Like any intangible concept, peace can be a difficult lesson to teach to children. We can start with basic lessons—be nice to your friends, don’t hit your sister, don’t throw the cat—but even teaching what peace is can seem a bit tough to do. It’s very easy to complicate—even a simple explanation, like “Peace means not hurting each other,” can get mixed up with questions like, “But what about when we argue/ Jennifer takes my toys/ I get a time-out?” on the table.

Even if your child is likely to come up with his own eloquent and beautiful idea of what peace is—and he probably will—it may not encompass all of the ideas that you wish to share with your own values. Does peace include the environment? A universal brotherhood among all countries? Being a good neighbor? Is it simply the absence of violence, or also the continual goodwill and helping of people by all of humankind?

That’s why enlisting the help of other kids and their definitions of peace can be helpful. Other children’s perspectives will be on your child’s level, serving to help him create his own perspective of peace. In Jennifer Garrison and Andrew Tubesing’s compilation, A Million Visions of Peace: Wisdom from the Friends of Old Turtle, you can read the sage suggestions of what peace is from children in over 150 communities in all 50 states. Through both words and charming children’s illustrations, the book covers ideas from children during the Old Turtle Peace Tour.

Some gems of wisdom include “This is a girl who lives in peace. She likes to play. She isn’t scared. I’d like the world to be this way” (Caleb, 6) and “Every time you see a war, you can plant a tree in between the people that are fighting” (Jennifer, 6). Some kids say that peace is playing sports, picking up trash, and protecting animals; others say that it’s the absence of divorce or fighting. Quotations range from actual poetry to short but meaningful sentences, and illustrations are bright, moving and sometimes painful to see. There is even a letter to the United Nations by one group of children in support of world peace.

A word of warning: some of the messages are a little darker than others. For example, “Shells are for turtles, not guns” is a great sentiment, but it also assumes that your child understands what gun shells are. Rape is even mentioned by at least one child. There are also drawings of guns, as well as a drawing of the Earth being blown up through war. You may wish to read ahead and skip such sections until your child is a bit older.

If the moving passages by children weren’t enough to help you teach peace to your child, every section ends with a lesson plan as well. For example, the “Earth Keeper” section includes ways to preserve the environment, while the “Prevent Violence” chapter ends with ways to calm down and suggestions to not watch violent TV.

It’s a beautiful, if not astounding, book that adults may simply be interested in reading as a reminder of living peace every day as well. If you can get a copy of this book, share it with the people you love and when you are finished, pass it on to keep the wisdom of Old Turtle going.