Michelle Mulder,
Yeny and the Children for Peace (Kids’ Power Series)
Second Story Press, 2008

Rating: E*

Yeny is a Colombian girl who has been forced by the grupos armados (armed groups) to leave her mountain home and move, with her family, to the city. Yeny is both excited and nervous about starting Grade Four at her new school. She learns to get there through the busy city streets, meets new friends and stands up to the class bully. She also learns that the children in the city are organizing a Peace Carnival, where children will come together to advocate for peace in their violent country. Yeny must convince her parents, who are afraid to antagonize the grupos armados, to let her take part in this activity.

As explained in the introduction, this story is a fictionalized account of what has happened to many children and their families all over Colombia. Yeny is a very real and likeable character and children will be able to relate to her experiences of moving to a new place, starting a new school and missing her old home and friends. She is determined to work for what she believes is right - ending the violence in Colombia - while still remaining obedient and respectful to her parents. To read about the Colombian Children’s Movement for Peace, and what the children involved were able to accomplish, is truly inspiring.

The book contains black and white photographs and a glossary.

Thematic Links: Peace; Colombia; Social Activism; Violence/Bullying

Susan Prior
Vol. 14, number 3
February 2009

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.