War Is Over!

by Sean Ono Lennon, Dave Mullins, Brad Booker, Max Narciso (Illustrator)

Overview

A picture book adaptation of the Oscar-winning animated short film inspired by the song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono's iconic anti-war anthem "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" inspired an Academy Award–winning animated short. Now the team behind the film has created an unforgettable picture book to carry on this timeless message of peace.

So this is Christmas.
Another year over.
A new war just begun.

Julia, a carrier pigeon, delivers messages to the battlefield. But she also has a secret mission. Even though the Red Jackets and the Great Coats are at war, Julia helps the soldiers on both sides play a special game to bring each other some joy during the holiday season.

Inspired by one of the most important songs of the twentieth century and the film that carried on its legacy, War Is Over! is a stirring reminder of the human connection that binds us all, even during the most divisive times.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798217040094
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	11/04/2025
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Brad Booker is the Academy Award–winning producer of the animated short film War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko and the founder of ElectroLeague. His production credits include Rumble and the Golden Globe–nominated film The Book of Life. His animation credits include The Iron Giant, Stuart Little, Spider-Man, and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. He lives in Los Angeles. You can follow him on Instagram @ThatBradBooker.

Dave Mullins is the Academy Award–winning writer and director of the animated short film War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko and co-founder of ElectroLeague. He is a twenty-year Pixar Animation veteran, where he worked on films including Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Cars, and Up. He also wrote and directed the Oscar–nominated Pixar short film Lou. He lives in Florida. You can follow him on Instagram @Dave.Mullins.

Sean Ono Lennon is the co-writer and executive producer of the Academy Award–winning animated short film War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko. He has won a Grammy Award, recorded on over one hundred albums, scored six films, and illustrated and designed several album covers and books. He also founded the record label Chimera Music, releasing his own music and producing two albums by the Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band. He lives in New York. You can follow him on Instagram @Sean_Ono_Lennon.

Max Marciso is the character designer of the Academy Award–winning animated short film War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko. He is an Italian-born designer, comic artist, sculptor, and animator. He lives in Los Angeles. You can follow him on Instagram @NarcisoMax.

Editorial Reviews

"A fine introduction to a complex topic." —Kirkus Reviews

“In a time of division, even children will be reminded or made aware that we share more similarities than we think… A lovely, if difficult, title that belongs in many collections.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2025-08-02
The team behind the 2024 Oscar-winning animated shortWar Is Over!: Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko translates their work into picture-book format.

Here’s an image you rarely see on the first page of a kids’ book: armed men on a battlefield. It’s Christmastime, and “the Red Jackets and the Green Coats [are] fighting,” the text explains. “No one [knows] why.” A carrier pigeon named Julia has been enlisted to transport “important orders” from the command center to a red-jacketed soldier named Winston, but the bird has another job. Helping Winston play “a secret game of chess,” Julia delivers notes containing his chess moves to a green-coated soldier, who in turn gives Juliahis moves for Winston. The men’s remote chess competition animates the book’s pacifist message: In other circumstances, two enemies could be friends. Narciso’s illustrations, rendered in drab military colors, conjure no particular era, the suggestion being that the book’s message is timeless. The comically rubbery-looking faces of the largely pale-skinned soldiers help offset the grim turn the story takes, although its conclusion is hopeful. John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1971 peace anthem “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” inspired the short film that sparked this book—the couple’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, was involved in both projects—and the song’s lyrics are woven into the text, for the most part smoothly.

A fine introduction to a complex topic for mature-enough kids. (afterword by Sean Ono Lennon, poster reproduction, photograph)(Picture book. 6-12)

Kirkus Reviews