A powerful story of a Japanese internment camp during World War II. Before Pearl Harbor Sumiko works with her uncle's family on a flower farm in southern California and dreams of owning her own flower shop. When the war starts Sumiko's family is split apart and she is moved to a camp in Arizona - a camp located on a Mojave reservation. There she works with a neighbor, Mr. Moto, to grow an award-winning garden and she befriends Frank, a young Mojave. Through her friendship with Frank, she sees the injustices perpetrated on the Native Americans and tries to reason out the very difficult decisions her family has to make. Students will relate to and understand Sumiko's feelings at each step of her amazing story. The author's father was interred at the Poston camp and she writes a moving and well written testimony to the courage and perseverance of Japanese Americans during this dark period in American history. SLJ starred review.
Grades 5 - 8
Grades 5 - 8
2 comments:
Like Hattie Big Sky, this story demonstrates how people can become irrational during wartime. What an important lesson for our kids to learn right now! Although students may be familiar with the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, this book really puts flesh on the bones of history. Sumiko is a character that young people will identify with. The interaction of American Indians and Japanese is a lesser known part of the story and one that gives food for thought.
A much kinder and easier read than Farewell to Manzanar, this story is told from the point of view of an elementary/middle school age girl. She has dreams of becoming a great flower gardener and tries to grow flowers in the desert when they are moved to the camp. She develops a relationship with an Indian boy which gives the reader the view of the pecking order -- the Japanese are as low as and even lower than the Indians on the reservation.
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