Peace is an Offering

by Annette LeBox, Stephanie Graegin (Illustrator)

Overview

A warm, comforting poem about finding peace in a community of neighbors

Peace is an offering.
A muffin or a peach.
A birthday invitation.
A trip to the beach.

Join this group of neighborhood children as they find love in everyday things—in sunlight shining through the leaves and cookies shared with friends—and learn that peace is all around, if you just look for it. With rhyming verse and soft illustrations, this book will help families and teachers look for the light moments when tragedy strikes and remind readers of the calm and happiness they find in their own community every day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803740914
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/10/2015
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	174,283
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	AD310L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Annette LeBox is a poet and environmental activist who divides her time between Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, and a remote cabin in the Caribou grasslands.

Stephanie Graegin spent her childhood drawing and collecting fauna in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Houston, Texas. She received her BFA in Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art and her MFA in Printmaking from the Pratt Institute. Stephanie now lives in Brooklyn, is still drawing, and has managed to keep her collection down to one orange cat.

Editorial Reviews

01/19/2015
“Peace,” a very big idea, becomes more approachable and achievable when it is reframed as acts of kindness, comfort, and community. “Peace is an offering./ A muffin or a peach,” writes LeBox as Graegin shows a girl visiting an injured, bedridden friend. “A birthday invitation./ A trip to the beach.” Having established peace as something more than a cessation of hostilities, the collaborators underscore the importance of mindfulness and intent, distinguishing peace from perfunctory courtesy and niceness. An offering of peace really means, “Will you stay with me?/ Will you be my friend?/ Will you listen to my story till the very end?” LeBox (Circle of Cranes) can’t resist slipping in a few bromides (“Catch a falling star”), and an allusion to 9/11 feels unnecessary, but she’s successful in making a book that will resonate with both secular and faith-based audiences. Graegin’s (Forget Me Not) calm, tightly rendered, and warm-hued drawings actually do much of the narrative heavy lifting, portraying believable, ordinary children who are empathic peacemakers in their everyday lives. Ages 3–5. Author’s agent: Steven Chudney, Chudney Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"The soothing cadence of the text and the soft illustrations make this an excellent book for sharing one-on-one and for taking stock of small, sometimes unexpected joys."—Booklist

From the Publisher

2015-01-10
A list of small lessons that, when added up, have a great impact.Peace is so abstract that it's a difficult concept to grasp. LeBox tries to make it concrete, encouraging children to practice small acts of giving, sharing and understanding every day. She follows a diverse group of friends as they find tiny moments of peace in the world around them. "Peace is an offering. / A muffin or a peach. // A birthday invitation. / A trip to the beach." Peace is also found in the answers to some potentially scary questions: "Will you stay with me? / Will you be my friend? / Will you listen to my story / till the very end?" The pencil-and-watercolor illustrations are muted and comforting, often with a glow of warmth even on the rainy-day pages. LeBox then offers direct, child-friendly advice: "So offer a cookie, / walk away from a fight. / Comfort a friend // Through the long, dark night." Even in tragedy (the text hints at the 9/11 attacks), peace can be found. Affecting and heartfelt. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews

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