Green Lizards vs Red Rectangles by Steve Antony

Hodder Children's Books, 2015. ISBN 9781444920109
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. Themes: War & Conflict; Picture Book. This very simple picture book tackles a profound question - Why does war happen? Why are we fighting? With very sparse text and stylised red and green illustrations, the Author has addressed quite serious issues in a very simple way, but in a way that provokes thoughtful discussion. The green lizards are almost Escher-esque in style, and individual lizards are unable to be identified, and the rectangles are just red! The text is also very lean - there are no wasted words! This simplicity leads to a solution that seems so logical, but it is not without difficulty along the way. Lone voices are sometimes squashed, but may also have power to change what has always been.
This is a book worth having in every library, its unique style and content need to be seen and read widely, and could be used as an introductory text with an older age group in discussions about war and conflict.
Carolyn Hull