by Tanya Zabinski
Reviewed by Susan French-Lawyer, Director of Admissions at Montessori School of Syracuse, NY
It’s been quite the year. Frankly, it’s been quite the four years. I, for one, have had to work hard to keep my positivism and sense of hope alive, and I can’t imagine what it must be like for younger people to watch grown ups making such a mess of things.
Thanks to Tanya Zabinski, there is a concrete step you can take right now to give your child a sense of empowerment and hope, along with the reassurance that there are plenty of people out there making the world a better place.
Tanya, a talented silk screen print artist from Buffalo, NY, and owner of Planet Love Designs, has taken some of her favorite prints and added a few new ones to create a book that is part art, part biography, and part social change recipe.
Peace, Love, Action! takes the reader through an alphabet of themes and features familiar social change icons such as: Martin Luther King, Jr., Thich Nhat Hahn, Jane Goodall, and John Muir. But it also includes people like teenage Native American water advocate Autumn Peltier, Literacy Volunteers of America founder Ruth Johnson Colvin, Afro-Indigenous farmer Leah Penniman, Alice Waters, and Colin Kaepernick. It is a diverse group, both local and international in feel.
The prints are beautiful, simple and soothing; the biographies are short and inspiring; and the list of practical things you can do and fun factoids takes the reader from the abstract to the concrete, from observer to participant.
Though this book has a slant towards the elementary or middle school reader, it has an ageless theme and appeal. It could also make a great gift for a high school or college student, or anyone you think might enjoy a boost of optimism. I purchased a copy for myself, and now I want to spread the word about this wonderful book!
This year, give yourself and someone you love a gift that reminds us of the good that is possible and the bountiful opportunities for positive change that lie ahead.
Buy the book directly from Tanya at: peaceloveaction.com
(p.s. she sells beautiful prints and t-shirts online at planetlovedesigns.com).
Please help spread the word by sharing this with colleagues, friends, and family.
