Amnesty International. We are all Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in pictures. London: Amnesty International UK, 2016. See illustrated powerpoint slide presentation.(ages 5+)

Brown, Monica, and John Parra (illustrator). Waiting for the BiblioBurro. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press, 2011 (ages 5-8).

Cabrera, Jane. If You're Happy and You Know It. New York, USA: Scholastic, Inc., 2005 A joyful version of the song to sing with lions, hippos, and other animals. (Aages 3-6.)

Coles, Robert, and George Ford (illustrator). The Story of Ruby Bridges. USA: Scholastic, 2010 (ages 4-8).

Côté, Geneviève. Without You. Toronto, Canada: Kids Can Press, 2011. Two friends realize that while playing alone is okay, it's more fun with a friend (ages 2-5).

Eco, Umberto, and Eugenio Carmi, trans. William Weaver. The Three Astronauts. New York, USA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989. A beautifully illustrated story of 3 astronauts from different parts of the world who learn that just because we may look and sound different, we all have similar feelings. (ages 5 and up).

Elliot, David, and Randy Cecil. And Here's To You. New York, USA: Scholastic Inc., 2004. A toast to those with two, four or even six legs, celebrating the things that make us wonderful from buzzing bees to milk-giving cows to joyful people. (Ages 5-7).

Fitch, Sheree. If You Could Wear My Sneakers: A Book About Children's Rights. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1998. (ages 5 to adult)

Fox, Mem. Whoever You Are. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1998. Children from all over the world may look and sound different but they all want the same things (ages 0-10).

Hennessey, B. G., and H. Nakata, H. Because of You: A Book of Kindness. Summerville, USA: Candlewick Press, 2005. A simple and effective explanation of kindness — if we are all kind, it can lead to world peace. (ages 3 and up)

Katz, Karen. Can You Say Peace? New York, USA: Scholastic, 2006. Beautiful illustrations of children from all over the world saying "peace" in different languages. At the end of the book, there's a larger list of how to say the word "peace" in several other languages. (ages 4-8)

Keller, Laurie. Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners. New York, USA: Square Fish, 2009. A book about the golden rule but explained by otters and rabbits. (ages 4-8)

LeBox, Annette. Peace Is An Offering. New York, USA: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2015. This explains peace in a very simple way for children to understand: "May peace walk beside you wherever you are." (ages 3 and up)

Leaf, Munro, and Robert Lawson (illustrator). The Story of Ferdinand. New York: Viking Press, 1936. A very old story, written in 1936, about a bull who likes to smell flowers instead of fight. (ages 3-7)

Litwin, Eric and Dean, James. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. New York, USA: HarperCollins, 2010. Pete the Cat is the most optimistic character in literature. No matter what happens, you keep moving along and singing your song because, as Pete says, "it's all good!" (Ages 3 and up.)

McKinley, Cindy, and Mary Gregg Byrne. One Smile. Bellevue, USA: Illumination Arts, 2002. With a lovely smile, a little girl starts a series of kind acts that explain how being kind is so simple yet so important. (ages 4-8)

Meiners, Cheri J., and Elizabeth Allen. Be Positive! A Book About Optimism. Minneapolis, USA: Free Spirit Publishing Inc., 2013. Happy instructions on how to be positive in language that children understand. (Ages 3-6.)

Moore Thomas, Shelley, and Eric Futran. Somewhere Today: A Book of Peace. Morton Grove, USA: Albert Whitman and Co., 1998. "Somewhere today, someone is reading a book about peace. Maybe it's you," is one of the lines in this book that explains the concept of peace in language that's easy for young children to understand. (ages 4-8)

Ohi, Ruth. Fox and Squirrel. Toronto, Canada: Northwinds Press, 2013. Two friends, Fox and Squirrel, discuss, describe and celebrate their similarities and differences. (Ages 3-6.)

