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Swords to Plowshares

Name: Swords to Plowshares
Author: Lisa Weaver

THE CREATION OF JOHN P. KLASSEN'S MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEDALLION

by Lisa Weaver and illustrated by Amanda Huston ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

A worthy look at peace.

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Weaver (Praying with Our Feet, 2005) and Huston’s whimsically illustrated book has serious messages about peace and faith as they describe the unique history of a medal for peace.

This all-ages book explains how John P. Klassen created the Mennonite Central Committee Medallion, here told through the eyes of a fictional young boy named Isaak. In the 1920s, Isaak witnesses turmoil in what is now Ukraine, though he eventually sees violence transform into peace—sometimes literally. In the early 1900s, including during the Russian civil war that devastated many places and lives, Mennonite workers offered aid and farming supplies, operating as the unified Mennonite Central Committee after 1910. Seeing them do their work, Isaak helps Klassen—a real historical figure who later taught at Bluffton University, a Mennonite institution—create a way to honor their contributions. Isaak helps Klassen collect scattered bullets in the village, then melt them to create a lead medallion depicting an aid worker giving food to children. The medallion—of which one of the originals can be found at the Kauffman Museum in Kansas, with photos here—stands as a reminder that charity can be found in even the direst times. While touching on virtues of the Mennonites and the value of faith, the book doubles as an introduction for young readers to the history of the region and the healing power of art. It is sure to spark conversation in the classroom. Huston’s textured, colorful illustrations help make the narrative easy to follow for lap readers.

A worthy look at peace.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center of Bluffton University

Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2015

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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FAMILIES BELONG

by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2020

A joyful celebration.

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Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.

The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.

A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop

Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WE SHARE THIS SCHOOL
by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart

- BOOK REVIEW
FAMILIES GROW
by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart

- BOOK REVIEW
FAMILIES CAN
by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart

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OTIS

From the Otis series

by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009

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Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)