MMGM: In A Flash by Donna Jo Napoli

It's July 1940 and though there is a war going on, Simona, 8, and Carolina, 5, have just learned that they will be moving from Italy to Tokyo, Japan for perhaps a year or two. It's only been half a year since their mother died, and now they will be leaving their beloved Nonna, too, in four days. The father, a chef, has been offered a job at the Italian embassy, cooking for the Italian ambassador and his wife, both of whom refuse to eat Japanese food. 

Four days after arriving in Tokyo, Simona begins public school, not knowing the language or having any friends. But by December, she and Carolina have both learned enough Japanese to get by, though Simona still has no friends at school. And within a year, they are both fluent and quite assimilated into Japanese customs. Simona still has no real friends, except Aiko who refuses to acknowledge her at school. Although Simona and Carolina are the children of a servant, the Japanese kids believe they are rich and living luxuriously and that is why they are snubbed. 

When the United States is attacked by Japan and enters the war, everyone assumes America will easily be defeated by Japan. After all, Japan, Italy, and Germany had signed the Tripartite Pact in 1940 pledging to come to each other's aid should their country be attacked. But everything changes in 1943 when Italy surrenders to the Allies. Suddenly, Italians are Japan's enemy and they are all forced into an internment camp, where Simona and Carolina are separated from their father.   

The sisters are able to escape, and begin to make their way across the countryside. As they make their way though Japan, they are able to survive with the help of three women living together, including a manga artist, then with help from a blind washerwoman in Tokyo where their father used to bring the embassy's dirty sheets, and ultimately finding themselves in a Catholic mission in Hiroshima in the spring and summer of 1945.

In a Flash is, to say the least, a harrowing story to read, yet it is compelling and hard to put down as well. Napoli has certainly done her research on what it was like to live in Japan during WWII. What makes this story unique is that the it is written in the first person perspective, by a citizen of one of America's enemies living in a country of another enemy. But while Simona is Italian she isn't political, she is much more an observer and reporter of what she sees around her, often without understanding it. She may sometimes voice some of the propaganda she has been told about the United States, and often observes the behavioral result of Japan's propaganda in those around her, but she remains a child trying to make sure she and her sister survive.

It was difficult reading about the "patriotic" propaganda, but even more difficult was the incredible level of rationing and starvation inflicted on people in the name of victory because it was so realistically portrayed. On the other hand, Simona and Carolina's will to survive in the face of adversity is the stuff of great historical fiction.

I read a lot of Napoli's books and In a Flash is now one of my very favorites. There are a lot of themes and a lot of information to be gleaned from this compassionate thought-provoking, eye-opening novel.

Front matter consists of a map of Japan and back matter consists of a Postscript, Notes on Research, and an extensive Bibliography.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+

This book was borrowed from the NYPL

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday and you can see all of this week's wonderful MMGM books thanks to Greg at Always in the Middle

Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot's World War II Story by Marc Tyler Nobleman, illustrated by Melissa Iwai

I first heard about Thirty Minutes Over Oregon way back in 2011, when I did a post for Marc Tyler Nobleman about the possibility of getting it published. His post, Picture Book for Sale, is still online and quite interesting to read, in case you are interested.

Thirty Minutes Over Oregon begins September 1942, less than a year after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when a Japanese pilot named Nobuo Fujita flew a small plane that had been catapulted from a submarine in the Pacific Ocean over to Oregon. The goal was to drop two 168 pound bombs into the Oregon woods to start a fire that would burn the woods and any nearby towns and cities. The mission was so hush-hush, not even Nobuo's wife could know about it. 

The bombs didn't start much of a fire, but imagine how the people in Brookings, Oregon felt when they realized that a Japanese plane has entered American airspace right over their heads. And twenty days later, Nobuo again flew into American airspace, in the same plane carrying two bombs. Though nothing came of this second attempt either, the Japanese still claimed victory.

The war ended in 1945 with the US bombing of Japan. Lucky for Nobuo who had been ordered to make a kamikaze attack on an American warship. Instead, he returned home and opened a hardware store.

Fast forward to 1962. The people of Brookings decided to track down and invite Nobuo Fujita as their Memorial Day guest of honor and thinking it would be a wonderful symbol of reconciliation between American and Japan. Not everyone in the US thought it was a good idea, but to everyone's surprise, Nobuo accepted the invitation, not without some fear and reservation, however. Was it a trick, would he be arrested and tried as a war criminal?

