Yvette Li

Caring beyond human: Fostering compassion through communication design in children's picture books on animal rights.

Abstract

The goal of this research project is to find out whether children's picture books foster compassion towards animals and raise awareness of animal rights. Animals face many threats in today's society, and the lack of attention to animal rights is a common problem. Few people look at the animal rights issue from the animals' point of view. Addressing the shortcomings of the existing works from an animal perspective is very important. A key reference point for this research is "The Case for Animal Rights" by Tom Regan: Regan's book argues for animals' inherent value and rights, emphasizing the necessity of viewing animal rights from their perspective. He contends that animals possess inherent rights, just as humans do, and advocates for recognizing their inherent worth and moral consideration. This research aims to make more people aware of the importance of animal rights through the creation of new chidren’s picture books. This research project uses two moving stories to explore the theme of animal rights. The first story tells the story of a monkey who went from living freely in the forest to being imprisoned and finally rescued, exposing the cruelty of animals used in circus performances and showing that some common things in our lives may be unfair to animals. The second story is based on real life events. A piglet named Lulu bravely rescued his owner who fainted due to a heart attack. It shows the emotional connection between animals and humans, and that every animal deserves respect. By actively participating in these stories, children are prompted to empathize with animals and recognize their inherent value. Through these two books, animal rescue charities are also promoted, providing children with a platform to participate in animal rescue.

Artefacts

  • Select Bibliography

    Regan, T. (2010). ‘The case for animal rights.’ University of California Press.

    Fortenbaugh, W. (2006). ‘Animal rights: What everyone needs to know.’ Oxford University Press.

    Marino, L. (2020). Mental health issues in captive cetaceans. In ‘Mental health and well-being in animals.’

    Filed under

    Publication design

    Keywords

    Animal Rights

    Illustration

    Empathy

    Children's Literature

    Storytelling

    Contact

    yvetteli429@gmail.com