An Outbreak of Peace by Sarah Pirtle

Winner of the Olive Branch Award for outstanding book of the year on world peace in 1987, reissued and expanded in 2023. 450 pages with 80 illustrations by young people ages 7 to 18.

 A book for all generations. Here is an invitation to speak out for change in your strongest voice. It’s a window into homegrown peace. This story of young activists in the 1980s can inspire today’s work for Black Lives Matter, climate action, protecting the earth, and opening dialogue across divides.

What do we hold with care?

          “When you care about the world, you can feel kind of alone,”  says fourteen-year-old Cassie. 

Cassie and Zack are kindred spirits who reach for new possibilities when it’s easy to give up hope. When Cassie’s world shatters after a family tragedy, she and Zack create a peace group along with other teens that can face hard truths and handle friendship challenges. They address military recruitment in their school, intervene against racial slurs, and learn resilience from a famous potter in town who was born in a Japanese American internment camp. Along the way, they build a dream for their small town. Will the townspeople say yes when they ask them to vote to declare an outbreak of peace?

Told in the voice of thirteen-year-old Cassie, this is a coming of age story of the 1980’s, now back in print. It was inspired by an actual group of two dozen teenagers who persevered for four years drawing art in a peace group in western Massachusetts. As illustrator Amanda Cohen puts it, “This is the perfect time for the book to return.”

After the book received the Olive Branch Award in 1988, Studs Terkel said in an hour-long NPR interview with the author, “This book is a natural for both young people and adults.” Suspenseful themes are artfully woven into a compelling story for all generations.

How does one voice join with other voices to build a culture of peace?