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244 pp.
| Atheneum
| February, 2004
|
TradeISBN 0-689-85639-3$$15.95
(2)
YA
Katie Takeshima's first-person voice is compelling and often quietly humorous as she describes her family's move from Iowa to Georgia and her older sister's subsequent struggle with lymphoma. Katie's shrewd descriptions of people make startlingly vivid this novel that captures both the specific experience of being Japanese American in the 1950s and the wider experience of coping with illness and loss.
32 pp.
| Houghton/Lorraine
| March, 2004
|
TradeISBN 0-618-31118-1$$17.00
(2)
K-3
The fortitude of Japanese Americans uprooted during World War II takes an unusual form in this story of Alice Sumida, who becomes the largest gladiola bulb grower in the country. In this book, there is more variety of pictorial expression than is usual in Say's work, and a telling conjunction of his feeling for character and for the landscape of the American West.
32 pp.
| Lee
| March, 2003
|
TradeISBN 1-58430-100-7$$16.95
(3)
K-3
Artistic expression is the subject of this encouraging picture book, illustrated in cut- and torn-paper collage. Kiri gets origami paper for her birthday, but her attempts at folding leave the beautiful paper creased and torn. A combination of practice and inspiration finally enables Kiri to make the art she wants. Instructions for folding an origami butterfly conclude the book.
183 pp.
| Little
| October, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-316-77854-0$$15.95
(3)
4-6
Seventh-grader Elias has a crush on his friend Honoria, who has a crush on their friend Shohei, who is too busy dealing with his adoptive parents (obsessed with keeping him in touch with his Japanese roots) to have a crush on anyone. Hardworking Elias, brainy Honoria, and slacker Shohei take turns narrating this amusing first novel about life at a science magnet school in Chicago.
68 pp.
| Clarion
| November, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-618-06778-7$$15.00
(3)
4-6
Cooper's attendance at the 2001 Manzanar Pilgrimage, the annual gathering at the internment camp's former site, frames his narrative. While less detailed than its companion, Fighting for Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II, the book is still informative. Cooper uses the term evacuation rather than internment, but the text is clear that relocation was forced and residents were imprisoned. Websites. Bib., ind.
188 pp.
| Houghton
| April, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-618-21620-0$$15.00 1973
(3)
YA
This beautifully produced edition of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's classic memoir of her Japanese-American family's internment during World War II features a new afterword by the authors.
32 pp.
| Whitman
| March, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-8075-7822-3$$14.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Paige Billin-Frye.
When Gregory's family moves to Japan, he cheerfully accepts the new way of life--chopsticks, yen, sleeping on the floor--but adapting to school proves harder, especially lunchtime. His classmates find a way to share their own cross-cultural appreciation and make Gregory feel at home. Definitions and pronunciations of Japanese words are provided below the text. Lighthearted cartoonlike art suits the upbeat story.
201 pp.
| Scholastic
| November, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-439-26749-8$$16.95
(4)
YA
In this novel from the author of Baseball Saved Us, sixteen-year-old Dan Inagaki starts questioning the passive behavior of his Japanese-American family and community, who strive to blend in at all costs. The coming-of-age novel is inexpertly paced and lacks a strong denouement, but Dan's anger and frustration ring true and the 1970s Seattle setting is firmly established.
112 pp.
| Benchmark
| September, 2002
|
LibraryISBN 0-7614-1321-9$$31.36
(3)
4-6
Great Journeys series.
Golden Mountain examines the brutal labor conditions and racism suffered by the Chinese immigrants who helped build the transcontinental railroad; Barbed Wire discusses the injustices experienced by Japanese Americans interned during World War II. These clearly written series books blend history with intriguing anecdotal material and feature plentiful black-and-white photos and reproductions. Bib., ind. [Review covers these Great Journeys titles: Behind Barbed Wire, and To the Golden Mountain.]
32 pp.
| Houghton/Lorraine
| April, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-618-21223-X$$17.00
(4)
K-3
Beyond the fact of its setting in an internment camp for Japanese Americans, little about this ponderous picture book fable is clear. A kayaking man finds two children wearing ID tags, but the internment camp they've come from appears abandoned. Perhaps all three are figures in a ghostly shifting of time, memory, and conscience. If the pictures fail to shed life on the story, they are often in themselves sparely poignant scenes of lost children.
(4)
K-3
Yoko and Friends School Days series.
