A Long Vision of Peace

Building peace is a hard job; it takes lots of work. Some of that work is being done by writers and artists who share their peace vision in literature for children. Sharing stories-passing them on-is one of the most human, rewarding, and endearing methods of education.

The American Booksellers for Children has a program, "Twenty Minutes a Day," which advocates adults reading to children each day. What a wonderful goal and goad to do what we desire! Here are some stories to share in that time together or to suggest for read-alone times.

The commemoration of the dropping of the atomic and plutonium bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively prompted authors to address the issue with children. In On the Wings of Peace: Writers and Illustrators Speak Out for Peace in Memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 60 international authors and artists share their vision for peace.

The opening essay, "World War II in the Pacific," by Greg Mitchell, is an account of the events of the war and the dropping of the bombs. He presents the differing beliefs of military and political leaders on the use of the bombs. This essay is a foundation for the consideration of those events, as experienced in true accounts through poetry, art, and story, gathered together in this volume.

Not all the writing is focused on the World War II events, but all is centered in the desire and need for peace. Bruchac's "A Story of the Peacemaker" (from the Seneca nation), Milton Meltzer's "The Dissenters" (documenting the Friends and other conscientious objectors), and Katharine Paterson's story of "The Grandmother With Her Own Bomb" (based on a true experience in Russia) are stories to share. This volume includes writers from the world's "trouble spots" who write with a passion for peace in a work for adults as well as young people.

Sadako, by Eleanor Coerr and illustrated by Ed Young, is the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who died of leukemia as a result of the radiation from the atomic bomb. Coerr wrote Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
several years ago for older readers. The picture-book format of Sadako
with Young's luminous pastels renders the story accessible even to young readers. All will appreciate the special memorial to her in the Hiroshima Peace Park and knowing that she is remembered in the annual Peace Day event in which she participated. Coerr wrote the story because, "If you tell people that 200,000 died as a result of the bombing of Hiroshima, it doesn't have as much impact as the story of one little girl."

For the very young, Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister, is a charming parable of how we save our lives by giving ourselves away. Rainbow Fish found that in sharing his beautiful scales he finds friendship and community in place of the aloneness he experiences due to his arrogance.

THE CLASSIC The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf, should be introduced to each generation of readers. In addition to Ferdinand's rejection of violence, there is that wonderful model of positive parenting on the part of his mother who accepted her son who would "rather sit and smell the flowers than to skip and butt heads with the other bulls. His mother saw that he was not lonesome, and because she was an understanding mother, even though she was a cow, she let him just sit there and be happy."

Byrd Baylor's The Table Where Rich People Sit
is the story of Mountain Girl, who wishes her family were rich. Her parents tell her she is rich-rich in things that money doesn't buy. She recounts the family meeting at the table where she tells her parents to get better jobs, but they require a job where they can see the sky. Her mother reveals that they don't just take pay in cash but they get paid in sunsets, and in time to hike.

In response to her request for a dollar amount that they earn they begin with $20,000-that's how much it's worth to her father to work outdoors, to feel wind and rain and to be where he can sing out loud without bothering anyone. So the accounting continues until the total reaches more than $4 million! And here they are at this plain table made from discarded lumber-truly a table where rich people sit. This is a wonderfully told and illustrated story with language that is direct and beautiful and illustrations, by Peter Parnell, that expand the outdoors of these rich people.

In Whispering Cloth: A Refugee's Story, we meet a Hmong refugee child and her grandmother as they wait in a camp in Thailand for whatever the future will bring. The child learns to stitch the brightly colored pa'ndau-
embroidered story cloths-from the women who sell them. Her grandmother gently encourages her to tell her own story. When she stitches that story, Mai has created a lovely pa'ndau
. In it she shares her dream of going to the United States with her grandmother. The illustrations for the story include actual photos of a pa'ndau
created for this book. This book is a fine introduction to an understanding of the Hmong people and also to the experience of refugees.

It Takes a Village, by Jane Cowen-Fletcher, is a joyous story of the care given in an African village for Yemi and Kokou. The universality of the experiences and feelings of youngsters is appealing. The message to all of us of the need for caring communities makes this a book for all ages.

Older children and adults will enjoy Catherine, Called Birdy, by Karen Cushman. It was a Newbery Honor Book this year. Set in the 13th century, it is the story of a young girl told through the pages of her journal. This spirited young woman rebels against "being sold like a cheese to the highest bidder!"

Birdy gives a humorous, vivid account of life in a manor. Her understanding of life and its possibilities exceeds that of her parents, and the situations in which she finds herself reveal her ingenuity. The language is earthy but not offensive: "Corpus bones. I utterly loathe my life." Her honesty is refreshing. This is a story to entertain and to remind us anew of the folly of using only gender as an identifier and determiner of roles.

CAROL ERDAHL is co-owner of the Red Balloon bookstore in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a former school librarian.