A collection of short stories written by multiple well-know authors.

Full disclosure: I bought this book simply because it had one of Maurice Sendak's Wild Things on the cover, and completely unaware of the contents, so this review may be a little scattered. Obviously Sendak was involved in the production of this book, contributing a lovely illustration of a simpler world full of fun and adventure, but most of the authors and illustrators were unfamiliar to me. Published in 1990, as the world was coming down from the highs of the Cold War, but still seeing an increase in violence and strige worldwide, the collection is a manifesto promoting cooperation, understanding, and of course peace among humankind. We see examples of cultures coming together ("There is an Island"), people peaefully protesting for their rights ("The Bus for Deadhorse"), and an example of peaceful coexistence from the animal world ("The Birds' Peace") to name a few of my favourite examples. For what is on the surface a simple children's book of tales, I was surprised at how deeply many of the stories tackle a historical narrative. Engaging with themes of American nationalism, racism, and isolationis a tricky thing to do for publishers, but this risk has paid off to make the book highly engaging. Since its publication it doesn't seem like humanity has come very far in becoming more peaceful, so may it is time to revisit this publishing concept and do another BIGGER book for peace! ( )

Peace is very important in the world in which we live. Anyone who has been hurt in a quarrel or a fight or watched TV news or read a newspaper knows that. This profound book looks at the idea of peace in many multifaceted ways. In fantasy tales and present-day stories, some funny and some serious. In true incidents, some that happened in the past and some that are happening right now. In poems, pictures, and even song. The pictures in this book fit really nicely with the text.

A collection of short stories written by multiple well-know authors. This book is a good resource to have for short story reading to use during rest time. It has less pictures than a picture book per story.

Filled with stories, pictures, poems, and even a song, it is a book about many
kinds of peace.