You, Me, We: A Celebration of Peace and Community

by Arun Gandhi, Bethany Hegedus, Andrés Landazábal (Illustrator)

Overview

Coauthored by one of the grandsons of Mahatma Gandhi, this gentle guide to cultivating peace will find a welcome place at home and in classrooms.

Peace is you. Peace is me.
Peace is the great big WE of community.

Where can we find peace? It shows in the way we walk, stand, or form a circle. It can be found when we play or dig in the garden, speak up or ask for help, or sit still and listen to the silence. Whether we’re learning, taking turns, or getting past hurt feelings and misunderstandings, peace is always there, as long as we look at one another, ready to discover. Drawing on the philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi and educator Maria Montessori, coauthors Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus offer an inviting primer brought to life through the warm, wondrous illustrations of Colombian artist Andrés Landazábal. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “If we are to teach real peace in this world . . . we shall have to begin with children.” You, Me, We does just that, as it celebrates the peace that can be found in us all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536245813
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/30/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

Arun Gandhi (1934–2023) was a coauthor, with Bethany Hegedus, of the picture books Grandfather Gandhi and Be the Change, both illustrated by Evan Turk, as well as the author of the adult memoir Legacy of Love: My Education in the Path of Nonviolence, all of which were inspired by his grandfather Mahatma Gandhi.

Bethany Hegedus is a coauthor, with Arun Gandhi, of the picture books Grandfather Gandhi and Be the Change, both illustrated by Evan Turk, and the author of the picture books Alabama Spitfire: The Story of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird, illustrated by Erin McGuire; Hard Work, but It’s Worth It: The Life of Jimmy Carter, illustrated by Kyung Eun Han; Rise! From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou, illustrated by Tonya Engel; and Huddle Up! Cuddle Up!, illustrated by Mike Deas. Bethany Hegedus is the founder and creative director of the Writing Barn, a writing retreat and workshop center in Austin, Texas, where she lives and writes.

Andrés Landazábal is an art director and the illustrator of numerous picture books, including Once Upon Another Time by Charles Ghigna and Matt Forrest Esenwine, The Fabulous World That God Made by Joyce K. Ellis, and Oliver’s Lollipop by Allison Wortche. Andrés Landazábal lives in Armenia, Colombia.

Arun Gandhi (1934–2023) was a coauthor, with Bethany Hegedus, of the picture books You, Me, We: A Celebration of Peace and Community, illustrated by Andrés Landazábal, and Grandfather Gandhi and Be the Change, both illustrated by Evan Turk, as well as the author of the adult memoir Legacy of Love: My Education in the Path of Nonviolence, all of which were inspired by his grandfather Mahatma Gandhi.

Editorial Reviews

08/14/2023

Inspired, per a creators’ note, by the work of Mahatma Gandhi and Maria Montessori, authors Gandhi and Hegedus propose a mind-expanding definition of peace in this gently insistent picture book. Opening lines interrogate the idea (“Where do we find peace?”) before proposing variations: it can be “speaking up” (“Can you please help me with my zipper?”), meditating (“Listening to the silence.// Alone or together”), cleaning up, learning, and more. While the creative team acknowledge the inevitability of conflict (“Peace isn’t always easy to find”), they also suggest that resolution can be found through curious connection (“But if we look at each other,/ ready to discover// peace is always there.”). Landazábal echoes the text’s sunny vision of community with light-infused watercolor, pencil, and gouache imagery depicting children of varied skin tones interacting. It’s a simple and inclusive vision of harmony. Ages 4–6. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Peace takes center stage in this picture book co-authored by the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. . . . Soft, gentle artwork with a cotton-candy feeling infuses the narrative with warmth and depicts the students playing, meditating, and sharing. . . a good starting point to spark discussions about peace and community-building. . . Will encourage young readers to give peace a chance.
—Kirkus Reviews

Inspired, per a creators’ note, by the work of Mahatma Gandhi and Maria Montessori, authors Gandhi and Hegedus propose a mind-expanding definition of peace in this gently insistent picture book. . . . Landazábal echoes the text’s sunny vision of community with light-infused watercolor, pencil, and gouache imagery depicting children of varied skin tones interacting. It’s a simple and inclusive vision of harmony.
—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2023-03-29
Peace takes center stage in this picture book co-authored by the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.

Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s friendship with Maria Montessori and his belief that “If we are to teach real peace in this world…we shall have to begin with children,” this work opens by asking, “Where do we find peace?” An unseen narrator tells readers that peace can be found in many different situations. “Peace is in the way we walk, / the way we sit, // the way we stand / the way we form a circle.” An accompanying image shows a diverse group of children in their classroom, some standing, others gathered on a rug. “Peace is in speaking up”—we see vignettes of a child asking for help with a zipper and of another child pointing out that their foot has been stepped on. Peace can be difficult to maintain—“There can be misunderstandings / angry words / hurt feelings.” But as a community, the authors urge, we can work together to cultivate peace. Soft, gentle artwork with a cotton-candy feeling infuses the narrative with warmth and depicts the students playing, meditating, and sharing. The text is simple and concise, though occasionally didactic. Nevertheless, it should be a good starting point to spark discussions about peace and community-building using cues from both words and images. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Will encourage young readers to give peace a chance. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews