"You aren't going to save the world on your own. But you might inspire a generation of kids to save it for all of us. You would be amazed at what inspired children can do" - Dr Jane Goodall.

​We are excited to announce that the third book in the Vivi series - Vivi and the Sea Saviours officially launched on 8th June - World Ocean Day!

It has felt like it has been a long time coming with this book, due to the pandemic, Brexit, and various other factors constantly pushing the release date back. However, it all worked out perfectly in the end as we could coincide the launch day with World Ocean Day, and I couldn't think of a more apt day to launch this new book on!

"With a twist and a tap, she takes Pax’s hand and they find themselves balancing on the rocks. Under the water, something is zooming around and coming their way."

Vivi and Pax join forces again but this time they're at the beach and they're not alone! Join them as they race against time to save their friends in this sea-splashing adventure.
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​It is never too early to teach children about compassion, and I really hope my books can help to do this. I want children to see how much power they have in their choices, and that isn't just where the planet and land animals are concerned, but with the oceans and the animals that live in them too. It seems like these days everyone is happy to discuss plastic, ditch plastic straws, bags, etc. and don't get me wrong, the fight against plastic is real and so important, BUT... what people don't realise is that 👇

"Straws Aren't the Real Problem. Fishing Nets Account for 46 Percent of All Ocean Plastic. While ditching plastic may make you feel good inside, the best thing we can do to help marine life and the planet is to leave fish off our plates and switch to a compassionate vegan diet."
https://mercyforanimals.org/straws-arent-the-real-problem-fishing-nets

This is why it was so important to me to write a story for children and tackle the BIGGER picture, when it comes to 'saving our seas' and looking at plastic pollution. 

Books are available worldwide (apart from countries in the EU at the moment) directly from our shop! Thank you for all of your support and we hope you enjoy this latest adventure! 

So after a year of writing and re-writing, experiencing delays and holdups due to Brexit AND the pandemic, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief...book no.3 is now in the capable hands of our printers! 

We are officially on countdown now to launch day! And we cannot wait to share the third book in the series with you all! For the time being, follow us on instagram for sneak peeks and updates on it's launch date. We will be revealing the title and front cover very soon! :) 

The blog below is written by Nigel Dunn - Animal Justice Project Volunteer.

"Animal Activism has many forms and many guises: street protests, occupations, petitions, social media campaigns and undercover investigation to name a few. One area of activism that isn’t as well known or supported focusses on children, to promote discussion with young children within centres of early learning, schools and nurseries, they are vital and until now have been untapped places to grow veganism and the rights of animals. 

Children are powerful advocates for change, current teachings are outdated and ‘traditional’ where the cruelty and violence within animal agriculture is normalized and desensitized, the horrendous exploitation inherent within dairy production is a classic example as our recent investigation has exposed. We need to offer these children the truth and balanced learning to enable them to challenge these outdated teachings, Vivi the Supervegan is a book that a child can hold up to the world and ask why? Why does it have to be this way, it will empower a child to challenge and to change.

Children are born gentle, caring and empathic. Traditional and current education promotes an entirely blinkered and sanitised view of farmed animals, turning sentient beings into commodities, numbers and profit. We at AJP recognise this and this is the reason we launched our ‘Free Vegan Books in Schools’ Campaign! 

When starting the campaign, I looked at a number of books and spoke to various children’s authors across the world. One book stood out: ‘Vivi the Supervegan’ by Tina Newman. A book that spoke about animal welfare, empathy and veganism in a subtle, honest and gentle way. Tina's book is written and illustrated in a sympathetic and engaging way for young children and perhaps most importantly is a visually acceptable book for a school to allow through those traditional school doors! 

We had the commitment, we had the idea, and then we had the book. But blindly gifting a vegan book to a random school would not have been productive or a good use of donated monies; we didn’t want Vivi simply to be placed on to a library shelf never to be seen again! We needed to target receptive schools and find a way for the book to be read, used, shared and understood. 

Step forward: ‘Vegan Inclusive Education’, who supplied us with a list of nominated schools who have at least one vegan child in their care, and also welcome to the stage, Laura Chepner founder of ‘Primary Veducation’ who has developed and created a trail blazing ‘Teaching and Learning Pack’ to accompany Vivi the Supervegan, for compassionate Year 1 teachers and children and much, much more!                              

We now had the tools we required to embark on this endeavour of enlightenment, and so last spring we launched our ‘Free Books for Schools Crowdfunder’ and we began fundraising with our friends at ‘Global Vegan Crowdfunder’. Then came the onerous task of contacting hundreds of schools across the UK!

School Report!
In total we individually contacted 500 schools, nurseries and early learning centres. 

x392 were happy to receive our free gifted Vivi The Supervegan.
x89 schools are currently ‘consulting and thinking about’ accepting our free book 
x19 politely (or not so politely) declined our free book!

