Picture Books for Engaging Peace and Social Justice With Children

Abstract

This article, written as a textual professional development session, discusses a selection of picture books (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry) for purposeful engagement across curriculum disciplines to sustain a living conversation with children on themes of peace and social justice. These texts carry the potential to cultivate intercultural and interfaith dialogue; to promote the development of historical consciousness; to take up questions of how we might proceed together as a species into a shared future; and to create compassionate understandings of self, another, and the human condition. Possible ways of reading the books with children are imagined. The books are grouped into themes including the rights of the child and human rights, refugees, faith, colonialism, peace, generosity, war, cultural diversity, and ecological issues and caring for the earth. Although attempting to bring about world peace through the internal transformation of individuals is difficult, it is the only way. … And I believe that love, compassion, and altruism are the fundamental basis for peace. Once these qualities are developed within an individual, he or she is then able to create an atmosphere of peace and harmony. (H. H. The Dalai Lama, as cited in Hahn, 1991, p. vii) The classroom door is open. Come in. We're welcome here. The environment is peaceful. Some children are browsing beautiful picture books that are displayed aesthetically and invitingly around the room. Some are reading with friends, and others deeply engaged in private reading. We notice diverse themes in the texts: war and peace, compassionate action, refugee experiences, religious diversity, children's rights, ecological justice, and more. We notice the many genres: Some are beautifully illustrated and narrated stories, some are poetry, some are nonfiction and filled with photographs and statistics, others are wordless. The books evoke a range of responses and emotions in us: questions, laughter, sorrow. The teacher and a small group of children are sitting together engaged in animated conversation over one of the books. Perhaps now, the teacher calls all of the children together. They gather and share their readings, their thoughts, their questions, their interpretations. They respond to one another. We note that there is no sense of rushing and plenty of time for mindful listening. Or, perhaps we walked into the classroom to discover the children buzzing in busy activity, painting their responses to the books, writing poetry, or engaged in creating drama and dance together. Perhaps they are writing letters to politicians or designing a fundraising action for a project that supports the lives of other children near or far. Perhaps we have joined them not in a classroom at all, but in the community where they are participating in a project to actively live and breathe more peace and justice into the world, inspired to ethical action by books they read together.