Weedflower

Weedflower

Written by: Cynthia Kadohata

Upper Elementary and Junior High Grades

Set in California and Arizona during the 1940's Kadohata introduces us to Sumiko and her Japanese-American family who enjoy spending time together working on their flower farm. Sumiko and her family's life changes forever when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1944. They are taken to a Japanese internment camp in Arizona where Sumiko and her family begin living life as prisoners in their own country. Sumiko is a strong character who students who have ever felt discriminated because of their race or National origin will be able to identify. This piece of historical fiction is an important read for teachers and students.

Jennie's Review

Online Resources:
http://suzyred.com/2007weedflower.html
http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/index.html

Grandfather's Journey

Grandfather's Journey

Written and Illustrated by: Allen Say

Upper Elementary and Junior High Grades

"Through compelling reminiscences of his grandfather's life in America and Japan, Allen Say gives us a poignant account of a family's unique cross-cultural experience. He warmly conveys his own love for his two countries, and the strong and constant desire to be in both places at once."

Publishers Synopsis

From the Author:
"I am striving to give shape to my dreams--the old business of making myths--the fundemental force of art. And so, GRANDFATHER'S JOURNEY is essentially a dream book, for the life's journey is an endless dreaming of the places we have left behind and the places we have yet to reach."--Allen Say (Caldecott Medal Acceptance Speech )

Online Resources:
http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~elbond/grand.htm

Tea with Milk

Tea with Milk

Written and Illustrated by: Allen Say

Upper Elementary and Junior High Grades

"When her Japanese-born parents leave America for their homeland, an independent girl reluctantly follows and melds her experience and her heritage to find a new meaning for the word home."

School Library Journal Review


Online Resources:
http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/Graduate/TI/pages/thayer/lesson.htm

Hiromi's Hands

Hiromi's Hands

Written and Illustrated by: Lynne Barasch

Elementary Grades

"Growing up in New York City, Hiromi Suzuki missed spending time with her father, a sushi chef who worked long hours in the family's Japanese restaurant. So one day when she was eight years old, Hiromi begged her father to take her to the Fulton Fish Market, where he bought fresh fish. Hiromi was fascinated by what she saw and learned; by the time she was thirteen, she was ready to take the next step. She asked her father to teach her to make sushi. Little did Hiromi realize that her request would lead her to the forefront of a minor culinary revolution, as women claimed their place in the once all-male world of sushi chefs."

Publishers Synopsis

Online Resources:
http://www.leeandlow.com/p/hiromi.mhtml
http://www.sushi-academy.com/pages/article/newyorktimes.html

Tanuki's Gift

Tanuki's Gift

Written by: Tim J. Myers
Illustrated by: Robert Roth

Elementary Grades

"Myers adapts a traditional Japanese tale involving the friendship between a Buddhist priest and a magical raccoon-dog creature, a tanuki. The characters meet when the nearly frozen tanuki appears at the priest's door, begging for shelter. The man gladly obliges, and the two develop a friendly rapport. When the tanuki insists on demonstrating his thanks, the priest admits that a gold offering might help him enter Paradise. The tanuki then disappears, returning many months later with the gold. By that time, however, the priest has realized that the true gift is the friendship."

American Library Association

How My Parents Learned to Eat

How My Parents Learned to Eat

Written by: Ina Friedman
Illustrated by: Allen Say

Elementary Grades

"A bi-racial child tells the story of how her Japanese mother and American father met, fell in love, struggled to understand each other's ways, and finally married. It's a wonderful portrait of diversity, showing children that superficial differences in cultures don't really mean much and shouldn't get in the way of people appreciating each other."

Amazon.com Review

Web Resources:
http://stancock.iweb.bsu.edu/cyberlessons/Eat.html

The Bamboo Cutter & the Moon Maiden: A Japanese Folk Tale

The Bamboo Cutter & the Moon Maiden: A Japanese Folk Tale

Based on a Translation by: Teresa Pierce Williston
Illustrated by: Dilleen Mursh

Upper Elementary and Junior High Grades

"This charming retelling of a Japanese folktale couples stunning illustrations with a magical story of love, integrity, and self-sacrifice. The tale begins when a loving couple discovers a tiny baby girl in a thicket of bamboo stalks and takes her home to raise as their own. The Bamboo Princess, as she comes to be known, grows into womanhood while fending off suitors, caring for her new family, and ultimately fulfilling her destiny by returning to her true and rightful home—the moon. In the mold of traditional Japanese morality tales, this story reinforces values of bravery, hard work, and humility. A full explanation of the research and meticulous preparations behind the illustrator’s intricate artwork, which harkens back to time-honored Japanese block prints, is also included."

Publishers Synopsis

So Far from the Sea

So Far from the Sea

Written by: Eve Bunting
Illustrated by: Chris Soentpiet

Elementary Grades

"This picture-book account of a fictional family reveals, with gentle dignity, a sad chapter in American history. Laura Iwasaki and her Japanese-American family will soon move from California to Boston, so they are making one last visit to Laura's grandfather's grave, which lies near the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so far from the sea he loved. Before World War II, he was a fisherman. Then, along with Laura's father, her grandmother, and 10,000 other Japanese Americans, he was sent to the Manzanar War Relocation Center. There he died, and his grave is marked with only a ring of stones. The family leaves silk flowers, but Laura leaves her own special memento."

School Library Journal Review

Web Resources:
http://janmstore.com/aboutus.html