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brooke_review's review
3.0
Peaceful Pieces is just that – a work that combines poems about “peace” with “pieces” of quilt. The first thing you notice upon picking up Peaceful Pieces is the beautiful quilt work, which is a great complement to a book of poetry about peace, as quilts themselves have been used to tell stories and histories of people throughout time. Each “peaceful” poem combines with a quilted illustration, making for a unique and soothing, yet thought-provoking read.
“All we are saying is give peace a chance.” The words of John Lennon could be inspiration for this work, which contains poems not only about global peace, but personal peace, interpersonal peace, peace in nature, symbols of peace, conflicts with peace, and the very essence of peace itself. This work looks at the so complicated, yet so simple, subject of peace from multiple perspectives, providing for a well-rounded work that shows just how essential peace is to our lives. From poems about what life on a peaceful Earth would be like, to a sisterly argument that ends in giggles, to a recipe for peace, to inner struggles with anger and thoughts, to the peacemakers of Earth, this book shows us that peace exists in many forms and places. The author’s words help build an understanding of peace, and serves as inspiration for a more peaceful planet.
The illustrations of the work are simply remarkable, being constructed of actual quilt work. The illustrations make you want to reach out and touch them, just as peace often requires us to reach out to each other. The use of color in the various quilts complement the poems, sometimes using bold reds, blacks, and whites when dealing with the tougher issues, and often using softer colors when illustrating examples of peace’s existence on Earth.
This beautiful, thought-provoking book would work well as a read-aloud or an individual read. It is an essential purchase for its masterful artwork and inspiring subject matter.
“All we are saying is give peace a chance.” The words of John Lennon could be inspiration for this work, which contains poems not only about global peace, but personal peace, interpersonal peace, peace in nature, symbols of peace, conflicts with peace, and the very essence of peace itself. This work looks at the so complicated, yet so simple, subject of peace from multiple perspectives, providing for a well-rounded work that shows just how essential peace is to our lives. From poems about what life on a peaceful Earth would be like, to a sisterly argument that ends in giggles, to a recipe for peace, to inner struggles with anger and thoughts, to the peacemakers of Earth, this book shows us that peace exists in many forms and places. The author’s words help build an understanding of peace, and serves as inspiration for a more peaceful planet.
The illustrations of the work are simply remarkable, being constructed of actual quilt work. The illustrations make you want to reach out and touch them, just as peace often requires us to reach out to each other. The use of color in the various quilts complement the poems, sometimes using bold reds, blacks, and whites when dealing with the tougher issues, and often using softer colors when illustrating examples of peace’s existence on Earth.
This beautiful, thought-provoking book would work well as a read-aloud or an individual read. It is an essential purchase for its masterful artwork and inspiring subject matter.
alysona's review
5.0
Beautiful quilts perfectly matched to the poems. Can a quilted book win a Caldecott this year?
readingthroughtheages's review
3.0
Nice collection of poetry centering around a "peace" theme. The quilts that decorate each page are beautiful!
jshettel's review
5.0
Wonderful poems about living peacefully with each other, but the illustrations are a masterpiece! Truly beautiful quilts made to illustrate the poems. Stunning. A Caldecott contender for sure!
azajacks's review
5.0
Poems and quilts- 2 of my faves together!
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I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you: http://www.indiebound.org
libscote's review
4.0
I really like the illustrations in this book. They are all photographs of quilts the author made. The work is beautiful, and I can only imagine how long the intricate stitching took. The poems about peace are pretty good as well.
slimikin's review
3.0
The quilts were beautiful, lushly textured with vivid colors and interesting, eye-catching composition, and while I loved many of the poems---particularly those representing peace as a moment on a river or a stillness beneath noise---I thought some of them were a little preachy. Sure, you can view a snake making friends with his dinner as peace, but think how absolutely unpeaceful it would be if every snake made friends with the mice and rats he was supposed to eat. Peace is a little more multi-faceted than simply no violence, no conflict, no anger. I would've liked to see a few more poems to reflect that.