The Lucky Baseball: My Story in a Japanese-American Internment Camp (Historical Fiction Adventures)
Grade 5–7—Harry Yakamoto lives with his father and grandparents above the restaurant they operate in Seven Cedars, CA. His prized possession is a signed baseball from Joe DiMaggio. As Japanese-Americans in the early 1940s, Harry and his family often face discrimination, but things get worse after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Yakamotos are forced to relocate to the Manzanar Internment Camp, where they live in close quarters, eat meals in a mess hall, and share a communal bathroom. Determined to make the best of the situation, Harry organizes a baseball team and improves his pitching, thanks to a kindly guard who gives him some pointers. The setting is brought to life with vivid descriptions of life in 1940s America and in the internment camp. Baseball is woven seamlessly throughout the story and will appeal to sports fans. However, sometimes the narrative can seem a little too much like a history lesson. For example, when Harry is leaving the camp, he summarizes several events that occurred there in a manner that seems a little too mature for a 12-year-old. Overall, this is a solid, but additional, purchase.—Kristen Oravec, Flint Hill Middle School, Oakton, VACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theLibrary Bindingedition.