The Peace Book (Re-visited)

Image credit: Todd Parr's website
Author/Illustrator: Todd Parr
Suggested Age Group: 4-8
Publisher, Year: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint April 1, 2009
Country/Continent: The Whole Wide World!

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How do you explain peace to a four year old? With pizza, of course.

"Peace is having enough pizza in the world for everyone."

There, with that single line, you've offered a preschooler sized solution to the world hunger problem.

The beauty of Todd Parr's The Peace Book lies in conveying a complex message with such simplicity. He illustrates everyday activities that any young child can relate to such as making new friends, planting a garden, sharing a meal, watching the snow, that give you peace, that define peace. Peace, he says, is also "everyone having a home". Everyone is every one, as the illustration shows, a nest for a bird, a web for a spider, a circus tent for a clown. No one is left out.

If each of us practiced the acts of peace that Parr suggests, like keeping an open heart ("Peace is giving everyone a hug"), an open mind ("Peace is learning a new language"), and being at peace with ourselves, would that not multiply and compound to World Peace?

The success of the book lies in saying so much in so few words. Paired with bright, bold, cartoon like illustrations, it appealed to my 4 year old. That, and it inspired me to think of what peace meant to me now.

Peace is joining hands with a team of fantastic people from around the world to celebrate one common cause - Saffron Tree's third birthday.

What is peace to you?