The 1962 visit showed the positive value of reaching out to a former enemy in peace. Nobuo was a friendly, respectful man, who had lived with the guilt of his attempted bombings of Brookings. His initial visit there began a lasting relationship between Nobuo and the people of Brookings, including an invitation extended to three high school students to visit Japan at his expense. Nobuo also donated large amounts of money for a town library for children's books. After he died in 1997, some of Nobuo's ashes were also scattered in the area where he had dropped his bombs.

As always, Nobleman has done his research on the only enemy bombing with the United States during WWII. And he has taken that research and written an compelling and emotional work of nonfiction. His text is simple and clear, and complimented by Melissa Iwai's beautifully rendered watercolor and mixed-media illustrations. Iwai has captured the gentle humanity of both the citizens of Brookings and of Nobuo and his family.

The message for us to take away from this little known WWII event and its aftermath is that a soldier is doing his job even if he is the enemy. What is important is how we reconcile after a war in order to heal and move on. That is the important legacy that Nobuo and the people of Brookings have demonstrated and that Nobleman has so poignantly captured in this picture book for older readers.

This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was borrowed from a friend

Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story by Caren Stelson

Not long ago, I reviewed The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw, the fictionalized story about a young girl who survived the bombing on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, based on the author's mother's experience.  It is a one of the most compelling books I've read about the aftermath of an atomic bomb and one that I highly recommend.

Sachiko is a riveting nonfiction narrative of one girl who survived the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.  Sachiko Yasui was only 6 years old when the United States dropped a second atomic bomb only 1/2 mile from she was playing house with her friends in an air raid cave.  Life had been difficult for the Yasui's during the war, they were a large, but close family - older brothers Aki -14, Ichiro - 12, younger sister Misa - 4, and baby brother Toshi -2, and food shortages always left everyone hungry, usually living on only hot water with wheat balls.

On August 9, 1945, when the air raid siren went off, their father was at work at the Koyagi shipyard, so only their mother and the children went to the air raid cave.  After the all clear sounded, the two older boys went their way, Mrs. Yasui, Misa and Toshi went home, Sachiko stayed behind with her friends. Suddenly, before anyone could react to the incoming enemy plane, the bomb was dropped and life for the Yasui family would never be the same.

In the immediate aftermath, the friends Sachiko was playing with were dead, as was baby brother Toshi.  A few days after the bombing, the Yasui family, along with Sachiko's surviving uncle, left Nagasaki for the country.  But getting away wasn't enough.  Aki and Ichiro and her uncle all succumbed to radiation poisoning shortly after.

The family decided to return to Nagasaki and try to rebuild their lives, but the after effects of the atomic bomb continued to plague them, and everyone else who survived.  Oddly, survivors were not allowed to talk about the bombing of Nagaski, and when Sachiko started school again, she was bullied by kids who were unaffected by what happened for the way she looked. Later, Sachiko was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, from which she recovered.

But Sachiko's experiences as a hibakusha (a survivor of the atomic bomb) left her without a way to talk about what happened and she spent years looking for the right words that would release her memories.  Along the way, Sachiko discovered Gandhi, Helen Keller and Martin Luther King, Jr. who became spiritual mentors to her.

Eventually, Sachiko does find the words she has been seeking to tell her story.  In 1995, on the fiftieth anniversary of the bombing, Sachiko, at 56, was finally able to address an audience of sixth-grade children and speak about that fateful day.  Now, guided by her spiritual mentors and her father's memory, Sachiko's words are about peace for the future.

I started reading Sachiko one evening and didn't stop until I was finished, it is that emotionally compelling. And yet, it is hard to imagine, and therefore, difficult to write about the depth of the trauma bombing victims like Sachiko suffered.  Not just physically and emotionally, but the loss of home, family, friends, neighbors, people one has known all one's life.

Caren Stelson interviewed Sachiko several times, using an interpreter, and has presented her story with a clarity that really captures what life was like for a young hibakusha.  In between the narrative of Sachiko's life are sidebars and inserts that further discuss important topics such as Radiation Sickness and Long-Term Effects of Radiation.  Reading these, you will immediately notice how well researched this book is, yet it never strays from Sachiko's story.  Stelson has also included numerous photographs, including the few surviving photos of Sachiko and her family.  Back matter consists of is a Glossary of Japanese Words, Chapter Notes, and Bibliography

Sachiko's story reminds us of the destructive power of atomic and nuclear weapons, a power that should never be taken lightly.

Sachiko is an excellent narrative of one person's experience of the bombing of Nagasaki and its aftermath, and for a fuller picture, you might want to pair it with Steve Sheinkin's 2012 outstanding work Bomb: the Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon or Edward T. Sullivans's 2007 book The Ultimate Weapon: The Race to Develop the Atomic Bomb. And, of course, do match it up with Kathleen Burkinshaw's The Last Cherry Blossom.

