Gr 6 Up-Through letters and recollections, Oppenheim relates the story of a group of young people who were interned during World War II. Breed had come to know many Japanese Americans through her work as the children's librarian at the San Diego Public Library. When the young people were sent to camps in 1942, she began sending letters and care packages of books, candy, and other treats to "her children." She also wrote articles for Library Journal and The Horn Book that articulated their plight. In return, the recipients expressed their gratitude in letters. While their lives were marked by deprivation and uncertainty, their letters reveal an unquenchable optimism. Their story, along with that of Miss Breed, is both remarkable and inspiring, and Oppenheim has done a fine job of assembling these poignant eyewitness accounts. Unfortunately, she muddles her assessment, ladling on a variety of unnecessary details and her own anecdotal experiences. There's a lack of clarity and focus, and though this is a welcome addition to this topic, its appeal will be limited to those familiar with it. Readers seeking a concise, overall perspective would fare better with Michael L. Cooper's Fighting for Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II (2000) and Remembering Manzanar: Life In a Japanese Relocation Camp (2002, both Clarion).-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Dear Miss Breed
After Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, over 100,000 Japanese Americans were ordered to leave their homes. The government was afraid that because they looked like "the enemy," they might be spies. One American, librarian Clara Breed, was heartbroken and outraged. As the San Diego Public Library's Children's Librarian, Miss Breed was close to many of the children who were evacuated. She went to the train station the day they left, handing out postcards and telling them to send her letters. During the years the children were in camps, she sent letters, books, supplies, and treats. She became someone the children could count on and someone they could talk to outside the crowded, dirty camps. Award-winning author Joanne Oppenheim was inspired to write this story after being reunited with a childhood Japanese American friend who was evacuated. "... deserves commendation for its sheer quantity of accessible, exhaustively researched information about a troubling period, more resonant now than ever, when American ideals were compromised by fear and unfortunate racial assumptions."-Booklist, starred review
"1007045495"
Dear Miss Breed
After Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, over 100,000 Japanese Americans were ordered to leave their homes. The government was afraid that because they looked like "the enemy," they might be spies. One American, librarian Clara Breed, was heartbroken and outraged. As the San Diego Public Library's Children's Librarian, Miss Breed was close to many of the children who were evacuated. She went to the train station the day they left, handing out postcards and telling them to send her letters. During the years the children were in camps, she sent letters, books, supplies, and treats. She became someone the children could count on and someone they could talk to outside the crowded, dirty camps. Award-winning author Joanne Oppenheim was inspired to write this story after being reunited with a childhood Japanese American friend who was evacuated. "... deserves commendation for its sheer quantity of accessible, exhaustively researched information about a troubling period, more resonant now than ever, when American ideals were compromised by fear and unfortunate racial assumptions."-Booklist, starred review
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169847994 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Recorded Books, LLC |
| Publication date: | 05/09/2014 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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