Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 10, 1991 TAG: 9103120020
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by LYNN ERWIN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
So, even though the war in the gulf appears to be over now, how does one go about explaining it to young children, especially all those gray areas?
Stories about war will not solve this confusion, but they can help to demonstrate, often in illustrations, that wars do affect Dr. Seuss even the best of people and that even the good guys and bad guys sometimes have trouble identifying who is who.
\ "The Butter Battle Book" by Dr. Seuss (Random House, 1984) is one of the better known war books for children. The Zooks and the Yooks try to outdo each other with their fancy weapons. At the conclusion, each has the capacity to blow each other off the face of the Earth. Who will be the first to drop the bomb - or whether anyone actually will - is left up to the child to decide. Perhaps Dr. Seuss envisioned a lively discussion between parent and child about the atrocities of war.
Talking about blowing up Zooks or Yooks or puppy dogs or people is frightening enough for world leaders. Little children don't need those vague and scary feelings about war. Not yet, anyway. Save this vivid story for ages 10 and above.
Other picture books that seem more appropriate for older audiences are "\ The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman" (Little Brown, 1984) and "\ When the Wind Blows" (Schocken Books, 1982), both by the talented Raymond Briggs.
\ "Rose Blanche" (Creative Education, 1985) written and illustrated by Roberto Innocenti, is another picture book for older children, yet it lacks the satire of the Seuss and Briggs titles. The setting is Nazi Germany and, with some sensitivity, Innocenti's heartbreaking story could be shared with ages 8 and up.
For younger children who need the reassurance that the enemy isn't lurking in the back yard, yet are curious about what all the talk on TV has been about, stories with a character remembering a war or stories that feature war as a setting might be more suitable than the reality of "Rose Blanche." "\ The Angel With a Mouth-Organ" by Christobel Mattingley (Holiday House, 1986) has mother telling about the hardships of war. In "\ Bang, Bang, You're Dead" by Louise Fletcher (Harper & Row, 1986), some boys realize that play war and real war are very different.
War is not humorous or fun. However, some creative children's authors have successfully produced books that will bring forth a laugh or two. Children will enjoy the stories at face values; adults will want to look for the subtle meanings. In all of the following titles, war is portrayed as an alternative to conflict and peace is the goal:
\ "The Duck in the Gun" by Joy Cowley (Doubleday, 1969);\ "The Bomb and the General" (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989), a translation of Umberto Eco's "La Bomba e il generale";\ "Drummer Hoff," the Caldecott winner by Barbara Emberley (Prentice-Hall, 1967);\ "One Sad Day," by Bernice Kohn Hunt (Third Press, 1971);\ "Potatoes, Potatoes," by Anita Lobel (Harper & Row, 1967);\ "The Stranger," by Kjell Ringi (Random House, 1968);\ "The Rotten Island" by William Steig (Godine, 1984); and\ "John John Twilliger" by William Wondriska (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1966) are all suitable for ages 4 through 10.
Truth is tricky when approaching a difficult subject with children, especially when determining how much truth to reveal. With yellow ribbons flying from car antennas and Saturday morning cartoons laced with "Special Reports from the Gulf," even a 3-year-old child knows something is up.
\ "How To Turn War Into Peace: A Child's Guide To Conflict Resolution" by Louise Armstrong (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979) uses cartoons to discuss war and peace terms.\ "Nobody Wants a Nuclear War" by Judith Vigna (Albert Whitman, 1986) has mother explaining war in a non-threatening way and\ "Why Do Wars Happen?" by Don Slater (Gloucester Press, 1988) covers causes and prevention.
When selecting books on war, be sure your child is ready for their impact. War is a "hot" subject and overload is the last thing any parent or teacher would want to be party to.
by CNB