Why War Is Never a Good Idea: A Compelling Illustrated Poem About Consequences for Children

by Alice Walker, Stefano Vitale (Illustrator)

Though War is Old It has not Become wise. Poet and activist Alice Walker personifies the power and wanton devastation of war in this evocative poem. Stefano Vitale’s compelling paintings illustrate this unflinching look at war’s destructive nature and unforeseen consequences.

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, War, Childrens, Politics, Nonfiction, Social Justice

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Noted American writer Alice Walker won a Pulitzer Prize for her stance against racism and sexism in such novels as The Color Purple (1982).

People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why War Is Never a Good Idea is a poetic cautionary tale of how war infiltrates the lives of those who least expect and deserve it. War is personified as an evil force that destroys homes, villages, and people without knowing the damage it does. War is a character brought to life by abstract and chilling images; it creeps up slowly and transforms into a beast-like image.

The language in this is descriptive and poetic and causes the reader to stop and think. Naturally, Alice Walker is a poet and novelist and this children's book is no less serious or artful as her other works. She's taken a very somber subject and illustrated how it affects everyone, even the earth, in a way that children can understand. The act of war is never explicitly explained or illustrated, but its life-altering effects are. I gave this book four stars for addressing reality in a digestible and tangible way for children. The message is clear and ends with putting the reader in the shoes of someone affected by war directly. It's really the language though that puts this book over the top, and honestly feels more like a long form poem has been illustrated rather than a book, but it works in this format well.

[Neda · Rating 5 out of 5]

عاشق این جمله ام که میگه:
گرچه جنگ پیر است
اما خردمند نیست
و تردید نخواهد کرد
در نابودی آنچه
به او تعلق ندارد:
آنچه از او بسیار کهن سالتر
است.

تصویرگری ش هم عالیه..

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Alice Walker packs a powerful, heart-wringing poem into a picture book. The artwork is amazing. The whole thing leaves you sitting, staring at the inside back cover, with tears in your eyes and your mind blown.

Every child should have a copy of this book. It should be as ubiquitous as Good Night Moon or The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Likewise, every adult should read this book - and then re-read it often so that we can hang onto all the important reasons to work for Peace.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it and talk about it. . . with your peers, your children, your grandchildren.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful antiwar statement. I'm not sure what age group this is for really - it's a scary book - though war is scary, and doesn't really check age range. Beautiful illustrations.

[Rebecca Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beauty of this book, menaced by a hideous monster of war, was a wonderful surprise. It was hard for my children to understand the implied threats so I had to explain what the book meant. After that, the book went from weird to okay. It grows on you and seeps into your experience, unpinning any foundation of support for war that was unconscious in your memory. It opens the way for alternative solutions by reminding us of how all things are connected, how innocents are destroyed and the careless destruction leads even to the suffering of those who became war. Brilliant.

[Raquel Pilar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This poem is a message. A message about what War (capital letter because it is almost treated as a being) does and might do to people, to the animals, the environment.
I finished reading this book feeling sad and worried and I do think this is really necessary for us to get just a little bit closer to what feels like living in war, after all, it can happen anywhere with anyone.
Absolutely heartbreaking and powerful! The illustrations make the poem even deeper and make the context even closer to the reader.

[Erica Gronowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why War Is Never a Good Idea is a poetic cautionary tale of how war affects the lives of those who least expect and deserve it. War is personified as an evil force that destroys homes, villages, and people without knowing the damage it does. War is a character brought to life by chilling images; it creeps up slowly and transforms into a beast-like image.

I gave this a 4 out of 5 because it is a great read.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Walker knows what's up. It's common sense. To not go to war is to demonstrate empathy, compassion, creativity, and wisdom. Of course, there is the complication of "He started it, and I need to defend my people or we will die. We cannot be bullied." I don't have an answer other than I wish during this holiday season for a profound moral shift in the perspective of the greedy, power-hungry bullies of the world. Maybe give them a copy of this book.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a picture book for adults, gorgeous. Gorgeous poetry, beautiful illustrations, the metaphor is spot on.
As a picture book that seems to want to be for children, it seems to be having a bit of an identity crisis. I may update after I share this with the bigger kid. It's not that I want to protect kids or think they can't handle it. I'm just not sure they will get it at all.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

You really get the dark feeling of war in this book.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never thought of this war in just these terms, which makes this terrible thug even more horrifying. Every human should consider war from these perspectives.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense and thought-provoking, with powerful illustrations. This is definitely one that parents will want to provide some adult guidance with. This will spark some big--and necessary--conversations.

