- Genre: Historical Fiction - WW II - Japanese Internment Camp
- Grade Level: 4th - 7th
- Reading Level: 3.8
- Length: 192 pages - 4 hours
- Publisher: January 5, 2016
- Rating: 4 out of 4
World War II has started and Japanese Americans who lived on the West coast were gathered up and sent to internment camps to live in guarded and crowded conditions. Manami's family leaves Bainbridge Island, Washington and end up in the desert of Manzanar, California. Manami learns that her loved dog cannot come along and so she hides him into her coat. Unfortunately, she can't keep him hidden and she is forbidden from taking him and he is left behind. Manami loses her voice from the trauma and is unable to speak. She misses her dog and decides that if she sends messages through drawings to her dog and sends them to the wind that perhaps her dog will come back to her.
This story gives a picture of the life lived by the Japanese as they face the unfair conditions of separation from the rest of the U.S. just because of their race. A simple and moving story of a family as they make the best of a terrible ordeal.
I visited Manzanar this summer. I was only able to visit this National Historical Site for an hour but it was a memorable visit. As I was leaving, a Japanese woman was talking to the park ranger about her experiences as she actually was a Japanese American living in Manzanar. It brought home how this part of history isn't really that long past. I highly recommend visiting this National Historic Site and reading this book. This book has been listed as a possible contender for the Newbery Award for 2017. I would approve of this choice.
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