I was very interested to read this book after Dr. Blamey talked about this book during our lesson this week. The book is about a Japanese boy whose family was contained in an American internment camp. The boy and his peers at the camp play baseball as a way to pass their time. The boys' parents are also part of the team as they make uniforms for children out of old materials that they find. After the boy leaves the camp, he joins Baseball as his school, where he is seen as an outcast because of his nationality.
I give this book 3 baseballs out of 5 baseballs, I thought the story was beautifully told and was so surprised this a book was written on this topic, as America tries to hide away from the fact that this occurred after Pearl Habor. I found this book heartbreaking at the same time, and was so upset that something like this had happened. I wasn't sure if the baseball part was made up or just the characters. That is the reason I am giving it a lower score, as well as the fact that I couldn't see myself introducing this book to a group of students. I also thought that the fact that this book used the word "Jap" during a part was a bit too intense for students, and didn't quite like how they used the word. Though I do know that this word was used to make the readers feel the way that the boy felt. It had a great impact, but I just thought it was a bit too much for a children's story.
Title: Baseball That Saved Us
Author: Ken Mochizuki
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Publication Date: June 18, 2009
ISBN: 978-1880000199
⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾ out of ⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾
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