[Payton Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Though war is old, it has not become wise.”

[Rolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Alice Walker and love the premise here, though it was a bit abstract for our younger kiddos.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure the kids quite got this one, but we will revisit it later.

[Tangerine Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a great addition to a lesson on personification.

[anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good message and beautiful illustrations. Maybe a little too intense/scary for a young reader, though.

[Caroline Pring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had no idea this was a deeply upsetting children's picture book when I put it on a tbr for this year's reading challenge but it's November and too late to change it now

[Juliana Chau · Rating 5 out of 5]

2007 A picture book of concept describing war and its effects that is both powerful and beautiful.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve tried to wait and let this book sink in before giving it a review, and I’m still speechless. It’s stunning.

[Zhānlìyàn Liú · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Why War Is Never a Good Idea
Author: Alice Walker
Illustrator: Stefano Vitale
Genre: Book of poems or poetry collection
Theme(s): War, destruction, community, perspective
Opening line/sentence: Though war speaks in every language it never knows what to say to frogs
Brief Book Summary: This poem talks about the mass destruction caused by war. It starts off from the damage that war causes the unsuspecting animals/nature and ranges off to how war affects a nursing mother and child. Although it does not have much content in regards to text, Walker's choice in language makes this book very powerful.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: The Horn Book Online Guide
Walker, Alice Why War Is Never a Good Idea
32 pp. HarperCollins 2007. ISBN 978-0-06-075385-6 LE ISBN 978-0-06-075386-3
(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Stefano Vitale. Walker's ceaseless rhythm echoes the inexorable march of war. Poignancy is sustained in gentle images until war flaunts its power. With a creative economy of words, Walker offers a challenge: Will war continue as humanity's legacy? From Vitale's palette come illustrations that show, through color and light, the striking contrast between peace and safety and the devastation of war.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: KIRKUS REVIEW

How do you answer the question implied in this title? Beautifully, powerfully and truthfully, as Walker and Vitale demonstrate in language and images accessible even to very young children. The lines, “War has bad manners / War eats everything / In its path / & what / It doesn’t / Eat / It / Dribbles / On:” float over an image of a once-beautiful old city, now blasted and sere. War destroys unthinkingly—from bright green frogs to ancient sculpture, from pumas and parakeets to blessed and needful water. War is blind to nursing mothers and boys with donkeys. Walker’s language is perfectly plainspoken without being coarse, laid over Vitale’s jewel-like color and riot of images from the sublime (a village by a lake) to the scary (a poisonous green fog covering a bright forest). Disembodied eyes, bombs like darts, paint sculpted into terrifying monster shape, echo and reinforce the strength of the language. Children deserve to see this, and adults need to be ready to discuss it with them. (Picture book. 5-10)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews address the question of war, the language and illustrations used to depict it, and whether or not it will continue. Kirkus Review takes the question one step further as they evaluate the language and illustrations. They mention how Walker's use of language is descriptive just enough for children to get the picture, without being too coarse. They also mention how children should see this book, which I could see some parents disagreeing with. However, I myself personally 100% believe this is a book children should be exposed to.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: Through illustrations of before and after the effects of war, Walker shows readers how parties are affected by war. She chooses to use parties that are not directly involved in war in her poetry. By doing this, Walker is showing her readers how war can play a negative role everywhere regardless of direct or indirect involvement.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This book could be tricky to use in a classroom, due to the fact of it being very one-sided when addressing views towards war. It may offend many parents who are veterans, and could stir up some controversy. I believe the best option to using this book is either setting it in the classroom library and making it assessable to children, but not specifically choosing to share it, or reading it aloud with many other books with positive perspectives towards war. This could then be used to show children that there are many different ways to think about things.

