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Paulie Pastrami Achieves World Peace

by James Proimos
40p. 978-0-31603-292-6.
COPY ISBN
Gr 1-3 How does a seven-year-old who has not yet mastered whistling achieve world peace? He begins with the easy stuff and works his way up. First, Paulie starts "being kind to small animals. Then bigger animals. And bigger. And bigger still." Then he apologizes to his sister. At school, he is nice to everyone, even the principal, and hands out cupcakes to help resolve conflicts. Having established peace at home and at school, he is ready to expand his horizons. With the help of his family he goes on a "world tour" around town with a van full of cupcakes to distribute to appreciative crowds. Although world peace is a serious issue, Proimos's tongue-in-cheek approach makes the "can do" message fun and child friendly. The text is short and snappy with only one or two sentences on most pages. The simple cartoon drawings, filled in with color, have attitude and personality that matches the tone of the text. Creative page layouts and artsy fonts give the illustrations added energy. This is a great read-aloud, especially for a unit about social issues or character development."Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
An omniscient narrator reports that a boy "no more special than you" has achieved world peace by going on a "world tour" with his father in their VW Beetle and handing out cupcakes. Featuring gag-filled cartoony art starring the spiky-haired young pacifist, this book succeeds where preachy random-acts-of-kindness books fail because there's a laugh on nearly every page.
Paulie is a regular kid readers will relate to; his compassion and approach are admirable. Readers will like that Paulie’s father invents a way for Paulie to achieve a grand dream. Humor in both text and illustrations convey the message in an agreeable and approachable way.

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