In the first half of "The Children's War", Shaindel Beers looks at artwork done by and about child survivors of war, embodying the voices of the children, their families, and the humanitarian aid workers sent to help them. From there, the book opens out into an exploration of the war at home and the war within ourselves, exploring violence in mythology, domestic violence, and the wars that occur, sometimes, within our own bodies. These poems act as a survival guide, showing that hope exists even in the darkest of places and that perhaps poetry is the key to our healing.