The International Day of Peace is just around the corner!  The holiday was first celebrated in 1982 and is currently observed by all Member States of the United Nations on September 21.  Ban Ki Moon of South Korea (and the United Nations’ Secretary General) has dedicated the theme of the International Day of Peace to be “Focus on Peace Education” for 2013. 

There are a lot of different ways to get involved and support this important holiday.  For a full list of activities and suggestions, check out Philadelphia’s local initiative, Peace Day Philly.  Peace Day Philly is always looking for more individuals and organizations to promote non-violent activities on and around September 21, 2013. 

If you’re unable to participate in an organized event this year, don’t worry!  You can still contribute. Observe a minute of silence at noon on September 21, 2013 (Saturday).  Or take some time during the week for a peace-related activity.  Make a video, post a blog entry, or read a story about the importance of world peace. 

If you’re looking for a good children’s book concerning peace, look no further!  Try one of these great books:

	Call Number	Title	Author	Description
		Picture Books
	jE	Is There Really a Human Race?	Curtis, Jamie Lee	While thinking about life as a race, a child wonders whether it is most important to finish first or to have fun along the way.
	jE	The Peace Book	Parr, Todd	This book describes peace as making new friends, sharing a meal, feeling good about yourself, and more.
	jE	The Butter Battle Book	Seuss, Dr.	Dr. Seuss chronicles the feud between the Yooks and the Zooks from slingshots through sophisticated weaponry, until each side has the capacity to destroy the world.
		Fiction
	j	Playing War	Beckwith, Kathy	Dan, Jen, Jeff, and Luke enjoy dividing into soldiers and enemies to play war, but when Sameer, a new boy in the neighborhood, tells of losing his family in a real war, they feel differently about the game.
	j	The Enemy: A Book About Peace	Cali, Davide and Serge Bloch	After watching an enemy for a very long time during an endless war, a soldier finally creeps out into the night to the other man's hiding spot and is surprised by what he finds there.
	j	Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan	Winter, Jeanette	Based on a true story. After her parents are taken away by the Taliban, young Nasreen stops speaking. But as she spends time in a secret school, she slowly breaks out of her shell.
		Biography
	j954.035 G151fi	Gandhi	Fisher, Leonard Everett	An introduction to the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi describes his refusal to meet violence with violence, a decision that eventually leads to India's freedom from tyrannical British rule.
	jE 323 K585r	Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life of Determination	Rivera, Sheila	Martin Luther King Jr.'s life, work towards equal rights, and assassination are summarized in this biography of the civil rights leader.
	jE 333.7209 M112NA	Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya	Napoli, Donna Jo	Wangari Muta Maathai, known as “Mama Miti,” founded the Green Belt Movement, an African grassroots organization that has empowered many people to mobilize and combat deforestation, soil erosion, and environmental degradation.
		Nonfiction
	j172.42 H163p	Peace	Halperin, Wendy Anderson	Based on the Eastern philosophies of the Tao Te Ching, a lyrical picture book explores the eternal question of how to promote world peace and shares inspiring quotes from famous peacemakers while counseling readers on how to find peace within oneself.
	j940.5318 R837g	The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust	Ruelle, Karen and Deborah DeSaix	During the Nazi occupation of Paris, no Jew was safe from arrest and deportation to a concentration camp. Few Parisians were willing to risk their own lives to help. Yet many Jews found refuge in an unlikely place, the sprawling complex of the Grand Mosque of Paris. Not just a place of worship but also a community center, this hive of activity was an ideal temporary hiding place for escaped prisoners of war and Jews of all ages, including children.
	jE940.5314 J894o	One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II	Judge, Lita	The author describes her family's efforts to help their friends and others who were left homeless and hungry in the aftermath of World War II.

For a full listing of books about peace, check out the Peace Booklist created by Ms. Teresa at Lovett Memorial.  It's a great list!