Thanks to amazing donations from our supporters, we raised over £3,000!  Allowing us to gift over 390 separate schools and nurseries …outreaching to thousands of children!
Comments below are from those involved in helping me grow this Vivi seed...

“Things are currently not vegan-friendly in the school system and early years setting. Everything is geared towards the way we exploit animals from nursery rhymes, songs, to the food and school trips. This campaign is so incredibly important as it aims to bring about balance and inclusion to schools which is so needed, not only to support vegan pupils but to introduce non-vegan children to veganism and a kinder way of life”  – Tina Newman, Vivi the Supervegan book series Author.

“I love this project! It harnesses the power of vegans all over the country to get Tina’s brilliant books into schools where they can help dozens of children discover the power of veganism. I cant wait for the next push!” – Ruth, Vegan Inclusive Education.

“Vegan children deserve to look in a library at their school and find vegan literature, not only to see themselves represented in wider society but also to provide a crucial platform for understanding and acceptance. This wonderful project enables that and i’m all for it!” – Laura Chepner, Chair of the Vegan Society’s Education Network.

We will relaunch again this year and hopefully push past 500 books!

Peace, love and thank you!
Nigel Dunn, Volunteer

I have always loved World Book Day. It is such a lovely day and so nice to see children get to express themselves and dress up as their favourite characters. Ours didn't get to do that this year as it was a Bedtime Story theme at their school so they headed off to school in their PJ's which they found hilarious!! However last year they had World Book Day at home as we were in Lockdown. They chose to dress up as Vivi and Pax and I am actually quite relieved they didn't have to go to school in their outfits as I am not sure if they would have survived the whole day with my rushed sewing attempt!

This year we absolutely LOVED seeing all of your little ones dressed up as Vivi and Pax for their World Book Days and wanted to share your awesome outfits!

Book no.3 (title to be revealed soon!) is due out this summer so we will look forward to seeing what your little ones dress up as this time next year! ;) 

We are well underway into January...the Christmas trees are down and the decorations packed away but it is a good time to sit back and reflect on the past year...

When I first sat down to write my books it was a distant dream of mine to get them into schools and start to bring about some balance in a setting that is predominantly geared towards animal exploitation everywhere you look. However, I never thought that we would be making that happen so soon!
NOW we are seeing Vivi being sent all over the country to various nurseries, schools and early years settings.

Knowing that children are beginning to get the opportunity to access vegan-friendly literature in their school setting makes me so happy for so many reasons!

1) Non-vegan children may not understand what veganism is or why their peers are vegan so having vegan-friendly books is an important tool as it helps educate and inform children and possibly plants seeds at the same time. 🌱

2) Vegan children are up against it at school in so many ways, from the food, the books, the lessons, the topics, the class discussions, the trips to other children and teachers' attitudes...and so on. It is therefore extremely important for them to have their lifestyles affirmed and supported at school where they spend more hours in the week than their own home.🏫

That is why we (and many others) are working hard to bring about inclusivity to these settings to help our little supervegans and the animals! 🐾 Once again I am so grateful to Nigel Dunn and Animal Justice Project for their support and help with this mission. We are only just getting started...😉✌🙏🏻

To support our Vegan books into schools campaign please head here.

"When you discover the truth about the food system, it can be difficult not to be affected by it. Staying positive is vital for your own mental health and to inspire others to make changes.

Aside from writing children's vegan books, I write monthly for The Vegan Review. Last month I wrote a piece on how to stay positive when you know the truth about the food system.

I think it is such an important topic and one that needs to be spoken about within the vegan community especially as it truly can become a struggle when your eyes have been opened to the horrors of animal exploitation. 

​To read the full article click here.

What are your thoughts? How do you keep yourself positive?
Leave a comment below! :)

Today is our little furry baby's birthday! He is 9 today and although he will obviously not be able to read this email as he doesn't have his own laptop...and is a dog...I still wanted to show him a bit of cyber love as he is a massive part of the Newman family!

Ted joined our family 9 years ago, long before we were vegan. I had done all my research and spent months trying to find a kennel club assured breeder. Obviously, knowing what I know now, I would only ever adopt an animal. However, I cannot change the past and I wouldn't want to either. I hope we are giving him the best life possible and that he is happy he came to be part of our family!
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​Ted came into our life at a very difficult time and has helped us through various painful times over the years. Not only this but he literally got my husband over his lifelong fear of dogs. He also opened him up to the idea of loving an animal which was a whole new concept to him - coming from a family who had never had any pets.

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.” ― Anatole France

This quote is so true. I have seen the transformation with my own eyes through Pete. He also says he has Ted to thank for starting him off on his vegan journey.
​When people live a life disconnected from animals, without being taught about compassion and being in relationship with them, it is easier to be sucked into the conditioning that animals are merely here for humans. However, the moment you connect with an animal, it can literally unlock something. In Pete's case, it brought about a whole new mindset and love towards animals and sewed the seed that would lead to veganism a few years later.

