Holy Cow! Alec Baldwin Donates Pro-Cow Children’s Book to Manhattan, Long Island Libraries

For Immediate Release:
May 22, 2025

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

Young bookworms in New York are in for a treat! Award-winning actor and father of eight, Alec Baldwin, is teaming up with PETA Kids, part of PETA’s youth division, to donate free copies of the children’s book Harvey and the Lightning Herd to every public library across Manhattan, where Baldwin and his family reside, and Long Island, where they spend much of their summers. Baldwin has a close connection to the moo-ving tale: he narrated the audiobook of the bovine bedtime story. An excerpt from the audiobook can be heard here.

Co-authored by PETA and Helga Tacreiter, the picture book teaches children that animals are someone, not something by telling the sweet story of Tacreiter’s friendship with a tiny calf named Harvey and how nursing him back to health—after a disastrous storm left him injured—led her to open The Cow Sanctuary, a nonprofit 80-acre farm in New Jersey that provides lifelong care and rehabilitation to animals who have been rescued from neglect.

“Harvey and the Lightning Herd is a heartwarming tale of friendship and a testament to the power of kindness and compassion that children will enjoy and learn from,” says Baldwin. “I’m delighted to lend my voice to Harvey’s story, and I hope it inspires children and parents alike to embrace their empathy for all living, feeling beings.” 

Cows are naturally gentle, social animals with complex feelings who form close friendships with members of their herd and grieve when their friends or family members die. But in the U.S., more than 29 million cows suffer and are killed in the meat and dairy industries every year.

The Harvey and the Lightning Herd audiobook can be purchased on Audible, and paperback copies are available for sale on Amazon and at the PETA Shop, where readers can bundle their purchase with a stuffed animal called “The Cow Sanctuary Plush Pal.” All proceeds go directly to The Cow Sanctuary.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETAKids.com or follow PETA Kids on Facebook and Instagram.