|
Building a Culture of Peace in Our Homes
Resources and Ideas for Families
Children’s Books
Ain’t Gonna Study War No More: The Story Of America’s Peace Seekers by Milton Meltzer. Harper and Row, 1985.
Presents a history of pacifism and those who have protested against war, concentrating on war resistance in the United States from Colonial days to the
movement against nuclear arms.
Can You Say Peace? by Karen Katz. Henry Holt, 2006.
Every September 21, on the International Day of Peace, children from around the world wish in many languages for peace.
The Fight For Peace: A History Of Antiwar Movements In America by Ted Gottfried. Twenty-first Century Books, 2006.
Chronicles anti-war activists from the Revolutionary War to the Iraq Conflicts.
I Dream Of Peace: Images Of War By Children Of Former Yugoslavia, preface by Maurice Sendak. HarperCollins, 1994.
UNICEF collected these drawings, letters and poems from schools and refugee camps in former Yugoslavia as part of its Psychosocial Assistance Program for
War-Traumatized Children.
The Laughing River: A Folktale For Peace by Elizabeth Vega. Rayve Productions, 1995.
Two fictitious tribes are in conflict until a river brings harmony to them. Includes music, drumming instruction, dance steps and hand motions to the
Laughing River songs.
A Little Peace by Barbara Kerley National Geographic, 2007.
Juxtaposes photographs from around the world with a simple, reflective message about our responsibilities for making and keeping peace in the world.
Music And Drum: Voices Of War And Peace, Hope And Dreams Philomel Books, 1997.
An international collection of poetry by children, war survivors and famous poets such as Langston Hughes and Carl Sandburg. They reflect on the horrors,
fears, hardships and losses of war; and the hope, determination and wonder of peace.
Off To War: Voices Of Soldiers’ Children by Deborah Ellis. Groundwood Books, 2008.
North American children tell what life is like when a member of their family goes off to the Iraqi or Afghanistan War. Things they do to stay in touch, and
significant changes resulting from the separation are also considered.
Paths To Peace: People Who Changed The World by Jane Breskin Zalben. Dutton Children’s Books, 2006.
Provides profiles of 16 peacemakers from around the world, including Mahatma Gandhi, Cezar Chavez and Anwar El-Sadat.
The Peace Bell by Margi Preus. Henry Holt and Company, 2008.
Yoko’s grandmother tells about how the bell in their town that used to ring on New Year’s Eve was given up for scrap metal during the war. The bell finds
its way back to their village and becomes known as the Peace Bell.
Peace Book by Todd Parr. Little, Brown, 2004.
Describes peace as making new friends, sharing a meal, feeling good about yourself, etc.
Peace Crane by Sheila Hamanaka. Morrow Junior Books, 1995.
A young American girl learns about Sadako’s peace cranes and wishes they’d carry her away from the violence of her own world.
Peace On Earth: A Book Of Prayers From Around The World by Bijou Le Tord. Delacorte Press, 1992.
A collection of prayers in such categories as children, the sea, animals.
Peace One Day by Jeremy Gilley. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2005.
Documents the author’s meetings with Kofi Annan, Andre Moussa, the Dalai Lama and other world leaders, in which the establishment of a fixed day of
cease-fire nonviolence on every September 21 is created.
Peace Tales: World Folktales To Talk About compiled by Margaret Read MacDonald. Linnet Books, 1992.
Folktales reflecting various aspects of peace and war.
Peacebound Trains by Haemi Balgass. Clarion Books, 1996,
A Korean-American girl misses her mother, away in the army. She watches a train go by, hoping soon her mother will be on it.
Peacefulness by Rebecca Olien. Capstone Press, 2006.
Introduces the concept of peacefulness through everyday situations involving school, friends, family, community.
Peacefulness Lucia Raatma. Bridge Stone Books, 2000.
Describes peacefulness as a virtue and suggests ways in which children can recognize and practice it.
Peacemakers: Winners Of The Nobel Peace Prize by Ann T. Keene. Oxford University Press, 1998.
The history of the Nobel Peace Prize, and profiles of all the individuals and organizations that have received the award.
Tug Of Peace by Terrence Webster-Doyle. Atrium Publications, 1990.
Discusses how wars start and how conflicts are resolved nonviolently. Includes study questions and activities.
What Does Peace Feel Like? By Vladimir Radunsky. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2003.
Celebrates peace through colorful descriptions of what peace looks, sounds, tastes, feels and smells like to children around the world.
When I Grow Up, I Will Win The Nobel Peace Prize by Isabael Pin. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.
A young boy imagines that when he grows up he will help the poor and promote love and understanding, which will earn him the Nobel Peace Prize. Meanwhile,
his plans contrast with the actions from his everyday life like picking on his sister.
Why War Is Never A Good Idea by Alice Walker. Harper Collins, 2007.
Simple, rhythmic text explores the destructiveness of War, which has grown old but not wise, as it demolishes nice people and beautiful things with no
consideration for the consequences.
Yeni And The Children For Peace by Michelle Mulder. Second Story Press, 2008.
Yeny and her friends fight against the violence in Columbia – not by using guns but by holding a vote for peace.
Prepared 1/09 by Liza Graybill for the Frances Perkins Branch Library, Worcester, MA.
Books for Parents
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life
By Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D., The Center for Nonviolent Communication, Puddle Dancer Press, 2003.
|