Otoshi, Kathryn. One. San Rafael, USA: KO Kids Books, 2008. A lovely story with a lovely message about upstanding rather than bystanding. We all need to be like One. (ages 3-9)

Parr, Todd. The Peace Book. New York, USA: Little, Brown and Company, 2004. A beautifully illustrated book with simple concepts to explain peace. (ages 5 -8)

Pinkney, Jerry. The Lion and the Mouse Boston: Little, Brown, 2009. A beautifully illustrated book telling the classic tale. (ages 2-8)

Radunsky, V. What Does Peace Feel Like? New York, USA: Simon & Schuster, 2004. The author asked children how peace smells, tastes, sounds, looks and feels and compiled their answers with lovely illustrations. At the back of the book, there is a large list of how Peace is said in 150 languages. (ages 5-10)

Raffi, and Eugenie Fernandes. One Light, One Sun. New York, USA: Random House, 1988. An illustrated copy of Raffi's lovely song.

Raschka, Chris. Yo! Yes? New York, USA: Scholastic Inc., 1993. A very simple—one or two words on each page - yet very effective story of two boys making friends despite their differences. (ages 3-6)

Rosenthal, Amy Krause, and Jen Corace. This Plus That: Life's Little Equations. New York, USA: HarperCollins Children's Books, 2011. Simple, fun equations about life. Eg. "handshake + 'how do you do' = polite" or "good days + bad days = real life". (Ages 5 and up.)

Ruzzier, Sergio. Bear and Bee. New York, USA: Disney Hyperion, 2012. Bear, who has never seen a bee, describes them as fearsome and monster-like to his new friend, who he doesn't know is a bee. (Ages 3-6.)

Ryder, Joanne, and Norman Gorbaty Earthdance. New York, USA: Henry Holt Kids, 1996. Stunning illustrations with a beautiful poem about the earth dancing in the universe. (ages 3-8)

Serres, Alain, and Aurélia Fronty. I Have the Right to be a Child. Toronto, Canada: Groundwood Books, 2012 An explanation of the rights of children along with some beautiful illustrations. (ages 4-7)

Shannon, David. Duck on a Bike. New York, USA: Blue Sky Press, 2002. Fantastic illustrations of a duck and his farmyard friends happily learning to ride a bike. It's hard at the beginning and you wobble a lot but if you keep trying, it's really fun! (Ages 4-7.)

Smith, David J. If the World Were a Village. 2nd edition. Toronto, Canada: Kids Can Press, 2011. (ages 5-12)

Waber, Bernard. Courage. Boston, USA: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2002. The concept of being brave is simply explained for young children: going to bed without a nightlight or tasting the vegetable without making a face or being the new kid on the block and saying hi. (Ages 4-8.)

Willems, Mo. Can I Play, Too? New York: Disney-Hyperion, 2010. A simply told story of inclusion and friendship. Mo Willems has written a number of Elephant and Piggie books (various titles), published by New York, USA: Disney Hyperion, various dates. Piggie and her great friend, Gerald the elephant, celebrate their friendship in this wonderful series of books. Many of the books teach difficult concepts in a gentle, amusing way that children understand: empathy, compassion, inclusion, friendship, acceptance of differences, seeing something from a different perspective, optimism, kindness. Here is small sampling of some of the titles: My Friend Is Sad, My New Friend Is So Fun, The Thank You Book, Waiting Is Not Easy, Can I Play, Too?, I Really Like Slop, Elephants Cannot Dance, A Big Guy Took My Ball, I Love My New Toy, I Am Invited To A Party!, Happy Pig Day!. (Ages 3 and up.)

Williams, Karen Lynn, and Khadra Mohammed. Four Feet, Two Sandals. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007. *(ages 5-10)

Williams, Sam, and Mique Moriuchi. Talk Peace. London, UK: Hodder Children's Books, 2005. Talk high, talk low, talk peace: A happy book with a happy message. (ages 3-6)

Winter, Jeanette. Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story of Africa. New York, USA: Harcourt Books, 2008. The true story of Wangari Maathal whose environmental movement caused over 30 million trees to be planted in Kenya. (ages 3-7)