| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know the book addresses issues of racism and discrimination during World War II, including the internment of Japanese-Americans. There are two incidents of groups beating up individuals, descriptions of cigarette smoking by teens, and several examples of children stealing.
Sixth-grader Sumiko's family is uprooted from its California flower farm and forced into an Arizona internment camp when the United States joins World War II. Sumiko slowly finds her way in her new life, creating a garden and befriending a boy from the Mohave reservation. But once she's settled, will her family have to move yet again?
In WEEDFLOWER, Newbery Medal-winning author Cynthia Kadohata (Kira-Kira) first seems to offer a sad but familiar story about families forced into internment camps. However, she finds a fresh angle by juxtaposing the prejudice against Japanese-Americans with ongoing discrimination of Native Americans on the reservation "hosting" the camp. Sumiko is surprised to discover, for example, that her new friend Frank's tribe cannot vote; no one on the reservation has electricity or running water.
The reflective story will appeal to girls who appreciate Sumiko's close relationship with her older cousins and younger brother and want to learn more about this dark period in U.S. history.
Families can talk about Sumiko's idea of "ultimate boredom," which she describes as "dread of your own mind, dread of the next day, the next hour, the next minute." How does Sumiko fight this condition?
| Author: | Cynthia Kadohata |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Historical Fiction |
| Publisher: | Aladdin |
| Publication date: | January 27, 2009 |
| Number of pages: | 260 |
| Hardcover price: | $17.99 |
| Paperback price: | $5.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 10 - 14 |
| Read aloud: | 10 |
| Read alone: | 10 |