What is peace?

As this is the world that children are inheriting today, as early childhood educators and people alongside children, how does one aid them to not only live meaningfully within this world, but ignite a flame in them to uplift the world, their community, and most importantly, themselves? How do they find and build peace in a world filled with chaos?

What is Peace? by Wallace Edwards is an interesting first book for our journey. In all it’s pages, there is not a single statement; the entirety of the book is comprised of only questions. It is purposefully open-ended, thought-provoking, and holds space for the reader to define peace for themselves.

The next books offer, or at least gather, some possible answers to our question: what is peace. Paired with National Geographic images of people from all corners of the world, A Little Peace by Barbara Kerley offers stunning images of lived reality of people in communities across the globe and what peace means to them.

Children are each unique individuals, full of potential and vastly capable in their own ways (Government of BC, 2019). Literature should reflect their vibrant and dynamic lives, and bring about a sense of belonging, comfort, and acceptance through seeing their experiences reflected back from within the pages.

Diverse literature explore the complex topics of race, ethnicity, abilities, sexual orientation, gender, social economical status, culture, religion, beliefs and more that collectively reflect the depth that is being human. As Zapata et. al (2018) astutely highlights, diverse literature “can transform students’ identities and the narratives they carry about the people they encounter” (p. 7) and can be a tool to “engage not only the complexi­ties of our diverse human condition but also our shared truths and experiences” (p. 8).

Here is an offer of a short collection of children literature, a tip of the iceberg, that speaks to diversity.

As educators, one may assist in building problem-solving skills through engaging in quality literature. Children hone skills for peaceful, considerate negotiation of a complex world with complex people by having access to books that “contains authentic characters, realistic problems, and possible resolutions” (Harper, 2016, p. 81) that “heighten their awareness of emotions, foster sensitivity to others’ feelings, encourage tolerance, promote empathetic behavior toward others, and reinforce moral development” (p. 85).

Jon J. Muth authors children books that imparts classic Zen wisdom, and his book Zen Shorts offers short stories that take yet another angle at looking at peace. Children in his stories face the highs and lows of daily life and the panda character offers a different perspective while leaving the choice of action up to the children in an open-ended and empowering format.