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Teach Peace, Not War! 4 Picture Books for Peace
Teaching peace is one of the most powerful gifts that we can give the next generation. When we integrate empathy, kindness, and forgiveness into the stories we share with children, we begin to lay the groundwork.
“We pray, above all, for Peace throughout the World.” —Jane Goodall
A Prayer for World Peace, by Dr. Jane Goodall, illustrated by Feeroozeh Golmohammadi
Jane Goodall is a world-renowned naturalist who brings her passion and her quest for understanding between all the Earth’s creatures to the fore in this beautiful and affecting prayer for world peace. She asks us all to rise above our dogmas, to bring a spirit of generosity to the living world around us,
to pray for justice and for those who are suffering
Why? A Timeless Story Told Without Words written and illustrated by Nikolai Popov
In this new edition of a wordless modern classic, a frog picks a beautiful flower. When a mouse sees him with it, his jealousy overcomes him, and he grabs it for himself. Then Frog’s friends chase the mouse away. But before they can celebrate, Mouse’s friends counter-attack – and the conflict soon escalates into a full-blown war. When the dust finally clears, all either side can ask is: Why? With an afterword by children’s literature expert Leonard S. Marcus, this seemingly simple book is an invaluable way to talk to young children about conflict and warfare.
Brick by Brick written and illustrated by Giuliano Ferri
The quintessential first book on peace. A little mouse innocently plucks a flower from an old wall when a brick comes loose, and he can see through it for the first time. He and the other animals gradually and resolutely remove more and more bricks, until at last they can see another group of animals. Together they use the bricks that once divided them to construct a bridge to join their islands. This clever and touching wordless board book shows that walls can become bridges when everyone works together. It’s a hopeful message that all children should see now.
A Sky Without Lines written by Krystia Basil, illustrated by Laura Borràs
A moving and timely story of a young boy separated from his beloved brother and father by a border. Arturo loves to look at maps and the lines where different countries meet––as if greeting each other with a big hug. But his mother tells him these lines have a different purpose––to keep people from moving freely across the land. Arturo and his mother are separated from his father and his brother Antonio by one of these lines. Will he ever see his brother again? But the sky has no lines, so Arturo dreams of flying with Antonio through the open sky to the moon, free of barriers. Artful, moving watercolor illustrations express a young boy’s sorrow at separation and his joyful dreams of a world without lines.
