The Enemy: A Book about Peace Book

From Booklist"Every morning I shoot at him. Then he shoots at me." The words and pictures are minimal in this picture book, with just a short sentence and a small khaki-colored ink drawing on almost every white page. A uniformed soldier in a hole shoots an enemy in a hole on the opposite page. The soldier knows from the manual that "the enemy is not a human being," that the enemy will kill families and pets, burn down forests, and poison water. The spare trench-warfare scenarios evoke World War I as the soldier crawls to the enemy's hole and discovers their connections, including loving family photos and battle manuals filled with untruths. In eloquent contrast to the close-ups of the two small holes and barbed wire are the big double-page views of what the soldiers share: the starry night and the stormy sky. The elemental peace message will spark discussion. Add this to the core collection column, Peace Not War in the November 1 issue of Booklist. Grades 2-4. --Hazel Rochman ReviewStarred Review, School Library Journal, April 2009:"Poignant, thought-provoking, and powerful in its frankness and simplicity, this short piece will prompt discussion on war and other means of resolving conflict."Review, The Wall Street Journal, April 25-26, 2009:"Think of it as a kind of 'All Quiet on the Western Front' for the elementary-school set, though with chic, inventive illustration by Serge Bloch."Read More