As we learned in the recent post, One Powerful Picture Book, people of all ages can learn a lot about themselves and the world through one simple picture book. With the holiday season right at our doorstep, it's a great time to start talking about peace with your children.
It's not easy striking up a conversation about such a complex topic, but that's when the simplicity of a picture book comes in handy! I've already written a few posts with book recommendations revolving around this topic, which you can find at the previous post, Picture Books for Peace.
I'd like to add a few more books to the list, though. Today I will share two books for preschool and early elementary school children, but I will add some for older children over the weeks ahead.
All the Colors of the Earth, by Sheila Hamanaka celebrates the joy and simple pleasures of childhood. The breathtaking illustrations seem to be glowing with sunlight and warmth, and take on a life of their own. The poetic words which accompany them have a unique and special rhythm and flow to them as well.
When you see children "in all the colors of the earth and sky and sea" smiling, laughing, and enjoying nature together, you can't help but feel warm inside. It's picture books like this one that have the power to bring moments of peace to people of all ages.
The Skin You Live In, by Michael Tyler, has a completely different feel, but expands upon the themes of All the Colors of the Earth. It reads like a long, rhyming poem, and will most likely prompt some very interesting discussions with your primary grade student. She or he may even want to take it a step further and seek out some nonfiction books about the skin after reading this one!
As always, I encourage you to take out books from the library. If you do decide to buy a book I've recommended, though, you should know that I will receive a nominal commission from Amazon if you choose to purchase a book (or any product) through a link on my site, or through my Amazon store.I have another great book to go along with these, which I will tell you about a little later in the week.
In the meantime, I'm happy to announce that Literacy Lava 3 is now available! I will write a special post about it tomorrow, but for those of you who are already familiar with the first two issues, here's the link to Literacy Lava 3!
Have a wonderful week.
