Search This Blog







2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (2)
- Colorado (3)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa (2)
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (4)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (1)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (2)
- Canada (1)
- England (5)
- France (1)
- Puerto Rico (1)
- Scotland (1)


2025 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge



2025 Build Your Library Reading Challenge









Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Middle Grade Japanese Internment Camp Novel Teaches Valuable Lessons
10:21 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Manami Tanaka's life on Bainbridge Island, Washington, is nothing remarkable. The 10-year-old spends her days going to school, walking with her grandfather along the beach, and playing with her dog, Yujiin. It's only when she's forced to leave her home that Manami realizes how much she's lost. Ordered to relocate to an interment camp in California, she must give up not just her freedom, but also the companionship of her beloved dog. It's this sacrifice that breaks her heart and steals her voice.
With around 10,000 residents, Manzanar is bursting at the seams. The camp is like a large village, boasting its own school, hospital, store, baseball diamond, and cemetery. Living in such crowded quarters is bad enough, but the people interred there have to deal with the unrelenting heat, dust, and confinement. Manami feels as if she might go crazy. She needs Yujiin now more than she ever has. If she sends him pictures, will her faithful companion come running? Will her family be happy again? Or will Manami be forever mute, lonely, and sad?
Paper Wishes, Lois Sepahban's fictional debut, paints a vivid, sympathetic picture of the plight of Japanese Americans unfairly interred during World War II. Through young Manami, we get a feel for the fear, anger, and dismay that must have accompanied such an experience. Although short and spare, Paper Wishes teaches some valuable lessons about prejudice, hope, and making the best of bad situations. It's an interesting, poignant story. Its plot is quite thin, however, making the tale drag in places. Because of this, I liked Paper Wishes, I just didn't love it.
(Readalikes: I haven't read any other children's books on this subject. Have you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for violence and scary situations
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
4 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)


Reading
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Listening
If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell


Followin' with Bloglovin'

-
Movies That Suck - Mysterious Island9 minutes ago
-
-
-
Monthly Round-Up: March 20255 hours ago
-
-
Lethal Prey by John Sandford6 hours ago
-
Safe and Sound10 hours ago
-
What I Wore in Australia10 hours ago
-
-
-
Ghost Of A Holy War By Yardena Schwartz15 hours ago
-
The Rainmaker by John Grisham19 hours ago
-
-
Sunday Salon: March 30 202520 hours ago
-
-
-
Murder at the Palace by N R Daws1 day ago
-
Bookish Quote of the Day!!2 days ago
-
Nonfiction Books on BookTV2 days ago
-
One Word Titles A-to-Z3 days ago
-
-
-
A Review of Nor Gloom of Night4 days ago
-
-
-
-
I have been reading...1 week ago
-
-
February 2025 Reading Wrap Up3 weeks ago
-
-
-
One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery5 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
I'm Still Reading - This Was My October4 months ago
-
Review: The Duke and I7 months ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus8 months ago
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!


Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ▼ 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)


2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction

It's not a children's book, but I loved Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which deals with the Japanese-American experience from a Chinese-American perspective.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a sad period in our history; it's good that they're still writing books about it.
ReplyDeleteWow, it's great that someone wrote a children's book on this subject, since it's too often glossed over in history books. Even though you mentioned that the plot is thin, I'm putting this on my list. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteThe interment of the Japanese Americans is so heartbreaking to me. I've never read a story about it from a child's perspective.
ReplyDelete