Weedflower

My high school aged niece has always been a reluctant reader. Librarian me gave her a book or two each month last year. I selected books from the Newbury Medal Award given each year for the best children's/young adult book for a given year. I wanted her to learn about those periods of history that aren't found in her history textbooks. Weedflower is the story of a young girl whose family was sent to an internment camp during WWII. Japanese Americans were rounded up and imprisoned during WWII. They lost every thing, homes, jobs, and were never reimbursed by the U.S. government. That book brought on a wonderful history lesson for my niece.

This book is great. Sumiko is a girl that goes through a lot of events in her life. She has two cousins that stay with her, an uncle, aunt, and a grandpa. She gets a birthday party invite from a popular girl in her school. When she goes to the party, she ends up getting uninvited because she was Japanese. She explains how she lost both of her parents from a horrible car crash and that she had some scars from the car crash. Then the Japanese bombed Hawaii (Pearl Harbor) which with that happening caused World War II. The U.S reacted with sending all Japanese to a racetrack to stay there with guards to make sure they aren’t part of the bombing. They stayed at the racetrack for a while and then the government said that they had to leave the racetrack to go to Poston, Arizona at a concentration camp. Sumiko ends up meeting a girl named Sachi. Then she meets a boy named Frank, who became her friend. She also starts a farm with Mr. Moto, who she had also met. Then after a couple of months, Sumiko and her family was allowed to leave the camp to work. Overall, the book was great and was very entertaining to me.

This is an excellent book for young people to read when learning about the time of the Japanese Internment camps. Many of the facts I have personally researched about the topic were brought out in this story. This was a shameful time in American history, but one that our students should learn about.

This book was a quick read. I enjoyed it It arrived in great condition, as described by seller.

I enjoyed reading the story of "Weedflower". There is not much written from the perspective of someone from Japanese roots in America during World War II. I am so thankful for her transparency and detailed account of how she personally felt during that trying time. She also recounted some of the Native American's experience, which was insightful and sobering how neither nationality was fully embraced as American though they considered themselves just that. If we don't learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. We can learn much from this young girl's, Sumiko's recounting of her life during World War II.

I think I've now read most everything Kadohata has written. As with all of her work, "Weedflower" is meticulously researched. The sense of place is palpable. But it's the intimacy of the characters - how Kadohata draws us in to so closely affiliate with each of the characters - that makes her work so truly engaging. I think she has become my favorite "young person's" writer.

The product arrived on time and in mint condition. I purchased it for a class and I read this book in two days!! It is an amazing book and the narrator who is the girl on the cover is SO SWEET - her optimism is inspiring! Fantastic choice for teens! Thank you!!

An eye-opening and humanizing peek into the treatment of Japanese American citizens after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This is a great way to help understand the human cost of massive cultural relocations.

Interesting book

Great book and arrived promptly. Thanks