Peace - a review

Peace.

Despite what John Lennon urged, as adults, it's hard for us to imagine peace.  As a global community, we've never had it; we've never seen it.  It's more the stuff of imagination than possibility.  Heck, even the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) for Wendy Anderson Halperin's new book, Peace, is 172.42, translation - "political ethics." Pragmatic, yes - but lacking in idealism to be sure.

But talk to children (even teenagers) and many can envision peace - and they have ideas on how to achieve it.  That's one of the many things that make children so wonderful.  They haven't lost the ability to hope and dream and imagine the to-date unachievable.

Wendy Anderson Halperin's new book, Peace (Atheneum, 2013), seizes on that idealism, reflects it, and feeds it with new possibility.

Groupings of Halperin's delicate and peaceful, pencil and watercolor illustrations decorate each page in this circular story of peace which begins,

For there to be peace in the world ...
there must be peace in nations.

Accompanying each line is a collection of quotes from the likes of Walt Whitman, Dalai Lama, Kofi  A. Annon, and other lesser-known individuals.  The quotes serve as borders between the many illustrations on each page, each one, a story in itself.

The circular narrative leads inward, with the continuing theme of

For there to be ...
there must be ...

until the "heart" of the book is reached,

For there to be peace in homes,
there must be peace in our hearts.

Here the double-spread layout features the art of schoolchildren from Michigan, Ohio, and New York, and moving then outward, the refrain changes to

When there is ...
there will be ... .

Culminating in the elusive,

There will be peace in our nations.
And we will have peace in our world.

Peace is a beautiful and inspiring piece of work, or perhaps more aptly, a work of peace.

Much thought went into the design and concept for the book, as evidenced by its companion website, "Drawing Children Into PEACE."  The page with suggested Peace Projects has some great ideas.  As a matter of fact, I have an old chair that would make a fine "peace chair."  It may not turn out as well as the one below, but I'm inspired to give it a try.

See several pages of Peace at the author's website.

It's Nonfiction Monday.  This week's host is Wrapped in Foil.

Picture Book Roundup - April edition

A quick picture book roundup for April ...

• Gibson, Amy. 2012. Split! Splat! Ill. by Steve Bjorkman. New York: Scholastic.

April showers bring May flowers and delightful books about rain! Enjoy this rhyming, cumulative book with bright watercolor illustrations. It begs to bed read aloud - perfect for storytime!

I sing a little mud song,
a puddle song,
a muddle song,
a no-shoes, toes-ooze,
slip-slap-and-thud song.

• Schaefer, Lola M. 2012. One Special Day. Ill. by Jessica Meserve. New York: Disney/Hyperion.

Bold, "digital oil pastel" illustrations accompany bold and simple text that describes a bold young boy, who was "strong as a" [bear], "fast as a" [horse], and many other wonderfully bold things, until

he was gentle,
because,
for the first time ever --
Spencer was a brother.

A fun, participatory (the animal names are provided in illustration only), and touching book about welcoming a new baby.

• Allen, Jonathan. 2012. Don't Copy Me! New York: Boxer Books.

As any younger sibling can tell you, the old repeat-everything-you-say and copy-everything-you-do is one of the oldest tricks in a young one's toolbox.  The reason it's so popular is that it is virtually impossible to defend against - as Little Puffin finds out in Don't Copy Me! The very-funny Jonathan Allen has a great time with this one (click the title link for a peek inside).  Call me politically incorrect, but what I like best about Don't Copy Me! is that all does not end well for Little Puffin.  Score one for the little guys!

Grandma's Pear Tree

Santillan, Suzanne. 2010. Grandma's Pear Tree/El Peral de Abuela. Illustrated by Atilio Pernisco. McHenry, IL: Raventree.

Jessie has promised to stay away from Abuela's pear tree. When his ball gets stuck in the tree, he consults Abuelo, who advises him to throw his shoe at it. When "el zapato" becomes stuck, Tío suggests a broom ... a humorous and cumulative tale that contextually introduces Spanish words for family members and common items. Painted illustrations help readers and listeners make the English/Spanish connection without unnecessary explanation.  A surprise ending will keep listeners laughing. I took this book on an outreach visit to a preschool. Any book that has a room full of preschoolers yelling out the refrain, "¡Ay, caramba!" is a winner in my book! ¡Qué divertido! (What fun!)
 
A Spanish/English glossary is included, but curiously, does not contain the word peral, part of the title. I did not find it in the glossary, but verified later that peral is Spanish for pear tree.  (Being most accustomed to English, I did not realize that in Spanish there is a word that encompasses both the tree and its fruit.  How handy!)

Activity sheets are available from the publisher.


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Picture Book Roundup

In no particular order, these were some of the wonderful picture books

 that I found in my book bag this week! I loved them all.

Spinelli, Jerry. 2010.I Can be Anything! Illustrated by Jimmy Liao. New York: Little, Brown.

A rhyming romp through all of the possibilities of the future - "cross-legged sitter, make-believe critter, deep-hole digger, lemonade swigger." Who knows? Bright and joyful illustrations!

Fuge, Charles. 2010. Yip! Snap! Yap! New York: Sterling.

Another lively, rhyming romp! This one featuring delightfully goofy dogs!

Thomson, Bill. 2010. Chalk. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish.

The illustrator of the exquisitely illustrated, Baseball Hour, Bill Thompson outdoes himself with Chalk - a wordless book that tells the story of a magical, rainy day at the playground for three children and a mysterious bag of chalk.  Let your imagination run wild and enjoy Bill Thomson's hand-crafted brilliance!

Geringer, Laura. 2010. Boom Boom Go Away! Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. New York: Atheneum.

Music lovers, noise makers, and children who don't want to go to bed will love Boom Boom Go Away! Its cumulative rhyme is full of playfulness and imagination.  The warm illustrations evoke picture books of an earlier era.

Jeffers, Oliver. 2010. The Heart and the Bottle. New York: Philomel.

This is not a book for storytime.  It's a serious book for a special child - perhaps a grieving child, a child with a profound loss, a child who may have placed her heart in a bottle, a child who needs to know that there is a way to retrieve her own heart.  Gently and tastefully done.

Bottner, Barbara. 2010. Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't). Illustrated by Michael Emberly. New York: Knopf.

The tagline for the book is "a librarian and a contrarian face off in this tale of a very reluctant reader." I predict that this will become a librarian favorite! When Miss Brooks assigns a book report (in costume!) for Children's Book Week, it prompts the best line in the book -

When I get home, I ask my mother if we can move to a new town. My mother says there's a librarian in every town.

 Too funny!

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