[Kyle]

The book I selected to read as a sample as poetry.

The book Why War is Never a Good Idea is a story told through poetry about how war affects all aspects of life. It talk about not only soldiers, but it gets into the idea that war affects animals, the land and environment, innocent people, even the water that people drink. Alice Walker who wrote The Color Purple, is the author of this book. It was interesting to hear a totally different genre of book than the novel she wrote. Though this is quite different than her novel, I can see her style in this book because she is an activist, and uses this book as well to show her thoughts and beliefs. Though this book has simple vocabulary with limited words on a page, I do not see using this books with younger children. Since it displays war in a very dark and devastating way, it should probably be used with a more mature audience. I think this would be a great resource to use in social studies to add on to the text book. Text books occasionally can glorify war by explaining the weapons they used, and talking about victories of battles, but they seem to not focus on the negative aspects of war as much. This book could be used to show a different perspective of war. Students would realize that war can hurt everyone. When they hear the line, "When it comes to nursing mothers it is blind; milk, especially human, it cannot", I think that most people would identify with the idea, and see that a baby who hasn't lived their life yet, does not deserve to feel the war. This book would also be a great tool to use to teach figurative language. The book includes many examples of personification such as: "war has no manners war eats everything" and "here war is munching on a village". It also includes examples of similes such as: "War's leftover gunk seeps like saliva into the ground". The book overall does a great job using imagery to create pictures inside the reader's head. Finally, this book is so capturing as well because of the illustrations. I think they do a good job of showing the opposing ideas of war and life or good and evil. For example, on one of the pages there is a colorful drawing of a pond setting with lots of animals, trees, and people, and then on the top of a page a photograph of a dirty tire probably from a war vehicle is placed. This really shows illustrates the difference is war and life.

[babyhippoface · Rating 1 out of 5]

With lines like “You could die While Choking & Holding Your Nose,” this book gets my vote for "Picture Book Most Likely to Give Your Kid Nightmares."

I didn't like this book. At all. It felt like a piece of political propaganda disguised as a children's book. It looks like a picture book, but it reads like a depressing poem written by that the weird guy in my college poetry workshop who wore a skull t-shirt and army jacket and wrote about death and public urination. The guy whose poems made me wonder why he couldn't write one single poem without profanity. (Was his constant use of offensive language supposed to impress us all with how "deep" he was? Mostly, it made me wonder, "Can't you find INTELLIGENT words to express yourself?")

Perhaps it's the timing of this book's release that makes it so offensive to me. Were we not in the midst of a controversial war, perhaps I would not have resented it so much. But we are, and I do. Not so much for what it contains, but for what is omitted: where is the cruel injustice that so often leads to war? Where is the joyful freedom of those liberated by war? Where is the mother hiding her child in a closet for fear her own countrymen would steal him away only to leave his bullet-riddled body in a mass grave with dozens of others just like him?

In a perfect world, this book's message would ring true. But in our world, it doesn't. The ugly truth is that war is sometimes necessary. If I could convince myself that Walker's message is only about the damaging effect of war on nature, perhaps I could stomach it. But I don't believe that's her sole focus. Yes, war harms our landscape. But sometimes it halts the cruelty, torture, and terror of human beings. And that's the trump card for me. Nature rebounds and rebuilds. Stolen lives do not.

That's why I say, don't buy this book. I guess you could buy it for your local pacifist, but definitely not for kids or anybody you're fond of. Unless you're trying to give them bad dreams. Or indoctrinate them... which, now that I think of it, sounds completely like the intended purpose.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike the poetry for children by Morrison and Angelou, Walker’s book does not hold back. It’s a powerful, chilling text that is nightmarish and visually/poetically stunning. War is illustrated as a big, industrial entity that destroys all in its path, and does not see Mothers. In a very dark and frightening page, Walker writes: “Here War is Munching on A village Its missiles Taking chunks Big bites out Of it. War’s Leftover Gunk Seeps Like Saliva Into The Ground. It Is finding Its Way Into the Village Well.” The next page features a terrifying wave of filth with a skull-like face, and the narrator states that you can taste and smell war, and that war can be in the water, as it “makes You sick Sip by sip.” She goes on to say that “You could die While Choking & Holding Your Nose. The book ends with a collection of people looking down into a war, and the narrator charges the reader that s/he too could “Become War,” because it happens to the nicest people. The book is summarized as a “simple, rhythmic text explores the wanton destructiveness of War, which has grown old but not wise, as it demolishes nice people and beautiful things with no consideration for the consequences.” This is an incredibly challenging picture book.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Alice Walker's poetic work Why War Is Never A Good Idea, she explores what war is all about using incredibly simple words and examples of how it wantonly crashes into and changes the lives of everyday people and creatures, completely disregarding the landscape and natural resources and leaving a trail of destruction behind it.

