A Bowl Full of Peace: A True Story is a book that I can tell you: it is a beautiful book about survival, family, and beauty within the ugliness of war. A family heirloom survived the bombing of Nagasaki, but some of the family did not. This based on a true story testament to the why we should never let this happen again. Lovely illustrations accent and compliment the text. I can say that it is written by Caren Stelson and those lovely illustrations are done by Akira Kusaka.
But then I need a couple hundred more words.
I cannot say much more about this picture book, as to do so is to tell the story. I guess I can say that this book is emotionally charged as it is dealing with war, the death of the older brothers, the youngest child and later the middle sister and parents. The one survivor well into her later years would one day realize she must speak about what happened and would visit schools with the bowl to tell that this should never happen again.
It is a book you read and feel. And in many ways, feelings are all that are needed to make you understand the story, the message, the idea that is presented. The illustrations mostly are soft, minimal detailed and hopeful, until they are not hopeful, then they are again. The most amazing and horrific image is the centerfold. Two pages of red, brown, gray, black, bleeding into each other representing the attack.
This is not a book for a sensitive person, regardless of if one is an adult or child. This is not a book for everyone. It is a book that can be used in a classroom (history of course best, but English as well due to the lovely language used). There is an afterwards that ties fact and story together.
