Weedflower

Weedflower

• Author: Cynthia Kadohata
• Publisher and date: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006
• Genres: historical fiction
• Age/Grade: Grades 5 and up

Synopsis: (from www.bn.com)

Twelve-year-old Sumiko feels her life has been made up of two parts: before Pearl Harbor and after it. The good part and the bad part. Raised on a flower farm in California, Sumiko is used to being the only Japanese girl in her class. Even when the other kids tease her, she always has had her flowers and family to go home to.

That all changes after the horrific events of Pearl Harbor. Other Americans start to suspect that all Japanese people are spies for the emperor, even if, like Sumiko, they were born in the United States! As suspicions grow, Sumiko and her family find themselves being shipped to an internment camp in one of the hottest deserts in the United States. The vivid color of her previous life is gone forever, and now dust storms regularly choke the sky and seep into every crack of the military barrack that is her new “home.”

Sumiko soon discovers that the camp is on an Indian reservation and that the Japanese are as unwanted there as they’d been at home. But then she meets a young Mohave boy who might just become her first real friend…if he can ever stop being angry about the fact that the internment camp is on his tribe’s land.

With searing insight and clarity, Newbery Medal-winning author Cynthia Kadohata explores an important and painful topic through the eyes of a young girl who yearns to belong. Weedflower is the story of the rewards and challenges of a friendship across the racial divide, as well as the based-on-real-life story of how the meeting of Japanese Americans and Native Americans changed the future of both.

An excerpt from the book: Weedflower.

Author’s perspective: (from the book jacket)

Cynthia Kadohata’s father was held in the Poston internment camp during World War II. His experiences - and those of the tens of thousands of other Japanese and Japanese Americans - compelled her to write Weedflower.

Literary Elements:

Characater - The main character, Sumiko, is compelling and well rounded. Her questions become our questions as we experience the war and life in the camp through her.

Setting/Theme - The setting is an important part of the story. Most of it takes place in the Poston Camp. The ability for humans to adapt and create a “normal” daily routine in extraordinary circumstances is amazing.

Curriculum Connections:

• Lesson Plan using letters from a Japanese Internment Camp

Web Resources:

• Cynthia Kadohata’s Website
  
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher site (this book is nominated for the award)

Review:From Publishers Weekly (from: www.bn.com)
Set in America immediately before the attack on Pearl Harbor, this insightful novel by the Newbery-winning author of Kira-Kira traces the experiences of a Japanese-American girl and her family. Sixth-grader Sumiko, the only Asian student in her class, has always felt like an outcast. Early on, a heartbreaking scene foreshadows events to come, when Sumiko arrives at a classmate’s birthday party and is told by the hostess to wait outside on the porch, and is then sent away. The girl’s feelings of isolation turn to fear after the United States declares war on Japan. First, government officials take away Sumiko’s uncle and grandfather. Then her aunt must sell their California flower farm; they are transported to a makeshift camp and later to a Native-American reservation in Poston, Ariz. Living like a prisoner in the desert, Sumiko nearly succumbs to what her grandfather termed “ultimate boredom” (”that mean close to lose mind,” he explains). But Sumiko finds hope and a form of salvation as a beautiful garden she creates and a friendship with a Native American boy, Frank, both begin to blossom. The contrast between the Native Americans’ plight and that of the interned may enlighten many readers (”They take our land and put you on it. They give you electricity,” snaps Frank). Kadohata clearly and eloquently conveys her heroine’s mixture of shame, anger and courage. Readers will be inspired by Sumiko’s determination to survive and flourish in a harsh, unjust environment. Ages 11-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

From School Library Journal (from: www.bn.com)
Gr 5-8-When Pearl Harbor is attacked, the lives of a Japanese-American girl and her family are thrown into chaos. Sumiko, 12, and her younger brother, Tak-Tak, live with their aunt and uncle, grandfather Jiichan, and adult cousins on a flower farm in Southern California. Though often busy with chores, Sumiko enjoys working with the blossoms, particularly stock, or weedflowers (fragrant plants grown in a field). In the difficult days that follow the bombing, the family members fear for their safety and destroy many of their belongings. Then Uncle and Jiichan are taken to a prison camp, and the others are eventually sent to an assembly center at a racetrack, where they live in a horse stable. When they’re moved to the Arizona desert, Sumiko misses the routine of her old life and struggles with despair. New friends help; she grows a garden with her neighbor and develops a tender relationship with a Mohave boy. She learns from him that the camp is on land taken from the Mohave reservation and finds that the tribe’s plight parallels that of the incarcerated Japanese Americans. Kadohata brings into play some complex issues, but they realistically dovetail with Sumiko’s growth from child to young woman. She is a sympathetic heroine, surrounded by well-crafted, fascinating people. The concise yet lyrical prose conveys her story in a compelling narrative that will resonate with a wide audience.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

