Spanning two generations, The First Day of Peace shows how a taken-for-granted policy of "live and let live" can quickly crumble under the stresses of climate disasters. Only when it morphs into conscious acts of compassion can true peace prevail.
Two communities of people — one on the mountain with access to river water and one in the valley with lake resources — leave each other alone until a severe drought strikes the land. Unwilling to share what little they have with each other, the two communities build hostility which later spills over into wrestling and fist fights.
As the conflict escalates among adults, Tatiana Gardel's illustrations add magnificently to the story by showing us two young girls, one from each community, who notice each other, wave, then even spend their isolated winter days each making a doll that resembles the other. We see these two grow up and give the dolls to their children, passing along the value of respect for the other even though the two young women have never had a chance to exchange words. It's one of their children, a mountain girl, who during a terrible storm sees the devastation in the valley and tells her people, "We need to help."
"From house to house, her idea spread. Love catches on," the book tells us.
The First Day of Peace is a project of The Peace Studio, a nonprofit that promotes peace by supporting performing artists, jounalists, and other storytellers committed to healing divides, building mutual respect and dignity, and showing a path to living together in harmony. The book's authors, Todd Shuster and Maya Soetoro-Ng are cofounders of the nonprofit, with many other artistic, literary, and peace-making credits to their names.
The story will most appeal to readers ages four to eight, but Maya Soetoro-Ng's Afterword is meaningful for all ages. She writes: "We at The Peace Studio feel that books like this are urgently needed to empower young people to address the challenges of their time. We are all in the center of so many storms — both literal and metaphorical — and we need to share stories that offer guidance on how to remain resilient through drought, fire, enduring rain, and intense wind. We survive when we help one another and learn to share."
