Published by Atheneum

Summary:  It’s 1946, and Hanako’s family is sailing to Japan.  While interned in American camps, her parents renounced their American citizenship, and the family is moving to her father’s parents’ farm.  Landing in Hiroshima, they are shocked to see the devastation wrought by a single bomb. They then travel to the farm where Hanako’s grandparents labor as tenant farmers, and try to start a new life for themselves.  But hunger and limited opportunity make her parents begin to question their decision to leave America. In the end, they must make an even more difficult choice, but it’s clear that the love of their family will sustain Hanako and her younger brother as they move forward into an uncertain future.  416 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  With five starred reviews and a National Book Award nomination, this book hardly needs a recommendation from me.  The writing is beautiful, and the story presents history in a way not often taught in the United States. The difficult decisions that face Hanako–should she give rice to the scarred Hiroshima survivor and his little sister or keep it for her younger brother?–would make this an excellent springboard for discussion.  I hope to see this with some sort of Newbery recognition. I listened to the audio version of this, and thought it was exceptionally well done.

Cons:  The cover and description of this book didn’t make me super excited to read it, and it may not be one many kids will pick up on their own.

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