Illustrated by
Jody Wheeler.
Yoko is afraid that if adults know she can read they will stop reading to her, and Noisy Nora can't help but talk about her birthday party at school even though some kids feel left out. Two more additions in Wells's easy reader series about life in Mrs. Jenkins's class are well-meaning and contain overt lessons. The art, aping Wells's signature style, gives the books a familiar feel. [Review covers these Yoko and Friends School Days titles: Read Me a Story and The Secret Birthday.]
119 pp.
| Houghton
| October, 2001
|
TradeISBN 0-618-13199-X$$15.00
(4)
4-6
When his mother announces plans to lead a march against racism, Japanese-American Tommy is embarrassed by the publicity. After a speeding car nearly kills a deaf neighbor, Tommy and his friends secretly build a speed bump, and he understands the importance of taking a stand. Although dealing with powerful issues, the story is occasionally heavy-handed.
32 pp.
| Lee
| October, 2001
|
TradeISBN 1-58430-032-9$$16.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Michelle Reiko Kumata.
When Mariko's family is released from the Japanese internment camps, her father has no truck or gardening tools anymore. Nevertheless, Mariko plants flowers, that universal symbol of new life, and her dad finally gets a gardening job. The story is simple and unpretentious, and the period fabric designs used in the art evoke the wartime era. An authors' note provides historical background.
32 pp.
| Blue Earth
| September, 2001
|
LibraryISBN 0-7368-0797-7$$22.60
(4)
4-6
Coming to America series.
The accessible books in this series focus on reasons for immigration, traditional life in the "old country," conditions on the voyages, hardships faced in the United States, and the economic, political, and social advances made. Soft edges around the photos give the archival pictures a sentimental feeling while the contemporary color photos just look odd. Included are a recipe (no warnings about adult help), a time line, and places to write and visit. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Coming to America titles: German Immigrants, 1820-1920; Irish Immigrants, 1840-1920; Chinese Immigrants, 1850-1900; Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish Immigrants, 1820-192; Italian Immigrants, 1880-1920; Japanese Immigrants, 1850-1950.]
(3)
PS
Lushly illustrated with a variety of techniques adapted from Japanese painting and origami designs, this is the story of Yoko, a little Japanese girl cat going to America and leaving her beloved grandparents behind. Yoko finds a way to help her grandmother celebrate her birthday by making paper cranes and mailing them to Japan. Wells invests her cat characters with dignity and charm.
118 pp.
| Clarion
| November, 2000
|
TradeISBN 0-395-91375-6$$16.00
(2)
4-6
Cooper provides a vivid account of the heroic WWII combat experiences of the many Japanese-American men who joined the U.S. Army to prove their loyalty. Their courageous feats overseas are juxtaposed with the anti-Japanese sentiment facing their families back home. The well-organized book includes carefully chosen photos, readable endnotes, a map, and a chronology. Bib., ind.
48 pp.
| Carolrhoda
| January, 2000
|
LibraryISBN 1-57505-378-0$$19.93
(3)
4-6
Naturalist's Apprentice series.
Illustrated by
Wendy Smith.
Ross follows the life of Chiura Obata from a young budding naturalist growing up in Japan to a successful Japanese-American nature artist. Well-organized chapters chronicle Obata's traditional Japanese education and his move to the United States in 1903. Sidebars include superfluous tips and activities for young artists; reproductions of original artwork and black-and-white photos enhance the text. Bib., glos., ind.
48 pp.
| Carolrhoda
| June, 2000
|
LibraryISBN 1-57505-350-0$$22.60
(4)
4-6
Picture the American Past series.
Short, factual texts and archival duotone photos highlight four groups of children: freed slaves after the Civil War, immigrants at the turn of the century, Dust Bowl victims in the 1930s, and Japanese Americans during World War II. Readers will need additional background knowledge to understand the significance of the historic periods, but these are adequate introductions. Notes to teachers and parents are appended. Bib., glos., ind.
128 pp.
| Walker
| March, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-8027-8685-5$$15.95
(3)
YA
After seventeen-year-old Franklin's girlfriend dies in a car crash she comes back from the dead in spirit form to help him grieve and move on. Though it starts off like Ghost meets Dawson's Creek, the story is eventually carried beyond its trite premise through skillful characterization and thoughtful dialogue. No facile tearjerking here; readers will be slowly, satisfyingly moved to tears.