Write To Me:Letters From Japanese American Children To The Librarian They Left Behind

Description

A touching story about Japanese American children who corresponded with their beloved librarian while they were imprisoned in World War II internment camps.

When Executive Order 9066 is enacted after the attack at Pearl Harbor, children's librarian Clara Breed's young Japanese American patrons are to be sent to prison camp. Before they are moved, Breed asks the children to write her letters and gives them books to take with them. Through the three years of their internment, the children correspond with Miss Breed, sharing their stories, providing feedback on books, and creating a record of their experiences. Using excerpts from children's letters held at the Japanese American National Museum, author Cynthia Grady presents a difficult subject with honesty and hope.

" A beautiful picture book for sharing and discussing with older children as well as the primary audience" — Booklist STARRED REVIEW

"A touching tribute to a woman who deserves recognition" — Kirkus Reviews

"[An] affecting introduction to a distressing chapter in U.S. history and a brave librarian who inspired hope" — Publisher's Weekly

About the Author

Jack Norworth was an American songwriter, singer, and vaudeville performer. He is credited as being one of a collection of New York-based songwriters and lyricists that made up Tin Pan Alley in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," for which Jack wrote the lyrics, was his longest-lasting hit.

Amiko Hirao earned a degree in art history in her native Japan, and later graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has illustrated four children's books, including Tulip at the Bat by J. Patrick Lewis, How the Fisherman Tricked the Genie by Christopher Sunami, and All Aboard by Mary Lyn Ray. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.