My Shalom, My Peace: Paintings and Poems by Jewish and Arab Children
The editor and designer of this remarkable volume was Jacob Zim; the poems were selected by Uriel Ofek. The translator (original title: Ha-Shalom Sheli) was Dov Vardi, and some of the poetry is presented in its original language as well as English. Thirty years ago schoolchildren in Israel were invited, in a contest, to submit poems and pictures around themes of peace. Now in the light of the historical context of the past three decades, this is a heartbreaking book. Appropriate for middle-grade children.
Publisher: McGraw-Hill, New York (1975). ISBN 0-07-072826-7. Some color illustrations, 96pp.
A few copies are for sale at Amazon
Young Peacemakers Project Book and Peace Works: Young Peacemakers Project Book II
The activities and lesson plans here are designed to help children take caring responsibility for their world, and to instill in them an ethic of committed activism. Peace is the overarching theme, but ecology and interpersonal skills figure importantly in the projects for kids from toddlerhood up till about age 10. The co-authors have long experience working with the very young: Kathleen Fry-Miller is an Early Head Start caregiver and trainer in Fort Wayne, IN, and Dr. Judith Myers-Walls teaches Child Development and Family Studies at Purdue University. You can contact the latter at myerswal@cfs.purdue.edu or (765) 494-2959,
Publisher of both: Brethren Press, Elgin, IL. They're no longer listed in the catalog, but you can use www.fetchbook.info to find these books at a number of outlets:
Young Peacemakers Project Book (1988) 116pp.
Peace Works: Young Peacemakers Project Book II (1989) 102pp.
Mole Music David McPhail
Alison describes the book this way: A mole teaches himself how to play the violin. He has no idea that on the ground above him, creatures listen to him. Over time, his music becomes more and more beautiful and while he plays below, oblivious to anything but the music, above him the sounds he makes swirl around, making everyone stop to listen, making even soldiers stop fighting. It's such a great allegory-- people move towards beauty, I believe. It's also good because it reminds us that we can't usually tell what comes of our acts. We can only do what needs to be done, or what we have to do, what our passion and goodness leads us to do ...