WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, October 28, 2019 — 
Teaching children the value of being kind to animals and protecting them has always been important, but never more so than today as scientists warn that the planet is undergoing a “Sixth Mass Extinction” with up to one million species threatened with extinction.
So it is especially timely that a free e-book, Humane Heroes (Vol. 1) and its free companion curriculum introducing elementary school children to Earth’s remarkable and endangered creatures and encouraging them to help preserve them has won a national 2020 “Teachers’ Choice Award for the Classroom” from Learning Magazine.
The award-winning materials are part of the Humane Heroes series, written for elementary, middle school, and high school students by American Humane, the country’s first national humane organization, which rescues, protects and improves the lives of nearly one billion animals worldwide each year.
Through inspirational stories of animal rescue, rehabilitation, and humane conservation being performed at the world’s leading zoological institutions, and lesson plans developed by teacher-trusted Resources for Learning and tied to English Language Arts (ELA) and social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, Humane Heroes provides highly-engaging free reading materials that also encourage young people to appreciate and protect Earth’s disappearing species. The collection is published by Chicken Soup for the Soul, publisher of the popular book series.
To choose the winners of the 2020 Teachers’ Choice Award for the Classroom seal, a nationwide panel of teacher-judges tested 108 products in the classroom, evaluating them for quality, instructional value, ease of use, and innovation.
“Humane Heroes Volume I is a great resource for inspiring young readers to have compassion and love for other animals of the earth,” said one of Learning Magazine’s teacher-reviewers. “The aspect I love most about this product is how the stories are short but powerful testimonies to the power of human responsibility to conserve our earth, not just for humans, but for all the animals of the earth. I would highly recommend this book to teachers because it has many versatile uses in the classroom.”
The Humane Heroes book and curriculum will be featured in the January 2020 edition of Learning Magazine and on the website http://www.teacherschoiceawards.com.
“American Humane has been teaching children about the value of treating animals well for more than a century, starting in 1915 when we created ‘Be Kind to Animals Week®,” the longest-running humane education effort and oldest commemorative week in the United States,” said American Humane President and CEO Robin Ganzert, PhD, who conceived the project. “We are extremely proud of our Humane Heroes books and curricula for cultivating yet another generation of animal advocates. We hope that educators across the country use these free materials to introduce children to the world’s wondrous creatures and encourage them to love, protect and preserve them.”
“What better way to inspire children to protect magnificent and endangered animals than to have them meet in the pages of these books and in lessons about a puppy and a cheetah who become friends, an adopted gorilla, and elephants who help doctors fight cancer,” said Paul Boyle, PhD, national director of the American Humane Conservation program. “We hope our Humane Heroes capture youngsters’ imaginations – and their hearts – so that they become passionate ambassadors for protecting animals.”
The Humane Heroes stories, which were developed and edited by Mark Stubis at American Humane and Amy Newmark and Victor Cataldo at Chicken Soup for the Soul, are in a format that fits teachers’ ever-growing needs for engaging, literacy-building materials – teaching kids to be kind as they teach them to read.
Humane Heroes has won acclaim from leading animal experts and advocates, including TV personality, wildlife biologist and conservationist Jeff Corwin, who said, “The Humane Heroes series of books about the critically important work being done to preserve Earth’s remarkable and endangered animals in today’s zoos and aquariums is not only educational and fun but should be required reading for all our children. I strongly recommend them!”
To download free copies of the Humane Heroes e-books, visit any of the major online book sites such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. To download free copies of the Humane Heroes book series and their companion curricula, visit: www.ChickenSoupForTheSoul.com/AH.
About the Teachers’ Choice Awards
In 1994, Learning Magazine introduced the first Teachers’ Choice Awards program. Over the years, the program has grown to become one of the most recognized and prestigious awards in the educational market. For more information about the winners or about entering the 2021 Teachers’ Choice Awards competitions, please visit www.teacherschoiceawards.com
About American Humane
American Humane is the country’s first national humane organization, founded in 1877. For more information, please visit www.AmericanHumane.org.
