"When David Shepherd and Travis Price heard that a new boy was bullied for wearing pink, they bought seventy-five pink tank tops for guys in the school to wear. As the word spread, more students wore pink. This pink protest soon drew international attention, inspiring other schools to stage pink days, with the majority of students showing up in something pink - from feather boas to pink bicycles. The Nova Scotia government has proclaimed the second Thursday in every new school year Stand Up Against Bullying Day."
In reading this elegantly designed and inspiring book, you cannot help but feel filled with hope, and with sadness...hope for the future of our world when such amazing children live here and lend their voices to important issues(they will be our leaders, our teachers, our ambassadors for peaceful solutions) and sadness that so many have to learn at a young age what it is to be involved in war, to struggle for basic daily necessities and to live in fear for their lives.
Janet Wilson has compiled an abundance of information about young activists who have made, and are making, a difference where they live and around the world. She includes photographs, quotes, poetry, stories and drawings made by children in hopes of making adults listen. In the past ten years, two million children have been killed in armed conflict, ten million are traumatized, and more than two million have been displaced within or outside their own countries. Children are the losers in all wars. Their lives are forever changed, their hearts and minds immeasurably scarred by what they see, hear and must accept. They do not have choices. But, they prove time and time again that they do have a voice. We can all make a difference...and they make us proud (and very humble) that they stand up and do just that.
This is a book that should be shared with our children and in classrooms. Rather than talking about war, let's talk about peace!
"September 21 is the International Day of Peace. To join the worldwide movement to create a culture of peace and to find out what you can do to support peace and nonviolence, go to www.internationaldayofpeace.org"
"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi
"My religion is simple. My religion is kindness." Dalai Lama
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