Overall, the concept is great and I learned something from this book. The story alone, which is what children will read or hear, doesn't fulfill the promise of the book. The art is great. The narrative is a little thin. I got more information out of the 2-page Additional Notes at the end of the book.
I think the story needs to be a little longer and less telegraphic.

Beautiful illustrations and a short history of the peace symbol. Does briefly mention LGBTQ+ in a long list of ideas that the peace symbol represents but isn’t necessarily promoting it or any of the other ideals listed. The main idea is that peace is for all people.

I'm adult who still loves to read picture books! I love how simple illustrations and text can introduce a reader (young and old alike) to new concepts, topics and history. I requested this book because I didn't know the history of the peace symbol either! I appreciated the "short history" at the end to fill out more of the background as well as the time line which gives great jumping off points for further discussions with children. I look forward to adding this one to my Little Free Library!

"Three Lines in a Circle" is a succinct history of the peace symbol and the man who created it; something we are used to seeing, but may not know of its origin. The illustrations are colorful and interesting. The reader learns why and where the symbol is used in peaceful protests and to promote change now and throughout history.

Have you ever wondered where the peace symbol came about? The story I always heard was that it was the foot of a dove, which usually stood for peace.

But this picture book explains that there was a lot of thought that went into this, and it was designed by a graphic designer, Gerald Holton, in the UK, in 1958. And far from being the foot of a dove, it actually was two semaphore symbols joined together that stood for the letter N and D. And how, you might ask, do the letters ND mean anything that has to do with peace? Well, in 1958 people were worried about being wiped out by nuclear weapons, so ND stood for Nuclear Disarmament.

Holton went on to carry signs with the symbol in a great protest march from London to Aldermaston.

And when people in the US began to pick it up, they used it to fight against the war in Vietnam.

This is all told at the end of the book. The main part of the boo the picture book part, makes history much easier to follow. That makes sense because it is a picture book.

Glad that there is a book out that tells the true history.

<em>Thanks to netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

I felt dropped into the middle of a story. It was as if the book needed one more spread before the first text. “Gerry had made many drawings, but he’d never had a task like this.” It might have even been wordless in the front matter, but I wish that we had gotten to know Gerry or his task before the book text began. It seems simplistic to suggest that he just came up with this. Surely there were false starts, a creative process?

The book is great with simple text that matches the simplicity of the symbol. The illustrations are bright, clear, and inclusive. I loved the back matter too, but again, wish that some of that story had made it into the text of the book. I would use this in my classroom and hand sell it in the store.

I really wanted to read this book and, even though I do not accept PDFs, I decided to make an exception for this one. Downloading it became more trouble than it was worth, as it required downloading another app onto my iPad -- I have too many apps already. Clicking on the publisher's guides for downloading would not bring up anything. I read on my iPad using the Kindle App. If you want to send me a .mobi, I will happily read and review this book.

I'm told my review must be at least 100 characters long. I believe it is already more than that. I'm also told I must assign a number of stars. Because I haven't read the book, but must assign stars, I regretfully assign one star. I suspect it is worthy of more stars, but how can I know, if I cannot read the book?

Three Lines in a Circle : The Exciting Life of the Peace Symbol (Hardcover)
by Michael G. Long
Very colorful and informative book about something that is ubiquitous in modern culture, many do not know the meaning of the symbol or where it was first used and why, they just assume its all connected to war. I like the presentation, the art work and the history that is explained.

I never knew there was history to the peace sign! Beautifully illustrated and does a great job connecting the original intention to modern-day usage. Would def recommend for social studies classrooms!

A perfect book for both children and adults. A whole book based on a symbol! Detailed illustrations. Diversity.

The peace symbol started out as “No Bombs” then transitioned to Peace. I liked the pages at the end that explained how the symbol came to be ...... what N.D. means. Highly recommended! Wish I could give this more than 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Flyaway Books for sharing this. I hope this book will go into every school and library.

This is a wonderful book on the creation of the now known peace sign. It has great pictures to help keep children engaged while listening to this story of how one graphic designer in London made a sign that went international and is still known today.

This review will appear on my blog on Aug 31st.

Three Lines in a Circle is a gorgeously illustrated book about the origin and journey of the peace symbol. I loved how the book showed the iconic symbol traveling to different countries and for different issues to fight against war and injustice. This will be a great book to introduce social activism to early elementary school aged children. Especially recommended for children (and parents!) who like the Little People Big Dreams series or the Rebel Girls books.

Thank you Flyaway Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

I really enjoyed the history of the peace sign. It isn’t something I have thought of before, but this brought the symbol to light. Not only was the story informative, but the illustrations were beautiful. The colors vibrant and showing what the author stated in his story, so it could also be a picture book. The information at the end of the book and the dates were also interesting to prove the point of the different ways a peace sign has been represented. The words were simple enough for young children and informative enough for older children and adults to understand.

A very simple book about an important symbol known the world over. Wished it had more narrative. Illustrations were great.

This book gives the history of the Peace sign. It is something most of u never like of! It's a very basic story, very little actual text. What is there does tell the story and the graphics help it along. I am trying to figure out what age might get the most from it and I am having a hard time. I think almost any age will get something out of it.

This is a very sweet, simple story about the history of peace movements and how the now-ubiquitous peace sign symbol began. Gives a brief history of anti-war/anti-violence activism and includes information about how the meaning of this symbol spread around the world and how its meaning has changed and shifted over the years. Would definitely get this one from the library!

I work in a Montessori school, so we make a big deal out of Peace Day so I was thinking this would be a great addition to our library but after reading it, I don't think I would purchase it-the text is so simplistic that there's barely any a story. The art work is nice enough but there was so little narrative, I don't think it's worth buying.

I wanted more from this. It is a cute little story, but I found the back matter so much more interesting. I was hoping this was a biography on how the symbol came to be. But if you are using this at story time or something, all the relevant information gets lost because it is at the back and not in the story. As said before, this could have been better.

What a wonderful picture book! I had thought that the peace symbol had originated in the United States as a cry for an end to the senseless Vietnam War. In fact, British graphic designer Gerry Holton devised it in 1958 — the year of my birth — to support nuclear disarmament. What a storied history for this symbol, used to oppose war, apartheid, discrimination and more.

A more detailed history takes up the final four pages for youngsters and adults who want to know more.

I enjoyed learning more of the story behind the peace sign and appreciated seeing all the causes the peace sign has stood for over the years. The illustrations were quite and stunning and the book had power, but it was lacking something for me. I was looking for more depth, more challenge, more to overcome I guess.
I will enjoy sharing this story with my classroom on the International Day of Peace.