A Kids Book About War

Gr 2-5–Jones invites children to a first lesson on a huge topic, war, and who fights it. She talks about war between two countries, but quickly allows that sometimes it occurs within the country, which is called civil war. The book is a combination of white and olive green (the color of camouflage) pages and type, with two fonts: a serif typeface that is traditional, and a looser, blocky text that stands in for emphasis on some words: “When countries fight using words, it’s called ‘DIPLOMACY.’ When those fights use weapons instead, it’s called a ‘WAR.’” Of course, literal-minded children know that countries do not fight, people do, and that fights do not use weapons, people do, which is why the publisher recommends that adults and children share the book and discuss the concept thoroughly. Jones breaks the third-person narrative and addresses readers directly: “War might seem like a big idea that’s really hard to understand. But something I want you to know is that war always involves...People. And I think you should know that people die in wars. No matter how they’re involved and even if they don’t want to be involved at all.” She then explains that as a journalist, she has talked to people and learned that most of them do not want war. They want to go home. They want normal life. This is when the book is at its best; without illustrations, younger children may be bored and older ones will want tangible answers.