
Responding to the increase in acts of violence perpetrated on and by thousands of children every year in the United States, Kids Need to Read implores the leaders of our nation, our schools, and our communities to be more assertive in providing peace, leadership, and violence prevention projects for our youth. Aggression in all its forms, from bullying to fighting to weapons use, is all too prevalent in our schools and communities. The hope for a more peaceful society lies in our children. Just as violence is learned, peaceful conflict resolution can also be taught. Some schools have successfully sponsored creative anger management programs in the form of art, music, and dance projects, giving rise to greater self-esteem and self-control among youth exposed to violence.
Kids Need to Read wants to do its part to encourage children to choose peaceful conflict resolution by sending KNTR Peace Packages to as many schools and literacy programs as possible. KNTR Peace Packages are designed to provide kids with alternatives to aggression. The books and activities will inspire peaceful problem solving skills, as well as demonstrate that the world's greatest leaders have been peace-makers. You can help Kids Need to Read in our endeavor to change lives through this program. Please consider the following contribution options:
- Provide one Peace Package book through a donation of $10.
- Provide one Peace Package book per month through a donation of $10 per month.
- Provide an entire Peace Package through a donation of $300 per elementary school, or $150 per middle school or high school. Donors in this category may choose a recipient organization for their Peace Package or leave the choice to Kids Need to Read. (Recipients must be a governmental or 501(c)(3) organization located in the United States, and must have an established literacy program serving children and/or adolescents.) The package will be accompanied by a card honoring the contribution in your name, unless anonymity is requested.
Please visit our donation page to make your KNTR Peace Package contribution. Be sure to include “Peace Package” in the comments section, so that your contribution will be applied correctly.
In addition to supporting Kids Need to Read in this initiative, you can advocate at your local schools and community organizations for a variety of programs that encourage respectful conflict resolution.
For more information, read Youth Violence.
Peace Packages Book Selections
Categories: Elementary School • Middle School • High School
Elementary School
| Lower Elementary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coles, Robert & Ford, George | – | The Story of Ruby Bridges |
| Cuyler, Margery & Howard, Arthur | – | Bullies Never Win |
| Fox, Mem & Wilton, Nicholas | – | Feathers and Fools |
| Katz, Karen | – | Can You Say Peace |
| Landowne, Youmi | – | Selavi, That is Life: A Haitian Story of Hope |
| Lovell, Patti & Catrow, David | – | Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon |
| McCloud, Carol & Messing, David | – | Have You Filled a Bucket Today? |
| McPhail, David | – | Weezer Changes the World |
| Munson, Derek & King, Tara Calahan | – | Enemy Pie |
| Napoli, Donna Jo & Nelson, Kadir | – | Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya |
| Otoshi, Kathryn | – | One |
| Preus, Margi & Takahashi, Hideko | – | The Peace Bell |
| Proimos, James | – | Paulie Pastrami Achieves World Peace |
| Spinelli, Eileen & Kennedy, Anne | – | Peace Week in Miss Fox's class |
| Upper Elementary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Seuss | – | The Butter Battle Book |
| Krull, Kathleen & Morales, Yuyi | – | Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez |
| Murphy, Jim | – | Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting |
| Muth, Jon J. | – | Zen Shorts |
| O'Tunnell, Michael | – | Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift's “Chocolate Pilot” |
| Paulus, Trina | – | Hope for Flowers |
| Radunsky, Vladimir | – | What Does Peace Feel Like? |
| Rappaport, Doreen & Collier, Bryan | – | Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| Roy, Jennifer | – | Yellow Star |
| Tai, Amy Lee & Hoshino, Felicia | – | A Place Where Sunflowers Grow |
| Wiles, Deborah | – | Countdown |
| Woodson, Jacqueline & Lewis, E. B. | – | The Other Side |
| Zalben, Jane Bresken | – | Paths to Peace: People Who Changed the World |
Middle School
| Bach, Richard & Munson, Russell | – | Jonathan Livingston Seagull |
| Bartoletti, Susan Campbell | – | The Boy Who Dared |
| Bolden, Tonya & Adelman, Bob | – | M.L.K.: Journey of a King |
| Bridges, Ruby | – | Through My Eyes |
| Covey, Stephen | – | 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens |
| Finlayson, Reggie | – | Nelson Mandela |
| Murphy, Jim | – | Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting |
| O'Tunnell, Michael | – | Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift's “Chocolate Pilot” |
| Paulus, Trina | – | Hope for Flowers |
| Sandler, Martin W. | – | Kennedy Through the Lens: How Photography and Television Revealed and Shaped an Extraordinary Leader |
| Wiles, Deborah | – | Countdown |
| Woodson, Jacqueline | – | Locomotion series (2 titles) |
| – | Locomotion | |
| – | Peace, Locomotion | |
| Zalben, Jane Bresken | – | Paths to Peace: People Who Changed the World |
High School
| Bach, Richard & Munson, Russell | – | Jonathan Livingston Seagull |
| Chopra, Deepak | – | Peace Is the Way: Bringing War and Violence to an End |
| Collopy, Michael | – | Architects of Peace: Visions of Hope in Words and Images |
| Covey, Stephen | – | 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens |
| Davis, Dr. Sampson & Jenkins, George & Hunt, Rameck & Draper, Sharon | – | We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Pact Led to Success |
| Ghandi, Mohandas K. | – | Gandhi An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth |
| Grennan, Connor | – | Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal |
| Keller, Bill | – | Tree Shaker: The Story of Nelson Mandela |
| Krakaur, Jon | – | Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman |
| Marchetta, Melina | – | Jellicoe Road |
| Moore, Wes | – | The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates |
| Murphy, Jim | – | Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting |
| Nye, Naomi Shihab | – | Habibi |
| Rodriguez, Deborah & Ohlson, Kristin | – | Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil |
| Scott, Elizabeth | – | Grace |