A Place Where Sunflowers Grow  (English and Japanese Edition)
Grade 1-4–Lee-Tai based this story on the experiences of her grandparents and her mother, who were interned in Topaz, Utah, during World War II. With quiet understatement, the text focuses on the confusion and sadness young Mari feels after her familys abrupt relocation to the camp. In the harsh desert landscape, she thinks wistfully of her home, where she played with her brother in a yard filled with flowers. Her parents are worried about her silence and listlessness, but an art class offers her a means of expressing her feelings. She makes a friend as well, and when her desert sunflowers put up seedlings, she feels a new sense of hope. The story is told in both English and Japanese, and the earth-toned illustrations, created using watercolors, ink, tissue paper, and acrylic paint, nicely detail the simple plot. Hoshino modeled some of her compositions on those of Hisako Hibi, the authors grandmother and a prominent Japanese-American painter. Other picture books dealing with this topic include Eve BuntingsSo Far from the Sea(Clarion, 1998), Yoshiko UchidasThe Bracelet(Philomel, 1993), and Rick Noguchi and Deneen JenkssFlowers from Mariko(Lee & Low, 2001). Lee-Tais tale, with its emphasis on the internees dignity and feelings, offers the gentlest introduction to this tragic episode.–Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.