Room to Read's Peace & Equality Book Collection

Read the books on Literacy Cloud

Literacy has the power to bring the world together. When we give children stories that highlight different cultures and experiences, we widen their perspectives from an early age. Books are one of the most powerful tools we have to teach children key life lessons, such as the importance of creating a more peaceful, empathetic and just world.

That's why Room to Read is excited to share our newest collection of children’s books, the Peace & Equality Book Collection. The Peace & Equality Book Collection brought together diverse writers and illustrators from the United States to create 10 books in just four weeks. The books, aimed at children ages 3-8, explore themes related to creating a more peaceful and just world, with the goal of recognizing the work we must continue to do as a society to create social, political, economic, and cultural systems grounded in peace and equality. 

The Peace & Equality Book Collection is Room to Read’s first endeavor in developing children’s books within the United States. Our learnings and successes through this project have sparked an exploration of independent publishing in the U.S. as we aim to deliver physical copies of these books to young readers in communities who need them most. 

What these creators have accomplished in these 10 books, by incorporating diverse characters, settings and story-telling from their different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences is a disruptive innovation as compared to typical process and timelines in the US book publishing industry. Moving forward, Room to Read aims to continue encouraging innovative models of publishing and supporting the ‘Own Voices’ movement to challenge established models of creation, distribution and representation. 

We invite you to explore the collection on Literacy Cloud, and watch the video below to hear from the authors and illustrators behind the books.