If you are interested in reading about other hibakuska, including Sachiko, be sure to visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan - Testimony of Hibakusha

This book will be available on October 1, 2016

FYI: As you may already know, Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story has been longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award.

This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw

August 6, 2016 marks the 71st anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, followed by the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9th.  And by now, most readers are familiar with the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr.  Sadako's compelling story focuses on her illness 9 years after being exposed to the deadly radiation that resulted in the aftermath of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. However, we don't really learn much about what Japan was like during the war, before the atomic bomb destroyed two cities and some many lives.  Until now.

The Last Cherry Blossom is the fictionalized story based on the experiences of the author's mother living in Hiroshima as a child during the war.

Despite the fact that Japan has been at war with the United States since the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, life hasn't been too difficult for 12-year-old Yuriko Ishikawa, affectionately called Joya by her beloved papa.  She is proud of her samurai heritage, and loves to hear papa tell stories about it.  But, when her teacher tells her that she has made a mistake on her koseki or family tree project, Yuriko becomes quite upset, asking papa what she meant.  Instead of an answer, he has the teacher fired.  But why?

Despite that, living on the outskirts of Hiroshima, with papa, owner of a newspaper, and her annoying Aunt Kimiko and five-year-old cousin Genji, the family hasn't suffered many of the usual hardships of war - rationing and making do just don't seem to be in evidence.  Of course, there are air raids, American planes flying overhead, and Yuriko, her best friend Machiko, in fact, all school children are expected to learn how to fight using a bamboo spear, if necessary.  But when Yuriko's papa and Aunt Kimiko both decide to get remarried at the same time, there is still silk to buy for new kimonos.

Yuriko has always cherished the time she spends alone with her papa, and wonders if her new stepmother, Sumiyo-san, now living in the family home, along with Akira-san, Aunt Kimiko's new husband, will understand that.  Happily, Sumiyo-san turns out to be a loving, kind stepmother who understands.  But when the mother of her fired teacher tells her that a man named Nishimoto-san would love to see her, she opens a Pandora's box of family secrets that turns Yuriko's world up-side-down and it is up to Aunt Kimiko to explain things.

Yuriko barely has time to digest what Aunt Kimiko tells her, than the war begins to hit closer to home.  First Tokyo is badly bombed, and, a few months later, an atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, changing Yuriko's life forever.

The Last Cherry Blossom is author Kathleen Burkinshaw's debut novel, and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to write her mother's story and yet, how necessary.  Perhaps having listened to her mother's memories of Japan during WWII and of her survival after the bomb was dropped while growing up is what made this such a realistic narrative.  Told in the first person by Yuriko, the reader is pulled into the story right from the start.

The Last Cherry Blossom is a shattering story, and part of what makes it so devastating is the detailed descriptions of daily life and favorite special occasions that Yuriko lovingly provides when all the while the reader knows what was coming.  I did like reading about the happy times, so filled with Japanese culture, such as how Yuriko's family celebrated the weddings, as well as Oshagatsu (New Year's Celebration) and Sakura Hanami (the Cherry Blossom Festival) and other festivals, though the chohei pati, the celebration party families have when a son is sent to war, is definitely not a happy occasion.  It is supposed to be an honor to fight for Japan, but in reality, no one feels very honored.

(Burkinshaw does use lots of Japanese words throughout the novel, giving this a real feeling of authenticity, and there is an extensive Glossary in the back matter to help readers.)

In fact, the chohei pati points to the ways in which propaganda is used during war by all countries. At the beginning of each chapter, there are quotes from radio addresses, newspapers and propaganda posters about how well Imperial Japan is doing in the war or what is expected of civilians at home, most of which is incorrect, but people are expected to simple believe what they are told.

The Last Cherry Blossom is a story of unfathomable loss, but also of hope, resilience, and survival. Paired with Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, both these stories should stand as a cautionary tale about war and the use of what we would now call weapons of mass destruction, and never forget that, as Burkinshaw reminds us in her Afterword, "the victims were all someone's mother, father, brother, sister, or child."  It was true then, and is still true today.

This book is recommended for readers age 11+
This book was an EARC received from Edelweiss/Above the Treeline

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

It was Peace Day, August 6, 1954 and 12 year old Sadako Sasaki couldn't wait for the day to begin.  Sadako loved Peace Day - the crowds, the fireworks and, especially the cotton candy.   Sadako knew it was going to be a good day because she saw nothing less than a good luck sign in the bright blue sky over Hiroshima that day.

