Is It Right to Fight? – A first look at conflict

Review also includes:

The Skin I’m In – A first look at racism, ***, ‎978-0750242608

These two new books cover issues very relevant to children in today’s world. Is It Right to Fight? with its two-page spread showing war and its effect on children has a particular resonance. The main emphasis, however, is on conflict resolution in everyday life: fighting and screaming is never a good thing; anger can be useful if channelled properly; being around people who fight makes one unhappy; children and adults often fight about the same things; a few simple rules can help avoid fights. The discussion points are ample and to-the-point.

The Skin I’m In has a semantic problem. The issue here is racism, but in reality the book deals with bigotry in all its forms. One picture shows a Jewish family with their menorah, and the clear implication is that Judaism is a race – which it isn’t. Racism and bigotry are two issues, overlapping and similar in many ways, but different. The very title indicates that the book is meant to be about skin colour. While there are abundant illustrations of children of different races, it is also apparent that we are talking about ethnicity, cultural background and religion too – all of which are quite different from skin colour alone. The issues raised are important ones – and well handled – but the title could have had more thought, considering the breadth of the book.

The pictures in both volumes, innocent, bright and sympathetic, are well realised, and there are instructions for teachers and parents on the use of the books. A list of contacts, and some material for further reading will also prove helpful. The ‘A First Look At’ series includes a number of other topics useful for PSHE and Citizenship lessons.