The Big Book for Peace

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In this era of glasnost and breathtakingly rapid political change, it's hard to imagine a more timely and welcome book for children. The range of material included under the general umbrella of ``peace'' is wide, and includes original fables, poems, biographies, illustrations, etc. from such distinguished contributors as Katherine Paterson, Maurice Sendak, Lois Lowry and Jerry Pinkney. The stories about the roots of war are told on a scale that children can grasp: envy between two girls in neighboring treehouses escalates into a cold war; a pair of princes squabble over their turf and eventually destroy each other's kingdoms. Equally useful for home, library or classroom--where more and more teachers are including units on peace--this thoughtfully written, attractively designed volume is a winner in every way. Royalties will be donated to a selection of organizations that champion world peace. Ages 7-12. (Sept.)

School Library Journal

A pantheon of 34 artists and writers come together in an anthology that is both useful and inspiring. Some authors have produced works from real life, as in Jean Fritz' moving story of an Inuit people triumphing over Cold War separation and Milton Meltzer's tale about a Quaker's tragic predicament during the Civil War. Others have written stories. Lloyd Alexander contributes one about the progressively disasterous series of misunderstandings between two princes; Lois Lowry relates the story of the resolution of a rivalry between two friends. Poetry is contributed by Myra Cohen Livingston. Illustrations inspired by the text or the theme are scattered throughout the book: Steven Kellogg does his own version of ``A Peaceable Kingdom''; Ben Shecter's charcoal image hauntingly mirrors Charlotte Zolotow's poem ``Enemies''; Marc Simont's full-page series of paintings provide a punchline for Marilyn Sachs' ``I Was There.'' Some of the prose is more obviously and schematically didactic than the rest, a problem that afflicts the fiction more than the nonfiction. Yoshiko Uchida contributes a powerful ``Letter from a Concentration Camp,'' but never says whether it is a work especially done for the book or a replication of an actual letter, which does confuse somewhat. Fundamentally, however, this is an exemplary collection. Inspired by an angry children's librarian who was offended by the popularity of books on war, Sachs and Durrell have come up with a powerful, well-done answer. --Christine Behrmann, New York Public Library