The War

by Anaïs Vaugelade

The Blues and the Reds have been at war for so long, neither side can remember why they started fighting. Prince Fabien, prince of the Blues, is faced with his father's disapproval, trying to end the war, and the guilt of a terrible tragedy. Armed only with a pen, paper, and his wits, Prince Fabien bravely accomplishes what years of war have not--and becomes a hero.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Anaïs Vaugelade est née à Saint-Ouen en 1973. Elle a vécu dans les Basses-Pyrénées jusqu'à dix-sept ans, puis est venue à Paris pour faire de la photo à l'école des arts décoratifs, et, parallèlement, des livres pour enfants à l'école des loisirs. Outre son goût prononcé pour les loups ("Une soupe au caillou" et "L'anniversaire de Monsieur Guillaume") et pour les crocodiles ( série des "Zuza"), Anaïs Vaugelade est une grande spécialiste des cochons (série de la famille "Quichon"). Ceux qui lisent ses livres ou reçoivent ses cartes de vœux - ou les deux - le savent depuis longtemps : elle est aux cochons ce que Claude Ponti est aux poussins.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The War is a perfect example of how arguments, and war itself, can be completely pointless. The nice thing is that the book is not preachy at all but very approachable. I believe grades 2 and up will do well with this.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a little brutal and pretty deep. We read it in 450, my professor said she would read it to third and up. I was reading the reviews and when I come back to this book I'll want to keep Stephanie Watson's review left on May 26, 2017 in mind, "This book tries to express the futility of war to a young audience. I think the overall concept is good, but the characters were not fleshed out enough to help me connect to them, and so the story fell flat. One other thing is that though I agree with the overall message of the book, I also think the valor of those who are willing to sacrifice themselves for others should be honored, and this book doesn't really express that." It ties some of my own concerns. Other concerns may be that all the athority figures are men and I'm sure I could name more. However, there are two major reasons I still really appriciate it. It shows masculinity in a different light. I think often we work to show different ways to be feminine but this book does that with masculinity. I think it does a good job of flipping hegemonic masculinity for children. It represents diversity in a group that, because of it's privilege rarely gets that representation. The other reason I like this is because it could be used to teach allegory, even at the HS level. My professor read it to us and asked us why she had read it we all made different connections. It could be about war, it could be about the teacher/student relationship with the threat of yellow attack as the threat of ignorance, it could be anything.

[Stephanie Watson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book tries to express the futility of war to a young audience. I think the overall concept is good, but the characters were not fleshed out enough to help me connect to them, and so the story fell flat. One other thing is that though I agree with the overall message of the book, I also think the valor of those who are willing to sacrifice themselves for others should be honored, and this book doesn't really express that.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there is no shortage of picture books on the futility of war, this one is simple and easy for kids to understand (reds vs. blues). Predictable, but a good conversation starter, especially in these turbulent times.

[Megan Wagner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Sanghyun · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is abut 'peace' and 'how to make peace.'

[Emma Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it because it was about a kid who was smart enough to end the war by turning enemies into allies with kindness and wits.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a random we picked up to read to take a dreaded AR quiz. My second grader wasn't terribly excited to read it, but when we were done, I could tell he was a little shocked at how much he liked it. I was shocked how much I liked it, too. After he read it, he still wanted to look at the pictures and talk about it, which is always a sign of a good kid's book, IMO. Would be a great one to teach conflict resolution. I love modern picture books that don't pander - this one has more death and violence than many books today dare mention, and I appreciate that it went there to get the point across.

[Taylor Brune · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great childrens book that touched on the concept of war. I think it would be a great resource to incorporate into a Social Studies lesson for 2nd or 3rd graders. It would be a useful read-aloud and discussion starter for the concept of war, and I think children would also really enjoy the story.

[Erroll Treslan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world would be a better place if parents spent more time reading books like these to their kids.