Give Peace a Chance

• Published in: Public libraries Vol. 62; no. 2; pp. 10 - 13
• Main Author: Grauel, Elizabeth
• Format: Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago American Library Association 01.03.2023
• Subjects: Addams, Jane (1860-1935); Book awards; Children & youth; Childrens literature; Fiction; Genre; Library associations; Library staff; Nobel prizes; Nonfiction; Peace; Public libraries; Readers; Readers advisory work; Reading; Reference services; Social justice
• ISSN: 0163-5506

The Jane Addams Peace Association, an organization focused on justice, peace, and social action and children, has an annual book award recognizing "children's books of literary and aesthetic excellence that effectively engage children in thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people. Erin Peters describes the value of this work succinctly in her review of The Jane Addams Children's Book Award: Honoring Children's Literature for Peace and Social Justice by Susan C. Griffith: these organizations and their awards processes are "excellent selection tool[s] for librarians and educators to find books that inspire [readers] to think about issues of peace and social justice. Early in 2022, consumer data agency NPD reported a peak in sales of race and social justice books for adults following the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020, with momentum that slowed but continued to remain notably high through 2021.9 Reflecting upon these snippets of information, it can be inferred that the current state of social and political sentiment in the United States is impacting adult reading interests for both non-fiction and fiction books. Free tools like LibraryThing and GoodReads are also helpful for finding suggestions, as are curated booklists and awards lists such as those in the list below: ¦ The Peace Booth's Peace and Justice Reading List: http:// ncpeacebooth.org/content /materials/peace-and-justice -reading-list/ ¦ A Century of Peace Making: An Annotated Bibliography from CSU Fullerton's Pollak Library: https://libraryguides .fullerton.edu/c.php?g=189 865&p=1255786 ¦ National Book Foundation's Literature for Justice Reading Lists: https://www.nation albook.org/programs/litera ture-for-justice-fund/ ¦ We Reads from WeHere: https://www.wehere.space /current-collection ¦ Ignyte Awards, which honor diversity and inclusivity in writing across genres, and include categories of adult fiction, nonfiction, short stories, anthologies, and poetry (https://ignyteawards.nyah litmag.com/) Lambda Literary Awards, which honor LGBTQ+ books and authors and provides a list filterable by type of work and subject matter (https://lamb daliterary.org/awards/lam mys-directory-1988-present/) National Jewish Book Awards, recognizing Jewish authors and books with topics of Jewish interest (https:// www.jewishbookcouncil.org /awards) Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, with awards for Adult Fiction and Adult Nonfiction about Asian and Pacific Americans (https://www.apalaweb.org /awards/literature-awards/) Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards, which honor Black writers and promote Black narratives (https://www.hur stonwright.org/2021-legacy -award-honorees/) International Latino Book Awards, which recognize books written by Latino authors or about Latino topics (https://books.latinobook awards.org/) BCALA Literary Award, honoring works of adult fiction and nonfiction by Black authors (https://www.bcak .org/bcala-awards/literary -book-award) The Future of Peace Lit in Public Libraries The public library is likely to remain a center for community dialogue, civic engagement, and pursuit of