Peace in My World Activity & Storytime with Syeda Mleeha Shah

Join us at Book People for a children’s Storytime and creative peace-building activity centered around Syeda Mleeha Shah’s picture book Peace in My World. This experience invites children to explore what peace looks and feels like in their daily lives. As an early childhood educator, social worker, and children’s author, Syeda’s work champions empathy-focused and culturally responsive learning. This event blends timeless storytime traditions with a forward-thinking approach to social-emotional development. Interactive storytelling encouraging children to participate by identifying peaceful moments, answering simple reflective questions, and sharing examples from their world. Children create their own peace-themed art square to take home and contribute to a collaborative Peace Quilt display for the bookstore. Peace in My World is a beautifully illustrated and lyrical picture book that introduces children to the meaning of peace through nature, imagination, and human connection. With gentle language and timeless themes, the book encourages empathy, kindness, and acceptance, making it a meaningful resource for families, educators, and anyone seeking to nurture a more peaceful world—one child at a time. Syeda Mleeha Shah is an author, artist, and early childhood educator with over 20 years of experience. Based in Richmond, Virginia, she is the author of Peace in My World and the forthcoming book Planting Seeds of Peace: Nurturing Peace and Cultural A