One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists
The PaperTigers’ Book of the Month choice for March is One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists (Orca, 2008), by self-proclaimed “passionate pacifist” Janet Wilson.
The marketing material we received from Orca, along with our review copy of the book, says: “For the future to be better than the past, better than the present, we must equip our children with an understanding of the world around them and encourage faith in their ability to bring about change.” The latest issue of PaperTigers heartily echoes their sentiment, and One Peace encapsulates it perfectly: by telling the stories of youth who have taken leadership roles, it inspires young readers to take their own steps toward world peace. Told through art, poetry, quotations, and photographs, the book includes profiles of Farlis Calle, who started Colombia Children’s Movement for Peace; Craig Kielburger, three times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with Free The Children, an organization he founded at age 12; Kimmie Weeks, who established Voices of the Future, Liberia’s first child rights advocacy group, and many more.
The idea for the book, which has been included in the 2008 Smithsonian Notable Books for Children list, came during a presentation, when Wilson was asked by a child “why children are taught about war but not peace.” One Peace was, ultimately, her response. But she has more to say about the matter: her plan is to write a series of books about “building a more peaceful and just world under the guidance of our wise children.” Hurray for that!
To read about Janet Wilson’s painting of the activists’ portraits, check here. And for more of her artwork, take a peek at her PaperTigers gallery.
March 4th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Aline – I was at Emma’s school yesterday and the librarian insisted I take 2 books home to read. “You HAVE to read these” she said. One of the books is One Peace and the other is Elijah of Buxton. What a great coincidence that you blogged about this! As soon as I get my kids to bed, I’m off to read!
March 5th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Corinne- you and your kids are lucky to have such a great librarian to help you find great books! These are indeed two books that speak volumes about the power of children. 11 year-old Elijah’s journey and feats, while fictional, are just as heroic and awe-inspiring as those of the children profiled in “One Peace.”
March 5th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I haven’t seen this book – yet! Just the inkling you give of some of the young people’s stories is awe-inspiring and I know I must seek it out. I found Janet Wilson’s article, via the link you provided, fascinating too.
March 6th, 2009 at 8:15 am
On a purely parochial note, I’m so delighted that you featured a book from the Pacific Northwest publishing community! Orca has always come out with exceptional books.
May 8th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I couldn’t agree more with the author’s intent — we need to fill the shelves of our libraries with books about peace rather than tales of war and violence. What is even more important is that we need to take the time to put these books in the hands of our children. Thank you for highlighting this book… and here’s to inspiring a generation of peacemakers!
February 12th, 2011 at 10:30 am
I haven’t read this book yet either, but I’ve added it to my Wishlist on Amazon. I agree with Liz (and the author apparently), we need more positive stories and stories of peace to be spread around. Farlis Calle is featured as Hero of the Week over at my blog (MoralHeroes.org). It’s a blog I think many of you would be interested in, since its all about positive stories like these.
You can get directly to her page by visiting http://moralheroes.org/farlis-calle
Hope you enjoy,
February 12th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment – I’m heading your way right now