Creating peace, hope, unity and building community are the themes of two books from Missouri heading to Washington, D.C., for the 15th annual Library of Congress Book Festival on Sept. 5. We've already reported on our gratitude that "Painting for Peace in Ferguson" was selected as the Missouri Center for the Book's 2015 choice to represent the state in the Pavilion of the States. We'll be going to D.C. along with "Watch Out for Flying Kids! HowTwo Circuses, Two Countries, and Nine Kids Confront Conflict and Build Community." That Missouri book will have representatives from Circus Harmony performing and host an author talk and Q&A with writer Cynthia Levinson in the Teen Pavilion at 10 a.m.

It's back to school for students across Ferguson, Mo., and the United States, and we've been preparing for that with a new offering on the Painting for Peace webiste. As protests spark once more on the anniversary of Michael Brown's death, teachers need tools to help them discuss unrest with their students. "Painting for Peace in Ferguson" was written to be just such a tool in the aftermath of the riots in Ferguson in August 2014. Now, we have added specific curriculum, written for the book and aligned with the Common Core requirements. We teamed with a grade school teacher to create the teacher's guide for students in Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5. Despite parents' best efforts to protect child