This new children's book aims to make kids aware of how animals feel when they’re mistreated

“No animal will be left behind.” So reads the ending of Wolfie, a tale of a scared little dog who escapes a cruel farm in Lahore and follows his journey of rescuing his friends. A book for kids aged 9 and above, Wolfie is filled with anecdotes of triumph, friendships, empathy, and humanity, as it glimmers a ray of hope for the little ones.

An arts and culture journalist in Pakistan, this is Sonya Rehman’s first children’s book, after her non-fiction book Embroidering Dreams - 50 Years of Empowering Women and Preserving the Craft of Needlework, was published in 2021. In a conversation with wknd., she talks about the ideas that informed the book.

There is always a lesson underneath the narrative in children’s books. What are the lessons in Wolfie?

Wolfie aims to make children aware of how animals feel when they’re mistreated, and how they’re living, breathing beings who need to be treated with kindness. At the same time, it highlights how everyone has a special gift to offer to the world, be it through their bravery, their compassion and so on.

“For every bad person, there’s a good person in this world too.” How would you want kids to perceive this in today’s times?

A majority of children experience cruelty throughout their lives: abuse (emotional, physical), bullying in school, emotional abandonment at the hands of a parent, and so on. That particular sentence was meant to give children a sense of hope in a world that can be dark, isolating and confusing.

Wolfie is based on animal cruelty and the fight against it. What personal experiences led you to take up this issue in your book?

Being exposed to pets from a young age (thanks to my mother) helped me become empathetic towards animals early on. As I grew up, I began noticing how people treated strays — unimaginable cruelty carried out without even an iota of remorse. Stoning, beating, throwing acid on strays — especially dogs — has been common. I currently have five rescue dogs, one of which is named Wolfie — we found him on the side of the road covered in blood after a car had run over him. Since we began taking care of Wolfie, I realised I had to do something more than just writing articles on animal rights. I wanted to make an impact on the new generation, to plant the seed of empathy in them. I thought fiction was the right way to go.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com