Text & Illustrations by Inna Karamyan
"It would be great if adults sometimes were like kids": a wordless picture book with a strong anti-military message.
Children copy what they see, good or bad. Like, for example, wars. Playing war games has always been a staple fare of childhood. Using a street war game as the story’s setting, Inna Karamyan creates a powerful narrative that doesn’t need any words. It starts with cheerful kids rushing to the playground. The next minute, they are divided intotwo opposing camps coloured in red and green. They are no longer presented as individuals, but rather a force of vengeance, eager to take out their anger on each other. They fight and fight and fight until one of the kids gets injured. As he is loaded into the ambulance, the fight resumes with renewed vigour but soon it dies out and children leave the playground covered in debris. It is now left for the janitor to clean the mess. The next day as children see their friend with a plastered broken arm, they look sorry and repentant, and their playground turns back into a happy shared place.