Still, her parents had to remind Sadako that Peace Day was a solemn occasion, a day for remembering that the first atomic bomb ever used - the Thunderbolt - was dropped on Hiroshima by the United States in an effort to end the World War II and for honoring the many, many lives lost because of it.  But Sadako, who was 2 years old at the time the bomb hit Hiroshima, considered herself lucky to have  survived the it without a scratch and avoiding its after effects, the dreaded A-Bomb disease.  Sadako and her best friend, Chizuko, spent a wonderful Peace Day together.

But then, in the fall, Sadako began to feel strange and dizzy.  Although the feeling came and went, Sadako decided to keep it to herself.  After all, she was a really fast runner and had just been chosen to run the relay race in school.  Nothing could spoil that.   Sadako did manage to keep the dizziness secret for a few months, until February 1955 when she collapsed while running in school.

Sadako, in the middle of the front row, with her relay team

Taken to the hospital, Sadako and her family learned that she did, indeed, have the A-bomb disease - Leukemia.  Now confined to a hospital bed, her friend Chizuko came to visit one day and brought Sadako a beautiful golden origami crane, along with some paper and scissors.

Chizuko reminded Sadako of the legend of the crane - if a sick person folds one thousand paper cranes,  the gods will grant their wish and make them healthy again.  That very night, Sadako begin folding cranes.

But folding one thousand cranes is a big job, especially when you are ill.  Sadako didn't finish folding all the cranes before she passed away on October 25, 1955.  But, according to Eleanor Coerr in her Epilogue, Sadako's classmates finished folding the rest of the cranes for Sadako.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a emotionally, powerful story.  It is a perfect book for introducing this difficult topic to young readers.  There are no detailed graphic images described about the war, the bomb or even to after effects, only an acknowledgement of these things.  There is some controversy over whether or not Sadako actually did finish folding 1,000 cranes.  Regardless of whether she did or didn't, there is much to be learned from Sadako's story.

After her death, schoolchildren all over Japan helped raise money to erect a statue honoring Sadako Sasaki and in 1958, as statue was unveiled.  Since then, school children from around the world have been mailing or carrying folded paper cranes to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park by the thousands to honor Sadako and the many people who perished as a result of the A-Bomb with pledges of peace.

"I will write peace on your wings and you will fly over the world"

A second Atomic Bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945.  This year marks 68 years since the Atomic Bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.  No other atomic/nuclear bomb has been used since then...yet.

Doves released August 6, 2013 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was purchased for my personal library

The Children's Peace Station Hiroshima has a virtual museum that you can visit online and learn all about Sadako's life and her paper cranes for peace.

Origami-fun is just one of many online sources where you can learn how to fold a paper crane.

Global Ministries also has instructions for folding paper cranes as well as the address for sending your peace cranes to the Children's Monument in Hiroshima's Peace Park.  

So Far From the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins

So Far From the Bamboo Grove tells the story of an 11 year old Japanese girl, Yoko Kawashima, who had lived in Nanam in North Korea all her life; in fact, she had never even seen her homeland Japan.

But now, towards the end of the war, Yoko, her mother and older sister Ko are warned by a friend, Corporal Matsumura, that things are not going well and they must try to return to Japan immediately. With Mr. Kawashima, a Japanese diplomat, away in Manchuria, China, and their 18 year old brother Hideyo working elsewhere, Yoko, Ko and their mother leave their home in the middle of the night, taking only what they could carrying. The corporal had been able to secure them places on a hospital train bound for Seoul, where they hoped to find passage on a ship to Japan.

Hideyo had wanted to join the Japanese army when he learned that the war was no longer going well for them. But he is rejected by the army and placed in a factory in another part of Korea to make munitions for the Japanese army. When the war ends, he also finds it necessary to flee and the book is split between the difficulties he meets on his journey with that of the Kawashima women.

The women are able to board the train to Seoul using a letter from Corporal Matsumura, but when the train is bombed 45 miles away from that city, they are forced to walk the rest of the way.  Not long after they start walking, the women are stopped by three armed Korean Communist Army soldiers. But when planes fly over and bomb the area they are in, the soldiers are killed. The women take their uniforms, and because they speak fluent Korean, pass themselves off as Koreans for much of their journey. However, the bombs left Yoko with a painfully injured chest.

Eventually, the women make it to Seoul, where Yoko was fortunate enough to have her chest taken care of at the makeshift Japanese hospital. Ko minds their place in a train station, and must constantly scrounge around for food, while Yoko and her mother remain at the hospital. When Yoko is able to travel, once again manage to get places on a train, this time to Pusan, where they must await passage on a ship to Japan. But when Yoko arrives in Japan, it is not the beautiful, comforting, welcoming place she had always dreamt it would be. Japan is now a defeated country, reeling from the two atomic bombs that had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There is little food and great destruction, and no welcome for the new influx of refugees returning home. Once again, they find themselves living in a train station and scrounging in the garbage of others for food to survive.

