'There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast it is all a sham--all a sham, James, and it won't stand when things come to be turned inside out and put down for what they are.'--Anna Sewell, Black Beauty, 1st editionI loved Black Beauty as a child, and although I devoured horse books during my horsey-girly phase (the most notable being those of Marguerite Henry [my favourite of hers being Black Gold]), it all began with Anna Sewell's remarkable book. It was my first glimpse into the cruetly of men towards animals, and of course it has a lesson to teach in terms of animal welfare that was quite blatantly meant by Sewell, who didn't really set out to write a children's book, but rather one for those working with horses.
I came across this quote again through the What Book Got You Hooked?, where Morgan Freeman brought up the quote (changed in later versions apparently to 'other animals as well as humans', which seems to be a little politically correct for me). But whatever the wording, the sentiment is dead on. All in all, Black Beauty came out as #9 in the voting. Kentucky was the #3 state in voting, which I was glad to see. Dr Seuss books were #1 and Hawaii was the state with the most votes, and they'll be receiving 50,000 new books for children in need, so that's great.
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