Book description
Ten-year-old Michiko wants to be proud of her Japanese heritage but
can't be. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, her family's possessions
are confiscated and they are forced into deprivation in a small, insular
community. The men are sent to work on the railway, so the women and
children are left to make the trip on their own.
After a former Asahi baseball star becomes her new teacher, life gets
better. Baseball fever hits town, and when Michiko challenges the adults
to a game with her class, the whole town turns out.
Then the government announces that they must move once again. But they
can't think of relocating with a new baby coming, even with the offer of
free passage to Japan. Michiko pretends to be her mother and writes to
get a job for her father on a farm in Ontario. When he is accepted, they
again pack their belongings and head to a new life in Ontario.
“Employing a cast of charming characters and highlighting positive
elements such as baseball, community gardens, fundraising bazaars, and
family weddings, Maruno brings to life this tragic part of Canadian
history while showing that, among the poverty and loss experienced by
the internees, strong communities were still able to grow.” Jennifer
Maruno is a long-time educator and writer of award-winning educational
materials. Her debut novel, When the Cherry Blossoms Fell
, was shortlisted for the 2011 Hackmatack Award and the 2012 Pacific
Northwest Young Readers Choice Award. Her second historical novel, Warbird
, followed in 2010. She lives in Burlington, Ontario.