So Far from the Bamboo Grove is a compelling, well-written story, detailing how the Kawashima women survive by their wits and much luck. It is a coming of age story, in which Yoko goes from a whining, complaining 11 year old to stronger, and more mature 12 year old girl.

Unfortunately, it is a story not without some controversy. While most people like the book, it has created quite a bit of resentment among Koreans and Korean Americans, who feel that the atrocities committed in Korea during the Japanese occupation was basically ignored and that some of the facts in the book are distorted. Koreans were portrayed as rather barbaric, and there is even the intimation of a Japanese woman being raped by a Korean man. Because of this, in 2006, the book was removed from the reading list for 6th graders at the Dover-Sherborn Middle School in Massachusetts, but was later out back on it. The school decided to find other books that would give the story of Japan occupation in Korea some balance. Which reminded me of When My Name was Keoko. Both books are based on the true experiences of young girls who lived through the war in Korea. Their stories are very different, but read in tandem, the two books do offer a more balanced historical context on this controversial time and that is how I would recommend reading them.

This book is recommended for readers age 12 and up.
This book was purchased for my personal library.

An extensive study guide for So Far from the Bamboo Grove is available at The Glencoe Literature Library.
A concept analysis guide is available from novelinks.org

Ironically, Yoko Kawashima Watkins received The Courage of Conscience Award from the Peace Abby in Sherborn, Massachusetts, despite the controversy surrounding her story.

So Far From the Bamboo Grove
Yoko Kawashima Watkins
HarperCollins
1994
192 Pages

Drawing from Memory by Allen Say

I met Allen Say at a “Meet the Artist” event at the Eric Carle Museum in 2007 when they were running an exhibit of his work called Allen Say: a Sense of Place. It was very nice to meet him, since he is a really charming, friendly person and one of my favorite author/illustrators.

While all of his books stem from his lifetime experiences, Drawing from Memory is Say’s first autobiographical work focused on how he became an artist. Born in Yokohama, Japan in 1937, he was taught by his mother to read at a very young age. Soon he was reading lots of comics and copying the pictures from them. He decided that he wanted to be an artist, and luckily, he had talent, but, unfortunately, not his parents blessing.

But then the war came and his life drastically changed. He and his mother left their home in Yokohama to live in relative safety with a mean uncle. Later, this mean uncle shows up in Once Under a Cherry Blossom Tree (one wonders how many of these kinds of people end up playing a dastardly role in future books.) Say’s father remained in Yokohama.

After the war, however, Say’s parents never got back together. His mother was forced to work financially and Say went to live with his grandmother, who also often and vocally disapproved of his artistic aspirations. But luckily Say got accepted into a school and was allowed to have his own apartment – at 12 years old. There he read about a great cartoonist, Noro Shinpei, and a young boy who had sought this man out and had become his apprentice. Say know at that moment what he needed to do.

Drawing from Memory gives readers an inside look at Allen Say’s development as an artist from childhood on, in both text and drawings. Many of the drawings are done from memory (hence the title of the book) with the exception of one sketch-book he didn’t burn before leaving Japan. The artwork is done in watercolor, pen and ink and various other mediums, all very effectively reflecting the emotions of the artist at the time. The drawings are punctuated with old photos giving credence to the drawings.

The book only covers Says life in Japan, before he came to America. But this was the period of his formation as an artist and was a very important time in his life. I did have a hard time believing he could leave his mentor, Noro Shinpei, with whom he was so happy, even though I know these things need to be done in order for an artist to come into his/her own.

Like all of Allen Say’s works, this is a wonderful book for both kids and adults. Kids, regardless of their future aspirations, if any, will find inspiration in Say’s journey to become an artist in the face of so many obstacles. Adults will learn, as Say’s mother did, to “Let you dear child journey.” (Pg 35)

Though Say doesn’t write much about his life during the war, I found the insider’s picture of post war Japan that he depicts in this book particularly interesting, since it is something we often don’t hear about. The unhappiness and discontent of the people that took place are depicted in the drawings demonstrations and clashes with the police. The people wanted jobs, money to live on, better education, a better government – in general a better world.

Drawing from Memory is a definite must for anyone who likes Allen Say’s previous work and for anyone not familiar with him.

This book is recommended for readers age 9 and up
This book was borrowed from the Webster Branch of the NYPL
 
Non-Fiction Monday is hosted today by Practically Paradise
 

 
Drawing from Memory
Allen Say
2011
Scholastic
63 Pages