,
Don’t want to end up in the pan!”
“Please, Mrs, no!
Don’t cook me in the pot!
I have a right to life you know,
Your dinner I am not!”
“I’m not dinner!”
Said the bullock to the teacher,
“I live and breathe and feel you see,
Eating me is a crime against nature.”
“I’m not dinner!”
Said the bullock to the mother,
“Just leave me alone to eat my grass,
Let me stay here with my brother.”
“I’m not dinner!”
Said the bullock to the doctor,
“My flesh is bad for your arteries,
Try mushrooms, lentils, okra.”
“Please Chef, no!
Don’t roast me in the oven!
Why can’t I live my whole life out
In peace on Earth like Heaven?”
“I’m not dinner!”
Said the piglet to the mayor,
“I don’t deserve to turn on a spit
For your village summer fayre.”
“I’m not dinner!”
Said the piglet to the butcher,
“The suckling pig you try to sell
Should be suckling from his mother.”
“I’m not dinner!”
Said the piglet to the child,
“It’s cruel to take me from my mum,
Let me be happy, free and wild.”
“Please Cook, no!
Don’t fry me in the pan!
Just let me live my life for me
Like rescued piglets can.”
**********************************
“I’m not dinner!” belongs to Violet’s Vegan Comics © 2013
This story is included in the paperback Why are you a vegan? and other wacky verse for kids
which is available from our shop 😀
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Listen to “I’m not dinner!” on Vegan Story Time
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veggie kids, vegetarian children, vegan children, animal-friendly stories for children
Violet's Vegan Comics 
I loved the video. Great choice of music. 🙂
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Ha ha ha 😀 Thank you
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I like. Keep up the good work.
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Thank you 😀
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You have a wonderfully creative mind.
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Thank you 😀
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Fantastic job It can be used in schools to promote awareness.
If you adapt the language and use a more simplistic way for the animals to express themselves, it could even be used internationally for children who are learning English as a second or foreign language. Excellent work!
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Thank you so much 🙂
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Here here! As an EFL teacher abroad I would love to use your comics. The universal concepts and repetition is great. If you had some with even more straightforward language, it would make them a lot more accessible for kids worldwide. Thanks for considering! ❤
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Thank you so much Madeleine, we would love to help if we can. What do you mean by ‘more straightforward language’? 😀
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Well for example present tense and common words in place of words like “unfurl” (which is one of my absolute favourite words incidentally but with the short time I have with my beginning English students it wouldn’t be productive/effective to try to teach many words like this that they’ll very rarely see again or have the chance to practice) or arteries. With your permission, I’d be happy to adapt some of the poems for ELLs, sort of similar to what the website Newsela does- present the same info/stories at a variety of reading levels to make accessible for more readers and help educators to differentiate within a learning group…
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Yes, that would be brilliant. I remember now that another reader commented on that and I didn’t understand what they meant, I just thought that using uncommon words is how children learn them, but of course I wasn’t thinking about children learning English as a foreign language. Yes, do adapt them to your heart’s content, I’ll be interested to see the results 🙂 Also, I just remembered another of our books which might be useful to you as is: Learning Letters and Rhyming Words, see here: https://veganbooksforchildren.com/2017/06/07/learning-letters-and-rhyming-words/ 😀
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I feel the same way and for the most part I much prefer to use books that have complex and authentic language! But I’ve learned that sometimes for kids in particular situations who have limited access to English, meeting them where they are is really necessary for accessibility. I’m learning Hebrew now and I know if I was given the equivalent in Hebrew, no matter how interested I was, I’d check out in favour of something more accessible 😦
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I completely understand, I’d just never thought of it like that before. We would love it if you helped us to adapt some of the early learning stories to make EFL versions 😀
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🐷🐱😻
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This is a wonderful story!! You are very talented!
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Thank you so much 😀
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superb! Is it in print yet?
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Thank you 😀 yes, this one is part of the ‘Why are you a vegan? and other wacky verse for kids’ collection of rhyming stories: http://www.amazon.co.uk/vegan-other-wacky-verse-kids/dp/1505874319/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1420647855&sr=8-6&keywords=violets+vegan+comics Also you can click on the link in the sidebar to see our other books 😀
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Thank you! My toddler would love it
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Wonderful 😀 I’m so glad, thank you
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Amazing:) beautiful story 🙂 Great job:)
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Thank you so much 😀
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cute stuff! :p
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Thank you 🙂
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Great book! Love the illustrations!
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Thank you 😀
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