Stefano Vitale's folk art painted illustrations take you around the world, showing how different places and people are impacted the same way by war and, as you can see, he nicely juxtaposes what the lush green world of peace looks like compared to what the destroyed gray world of war looks like.

The rhythmic text isn't always the best I've read by Walker, but certainly she gets her pacifistic ideas across, ideas I can completely agree with. What really makes this a moving, effective work is the combination of text and illustrations. Each stands better with the other than they would alone.

And, in the end, seeing faces looking down a poisoned water well, Walker poses the question to her reader - What if you become war? Certainly, food for thought.

This book are recommended for readers age 8+
This book was purchased for my personal library

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a strange book to read, for the entire book contained no punctuation marks and all of the sentences were broken up shortly over lines with each new line beginning with a capitalized word, regardless of the fact that the word was within the same sentence/thought. The illustrations were wonderful however, showing aspects of various cultures using vibrant colors, as it described war and how those who are affected by it do not see it coming, those including not just people but animals and nature as well. I found this book to be inspiring, as it brought to light the unforeseen consequences that come with war to the people, the animals, the land and to humanity as a whole. I did find it difficult to read however, because of the poetic nature in which it is written, noticing it wouldn’t be an easy picture book to use as a read-aloud in a classroom without a lot of preparation time. Due to its unusual structure and message as well as its beautiful illustrations, I claimed this book as one that caught my attention.

[Dione Basseri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand the motivation to write this book. To show the next generation of children that war has a negative effect on people and the land (completely failing to acknowledge the sometimes necessary occasions for war, such as stopping genocide and all), in the hopes that they will stop the wars of the future.

But it's a hella boring book.

The text is taken from a poem by Alice Walker, which, while fine for adults, does nothing for a child reader, who doesn't have the more sophisticated poetic sense of their elders. The text does mean that words are relatively sparse, so kids won't be distracted by a long paragraph on a page, but they will be distracted by how uninteresting the artwork is. And, if you do manage to get your kid through most of this book, there's some pretty horrific images near the end, sure to give your kids nightmares.

Yes, we need to teach our children tolerance and encourage them to find ways to resolve conflicts without fighting, but this book? Not going to do a thing, except make them whine about being bored.

[Judy Lindow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm tempted to rate the book higher, as I think a book on war would be a good way to start a discussion about what war is with kids, but frankly I just don't care for the poem or the illustrations much. They don't move me.

Kids need to know about war and other harsh realities - I don't have any issues with talking about war, animal abuse, climate change, and other difficult issues at school (and hopefully, families talk at home). I'm torn by the book however. The poem is a little abstract for kids, it seems more like an adult poem. I'm pretty sure it would be lost on most children under 4th grade. I read it very solemnly to a group of 4th-6th graders, it a small group. It was a while back. No one joked but I don't recall anyone 'getting' it either.

Regarding whether this story/poem would scare a child. Hardly. However it does bring up war, which is indeed very scary for children and adults alike. As a vehicle to talk about war it may be very useful.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure I approve of this book being categorized as a children's book. While I don't think that children's books should always be cheery and silly, I don't think that they should cross the line and become frightening or haunting, which I thought this book was. I would not read this book out loud to a child, it is slightly depressing and one page of illustrations is especially scary. This book had an agenda to push and that was slightly annoying, because children won't get that. The illustrations were very striking for this book, when they weren't dark. Probably not a book I'd recommend.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2008...