WALKING TOWARD PEACE

“Overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.” These words are as applicable today as they were when they were spoken by a little-known historical figure who decided to make a pilgrimage for peace.

On New Year’s Day 1953, after years of training to get ready and even giving up her former identity, Peace Pilgrim began her walk from the West Coast to the East Coast. She wore “simple sneakers and a blue shirt printed with her name.” Everywhere she went, she talked to people about peace. In addition to her name, she gave up everything she owned to walk across the United States. She carried no money and “preferred to walk on mountain trails, beaches, paths in the forest—quiet places where she could talk to a few people at a time.” Her goal was to walk 25,000 miles so that “in a country that could think only of war, she would spread peace.” In straightforward, simple text, Krull relates how for Peace Pilgrim, walking was a prayer for peace, and along the way she influenced others to feel the same way. In this inspiring story, the young reader will travel with Peace Pilgrim across the county, guided by Bowler’s engaging illustrations that show the increasingly aged White woman making her way among a diversity of places and people. Calm, stable compositions reinforce the message.

A good way to start conversations about choosing peace.