Why War Is Never a Good Idea

Though War is Old

It has not

Become wise.

Poet and activist Alice Walker personifies the power and wanton devastation of war in this evocative poem.

Stefano Vitale’s compelling paintings illustrate this unflinching look at war’s destructive nature and unforeseen consequences.

Children's Literature

There are more picture books about war than one would imagine. Some about specific wars (usually in the distant past) portray it as noble, while others (especially those set in recent times) avoid the question of causes and focus rather on the physical destruction or the devastating effect on children. Many compare national conflicts to children s squabbles and are expressly anti-war, but at the same time they often present a seductive picture of glittering weapons and bright anachronistic uniforms. This volume is different. It presents war as an unreasoning, relentless force that lacks wisdom and seeks out the riches of the world but is speechless before the priceless forms of life and natural beauty. In this work, nothing about war is attractive or justifiable. Both author and illustrator engage all the senses. For example, a tactile illustration shows tank tires scrunching the page in its path as they approach an oblivious frog. On another page, the ubiquitous, disembodied eyes of War see oil and other valuable natural resources but are blind to the value of donkeys, parrots and the raw materials of life such as mother s milk. Like Popov s Why?, this book shows the wanton effects of war on the natural world and the senselessness of the destruction. Yet while this book starts with images of War as impersonal and Other, and its victims as innocent, it ends with a question: suppose You Become War? Walker leaves readers contemplating their own complicity in war and considering the ultimate price to be paid, even by War s perpetrators. This is a very powerful, poetic book that is sure to provoke much classroom discussion. Reviewer: Christina M. Desai