The Year of the Dog, by Grace Lin

The Year of the Dog

by Grace Lin

• publisher and date: Little, Brown, and Compan, 2006
• genre: from the author’s website: The book is fiction, but almost everything had a real life inspiration.
• age/grade: ages 8-12

Synopsis: from Gracelin.com
Grace’s first middle grade novel! This exhuberant novel follows a young girl’s adventures during the Chinese Year of the Dog. As Pacy celebrates with her family, she finds out that this is the year she is supposed to “find herself.” As the year goes on, she struggles to find her talent, makes a new best friend, and discovers just why the Year of the Dog is a lucky one for her after all. Universal themes of friendship, family, and finding one’s passion in life make this novel appealing to readers of all backgrounds. This funny and profound book is a wonderful debut novel and has all the makings of a modern classic.

Author’s Perspective: Grace Lin writes with an insider’s perspective. From the author’s note in The Year of the Dog:

Growing up Asian in a mainly Caucasian community was not a miserable and gloomy existence. But it was different. I wrote The Year of the Dog, because I felt that it was important to have a book that addressed those differences in a real and upbeat way. I wrote it because it was the book I wished I had had when I was growing up, a book that had someone like me in it.

Literary Elements:

Character -Grace, the main character in The Year of the Dog, is full of life. We follow her life for an entire year. She struggles with integrating many parts of her life (Taiwanese versus Chinese, Chinese versus Chinese American) but in a humorous way. We also see her deal with aspects of growing up (finding her talent, wanting to fit in with others).

Theme - Fitting in, cultural differences, finding yourself are themes that weave throughout the story. They are dealt with in humorous yet truthful ways.

Tone and Style-The author adds her own illustrations to the novel which add humor and detail to the story. Throughout the story, there are also anecdotes told by the main character and other members of the family. We get glimpses of the Taiwanese culture through the stories told by mom and dad.

Curriculum Connections:

Curriculum Connections:

• Activities from the author’s website
  • Make a New Year banner
  • Research the Chinese horoscope
  • Write a story based on your past year
  • How to draw a dog
• Information about the year of the dog

Web Resources:

• Grace Lin’s website
• Interview with Grace Lin
• Grace Lin’s blog

Reviews:

From School Library Journal (from www.bn.com)
Grade 3-5–A lighthearted coming-of-age novel with a cultural twist. Readers follow Grace, an American girl of Taiwanese heritage, through the course of one year–The Year of the Dog–as she struggles to integrate her two cultures. Throughout the story, her parents share their own experiences that parallel events in her life. These stories serve a dual purpose; they draw attention to Graces cultural background and allow her to make informed decisions. She and her two sisters are the only Taiwanese-American children at school until Melody arrives. The girls become friends and their common backgrounds illuminate further differences between the American and Taiwanese cultures. At the end of the year, the protagonist has grown substantially. Small, captioned, childlike black-and-white drawings are dotted throughout. This is an enjoyable chapter book with easily identifiable characters.–Diane Eddington, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Publishers Weekly (from: www.bn.com)

Lin, best known for her picture books, here offers up a charming first novel, an autobiographical tale of an Asian-American girl’s sweet and funny insights on family, identity and friendship. When her family celebrates Chinese New Year, ringing in the Year of the Dog, Pacy (Grace is her American name) wonders what the coming months will bring. Her relatives explain that the Year of the Dog is traditionally the year when people “find themselves,” discovering their values and what they want to do with their lives. With big expectations and lots of questions, the narrator moves through the next 12 months trying to figure out what makes her unique and how she fits in with her family, friends and classmates. Pacy experiences some good luck along the way, too, winning a contest that will inspire her career (Lin’s fans will recognize the prize submission, The Ugly Vegetables, as her debut children’s book). Lin creates an endearing protagonist, realistically dealing with universal emotions and situations. The well-structured story, divided into 29 brief chapters, introduces traditional customs (e.g., Hong Bao are special red envelopes with money in them, given as New Year’s presents), culture and cuisine, and includes several apropos “flashback” anecdotes, mainly from Pacy’s mother. The book’s inviting design suggests a journal, and features childlike spot illustrations and a typeface with a hand- lettered quality. Girls everywhere, but especially those in the Asian-American community, will find much to embrace here. Ages 8-12. (Feb.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.