A Little Peace

You won't find a more simply written or illustrated informational text than A Little Peace (2007) by Barbara Kerley. Yet, for all its simplicity, the message behind A Little Peace is profound and, quite possibly, put a shiver in your soul and a smile in your heart.

Barbara Kerley pulled off an amazing feat with the book A Little Peace. She coupled the most amazing National Geographic photographs with a single sentence, broken up over 26 pages, telling the reader (as well as showing) how they can spread peace throughout the world.The book ends with a brief description of each photograph and where it was taken, as well as letter, titled "A note on Peace," by Richard H. Solomon, president of the United States Institute of Peace.

What makes this book so intriguing is that none of the pictures are framed. Some take up a double page and seem to go on past the page edges, and some are simply inset photos on a stark, white page. But each photograph tells its own story. Each one shows a moment in time with a person, or people, doing something to make life a little easier, a little better.

A Little Peace is an informational text that I would read to students of any age or grade. The meaning is as simple as the message it gets across. I will most assuredly be reading this with my kindergartners this year. After we finish the book, we will talk about peace and what it means. I will then challenge them to draw, or write, if they can, what they can do to spread a little peace, joy or happiness to family, to friends, to community members and to the world.

If you haven't read it, I highly advise getting and reading A Little Peace. This is sure to be one of the best loved and most read books in your school library!