This is why it is fundamentally important to teach children to care and protect animals. It makes me so mad when I see children mishandling and being rough with their 'pets' (in fact, since going vegan I have gone off the word 'pet' - it seems to just separate them from us further and reinforce the idea that we own them) especially little ones who are completely vulnerable and at the mercy of those excited fingers! It is down to us as adults to teach children that this isn't okay. If we don't instill compassion and respect towards animals in our children from an early age, it is more likely that they will grow up to become adults who 'objectify' animals and view them as resources rather than sentient beings.

If we allow them to, animals can teach us so much.

"Animals are the bridge between us and the beauty of all that is natural. They show us what's missing in our lives, and how to love ourselves more completely and unconditionally. They connect us back to who we are, and to the purpose of why we're here." ― Trisha McCagh

Animals truly are gifts to us. Let's not betray them. Let's stand together and protect them and let's raise kind kids who want to do the same.
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Happy birthday little Ted. Thank you for all the joy, love and laughter you have brought to our lives. Whilst we are on this planet we will dedicate our life to helping your animal buddies as much as we can!

We make our own crackers with the girls' grandparents which has become a lovely tradition already - each painting one, filling them with handmade Christmas hats (made to measure!) and eco-friendly gifts. I think it is so much more special and worthwhile to source little gifts which the children are going to keep and aren't just made out of plastic which go straight in to the bin after the meal.

As a family we try to make eco-friendly choices all year round but especially when preparing for Christmas now. We use brown paper to wrap our presents up and all have fun decorating and personalising them. I have to admit that the effort my parents go to certainly puts ours to shame though!! 

I don't think that being aware of these kind of issues is isolated to veganism.
However, I definitely think that we have become more conscious of our carbon footprint since turning vegan. So as Christmas approaches this year I wanted to share some of the simple swaps that we have done and everyone else can do which have a positive impact on animals and our planet.

• Leave animals off your plates and choose to eat plant based foods instead.
• Opt for second-hand toys and gifts. 
• Do present swaps (things people already have and no longer want/use.)
• Give homemade presents,
• Make your own crackers.
• Use brown paper as wrapping paper.
• Make your own christmas decorations (i.e.: festive paperchains)
• Donate to charity or to people in need more than you.
• Only buy as much food as you are going to eat.
• Buy less stuff in general.

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Being vegan isn't about perfection. However, it is about having the intention to lead a lifestyle that causes the least amount of harm to animals and the planet and if we can make little changes to how we celebrate these events each year, we really can make a difference.

I would love to hear what you and your family does at Christmas to make it as vegan, cruelty free and eco-friendly as possible.
​Feel free to share your ideas in the comments.

It is the 19th November 2020.

We are in the second lockdown here in the UK and in the middle of a global pandemic. I think it is safe to say that the year 2020 has seemed like a bit of a write-off...

We have stayed in our houses, put rainbows in our windows, cancelled events, clapped for the NHS, socially distanced ourselves from other humans, stopped seeing our loved ones, scrubbed our hands until they are raw and now it is the new 'norm' to walk around with masks covering our faces.
​If we had been told a year ago that this is how we would all be living, we all would have laughed and no one would have believed it!

Yet here we are. We have followed the government guidelines and done what we have been told to do and we are now waiting on a vaccine so we can all start to get our lives back to some sort of normality. However, what I find utterly bonkers is the fact that nobody seems to be talking about where this virus came from and how we can prevent this from happening again.
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​It literally seems like the elephant in the room...

When this all started there was a lot being written about where COVID-19 came from. We were told that it was from people eating bats from wet markets out in China and people were disgusted at the thought.
But why were people so horrified? Was it because they didn't like the idea of eating a bat or was it because our lives had now been affected and it is much easier to point the finger? There seems to be a real issue with hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance in our society because the majority of people eat animals themselves. We may not eat bats, cats or dogs like they do in China, but we do eat cows, pigs, sheep and many other animals in our country.

"70% of new diseases like Ebola and Zika, and almost all known pathogens with pandemic potential, such as influenza, HIV, and the novel coronavirus, have their origins in animals. These diseases then 'spill over' - jump from one species to another - during contact between wildlife, livestock, and people."

So just putting the ethical side of eating animals aside for a moment, if eating animals can literally cause such disruption to our lives, wreak havoc on our health, destroy people's lives and livelihoods, cripple the economy, kill us, ​and basically shut the world down, then why isn't the government talking more about it? 

"The world needs a new approach to prevent future pandemics killing millions more victims...It calls on people to stop encroaching on wild land and eat less meat, because the industry drives contact between humans and emerging pathogens. Pandemics are becoming more frequent. Without preventive strategies, they will emerge more often, spread more rapidly, kill more people, and affect the global economy with more devastating impact.” 

It is cheaper to prevent pandemics than it is to cure them and if you only get diseases and pandemics from eating animals and not plants, why has the world gone silent about this? 
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The elephant has not gone away, he is still very much in the room.