In preparing to move to our new home, I realized it was time to sort through my son’s old toys and books. While many have been much loved, too many have spent recent years gathering dust in the basement. How much better to share the wealth!

Together Yonatan and I sat among enormous piles of books that this 9-year-old avid reader has collected through his childhood years, picking out the age-appropriate books he wishes to keep. It took us a while, because so many carried happy memories and we had to re-read more than a few of them, just for fun.

Then we came across an extraordinarily special book we used to read almost every day, The Peace Book, by Todd Parr. This delightful and colorful book defines peace through beautifully simple, childlike ideas: Peace is making new friends; peace is keeping the water blue for all the fish; peace is helping your neighbor; peace is saying you’re sorry when you hurt someone; and my favorite, peace is having enough pizza in the world for everyone. Yonatan held it to his chest and said, “I love this book,” and then set it on top of Puff the Magic Dragon in the pile of must-keep-forever books.

In honor of the International Day of Peace on September 21, we offer “What Peace Means to Children,” by Kids for Peace, as a reminder of how straightforward and attainable world peace is through the pure hearts and untainted eyes of children.

After a wonderful summer of outdoor fun, travel, visits with family and friends and lazy days with no schedule, we are ready to move to a more regular routine of family meals and bedtimes. As Yonatan looks forward to meeting the challenges of another school year, I look forward to finally catching up with my list of planned to-do’s, which includes a commitment to my personal spiritual and physical development. Inspired by our September issue, I have now added regular yoga practice to my agenda. This month’s feature article, “Whole-Being Workouts,” by Lisa Marshall, explores an exciting new wave in fitness that fuses body/mind/spirit classics with cardio disciplines. I am eager to meet the mat!

Peace and health to you all,

Gabriella Buchnik, Publisher