Peace Train written by Cat Stevens and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds is a work of art in celebration of the song’s 50th birthday. It is a stunning picture book for children. However, it will also be greatly loved by grandparents eager to experience the song’s rhythms and messages once again while sharing this iconic song with their grandchildren.
Peter Reynold’s imaginative illustrations show the Peace Train with a special smokestack that emits rolling volumes of flowers, stars, tiny planets and hearts. There is a young guitarist shown singing throughout the book (perhaps young Cat Stevens himself). He urges all peoples of the world to get on board. Some are waiting at a station to do just that as others run across hills and valleys to jump on the peace train.
They come from all over the world dressed in skull caps, hijabs, a cowboy hat, a top hat and shirts adorned with peace signs. They are playing horns and guitars, throwing flowers and rejoicing----you can almost hear their music!
Peace Train written by Cat Stevens is an ode to peace and love directed to the peoples of the Earth as well as a visually enhanced concept book illustrated by Peter Reynolds about imagination, harmony and peace. It is designed for readers 4-8 years of age but it will be enjoyed by us all (HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2021).
The Children’s Bookshelf is a production of WCMU. Links to the podcast and the activity questions, ideal for home use, can be found at Children’s Bookshelf dot org.
Activity Questions for PEACE TRAIN
To get the full impact of the beauty of the song Peace Train ask parents or grandparents for some help in finding the song on the internet as it was originally produced in 1971. Listen to it and enjoy. Then listen to it as you follow the lyrics and the illustrations in this book. And finally, raise your voice and sing along with Cat. I promise you will be humming this melody for days.
Older readers: Cat Stevens dedicated this book to Greta Thunberg and Peter Reynolds dedicated this book to John Lennon and Yoko Ono. You can find these dedications on the page opposite the inside cover page. Why do you think these specific dedications were made by each artist? For the answer go online and trace Greta’s and John’s and Yoko’s contributions to dealing with climate change and encouraging world peace.
Throughout the book there is a white bird, possibly a dove and a
black bird, possibly a crow. On many of the pages of this book they are singing. What could their song be about? If you were to give each of these two birds a name appropriate to this book what would they be?
