A children’s book published last fall by The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center of Bluffton University has been named as one of this year’s 25 outstanding books by Skipping Stones magazine.
“Swords to Plowshares: The Creation of John P. Klassen’s Mennonite Central Committee Medallion” has received a 2015 Honor Award from the international literary magazine for youth.
The book tells a true story of violence turned to hope through the eyes of a fictional boy in 1920s Ukraine. It uses the simplicity and colorful illustrations of a picture book to recount how Klassen—an art teacher and later a Bluffton art professor—collected bullets scattered throughout his Ukrainian village, melted them down and molded them into a lead medallion.
In the book, young Isaak assists Klassen with creation of the medallion, which was presented to Mennonite Central Committee workers as a token of appreciation for sending food and relief supplies to the village following the Russian civil war. The medallion depicts an MCC representative handing out bread to children in Ukraine as part of a North American relief effort in the region.
Louise Matthews, director of The Lion and Lamb, said she was “thrilled” with the book’s endorsement by Skipping Stones, a Eugene, Ore.-based, publication founded in 1988.
“This recognition not only acknowledges the book’s theme and quality work of author Lisa Weaver and illustrator Amanda Huston, but also expands the potential readership of the message of hope and gratitude,” Matthews added.
Weaver is a Bluffton native and the daughter of Dr. J. Denny Weaver, professor emeritus of religion at the university. Huston is a 2013 graduate of the university, where she studied art and graphic design.
Skipping Stones is a quarterly magazine that recommends both outstanding books and teaching resources each year. Among the 25 books selected this year are six in the “nature and ecology” category and 19 “multicultural and international” books, including “Swords to Plowshares.”
“These unique titles offer an exciting way to explore and understand diverse cultures, places, societies and their histories,” the magazine noted. Reviews of the honorees are scheduled to be posted at www.skippingstones.org by June 11.
Copies of “Swords to Plowshares” may be ordered at www.bluffton.edu/lionlamb or by calling the peace arts center at 419-358-3207. Cost is $21.35—including tax—or $24.50 for book buyers who would like it sent to them. All proceeds from book sales will support The Lion and Lamb’s peace education mission.
