"Thinking of the Good Times to Come:" Peace Train by Cat Stevens

"OH, I'VE BEEN HAPPY LATELY,

THINKING ABOUT THE GOOD THINGS TO COME.

AND I BELIEVE IT COULD BE

SOMETHING GOOD HAS BEGUN.

On its fiftieth anniversary, Cat Stevens' powerful anthem is still as poignant today as on the day a needle dropped for its first playing. The universal wish for peace and the happiness and plenty it brings is still out there as a hope for the world's population. And this is as good a time as ever to teach children that we still have a long journey ahead.

NOW I'VE BEEN CRYING LATELY

THINKIN' ABOUT THE WORLD AS IT IS.

WHY DO WE GO ON HATING?

WHY CAN'T WE LIVE IN BLISS?

In the just-publishedPeace Train (Harper, 2021), award-winning author-illustrator Peter H. Reynold's glorious illustrations re-interpret the metaphoric wish for a transport to a better life waiting way out "on the edge of darkness," or as Cat Stevens says, "Be like the sun in the shadows." Says Horn Book's reviewer, it's a "joy-filled journey."

And for the youngsters who don't know it, the full song can be heard here.