Imagine
a book with pages 10 feet wide by 12 feet tall. Imagine that people from all
over the world contribute content for that book on one subject: peace. Now
imagine a group of kids who work for eight years to make it happen.
a book with pages 10 feet wide by 12 feet tall. Imagine that people from all
over the world contribute content for that book on one subject: peace. Now
imagine a group of kids who work for eight years to make it happen.
Threeyears ago I wrote an article for the online website Examiner.com about a group
of middle schools students from the Groton-Dunstable
Regional School District in Massachusetts who were working to create the
biggest book in the world with the hope of making it into the Guinness Book of
World Records. They called the book Pages for Peace, and they called themselves
the Bookmakers and Dreamers.
Under the guidance of teacher Betsy Sawyer, these students
invited schools kids and famous adults from all over the world to submit letters,
notes, poetry, songs and art about peace. They received entries for the book
from the Dalai Lama, former President Jimmy Carter (a Nobel Peace Prize
winner), author Helen Caldecott, the late Senator Ted Kennedy, NASA Astronaut
Joseph Acaba, and skateboarder Tony Hawk among others. Students from Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Liberia, Kosovo, Africa, and many other countries also contributed to the book.
invited schools kids and famous adults from all over the world to submit letters,
notes, poetry, songs and art about peace. They received entries for the book
from the Dalai Lama, former President Jimmy Carter (a Nobel Peace Prize
winner), author Helen Caldecott, the late Senator Ted Kennedy, NASA Astronaut
Joseph Acaba, and skateboarder Tony Hawk among others. Students from Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Liberia, Kosovo, Africa, and many other countries also contributed to the book.
What was cool was how they collaborated with a group of
engineering students and professors at the University of Massachusetts Lowell
Campus to design a robotic page turning device.
Yes, that’s how big the book is!
It needs a robotic page turning device.
And they convinced area businesses to donate the material, ink, and
printing services to make the book into a reality.
engineering students and professors at the University of Massachusetts Lowell
Campus to design a robotic page turning device.
Yes, that’s how big the book is!
It needs a robotic page turning device.
And they convinced area businesses to donate the material, ink, and
printing services to make the book into a reality.
In an interview with Boston’s WCVB news Betsy Sawyersaid, “[These kids] say their mission is as bookmakers they want to break a
Guinness record and make it into the Guinness Book of World Records, but as
dreamers they want to make a difference in the world.”
The good news is they finished the book. And I’m thinking
they accomplished their dream goal, if you can measure “making a difference” by
the numbers of people, children and adults, who contributed to and were touched
by the construction of this book, and by the education these students received
along the way. The project took eight years to complete, and many of the
students stuck with it the entire time. That’s some dedication. And passion.
And optimism. And problem solving. You can imagine the kind of adults they will
be in a few short years.
they accomplished their dream goal, if you can measure “making a difference” by
the numbers of people, children and adults, who contributed to and were touched
by the construction of this book, and by the education these students received
along the way. The project took eight years to complete, and many of the
students stuck with it the entire time. That’s some dedication. And passion.
And optimism. And problem solving. You can imagine the kind of adults they will
be in a few short years.
However,
the Bookmakers and Dreamers did not meet their goal of making it into the
Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest book. That record went to the Mshahed International Group of
the United Arab Emirates. Titled This the Prophet Mohamed, that book is
a compilation of stories about Islam’s Prophet and focuses on the positive
influence of Islam on the international and humanitarian scene. A worthy topic in its own right.
the Bookmakers and Dreamers did not meet their goal of making it into the
Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest book. That record went to the Mshahed International Group of
the United Arab Emirates. Titled This the Prophet Mohamed, that book is
a compilation of stories about Islam’s Prophet and focuses on the positive
influence of Islam on the international and humanitarian scene. A worthy topic in its own right.
Possibly the most important lesson these students learned was perspective—how to balance the disappointment of losing a competition with the pride of an accomplishment hard earned.
JohnLennon challenged people to imagine a world of peace:
“You
may think I’m a dreamer,
but I’m not the only one.
I hope someday you’ll join
us,
and the world will live as one.”
I’m guessing these remarkably tenacious students caused the world to move a little closer to living as one.
Check out the Pages for Peace Project on their homepage and on Facebook.
