Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky

October 6, 2014
Twelve-year-old Tomi Itano, the daughter of Japanese immigrants, is embarrassed and saddened when signs reading "No Japs" suddenly begin to appear around their California town, following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Opening in 1942, Dallas's novel follows Tomi's family's hardships as anti-Japanese prejudice erupts around them, and the FBI arrests her father under false charges of espionage. Tomi, her mother, and her two younger brothers are then removed from their successful strawberry farm, first banished to a horse stable and then to an internment camp in Tallgrass, Colo. (the setting of Dallas's adult novel Tallgrass). Tomi tries to remain optimistic despite her family's anger and uncertainty, and her mother takes on an unexpected leadership role as teacher in their newly formed community at the camp; when Tomi's father returns, bitter after two years of mistreatment, their world is upended once again. Dallas (The Quilt Story) takes an honest look at a painful chapter in U.S. history, forthrightly depicting the injustices faced by thousands of people of Japanese descent during WWII. Ages 9âup. Agent: Danielle Egan-Miller, Browne & Miller Literary Associates.

June 1, 2015

Gr 3-6-After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, 12-year-old Tomi Itano's life changes dramatically. She and her family face prejudice and discrimination in town. Her father is arrested and falsely imprisoned for suspected espionage. Then Tomi, her two brothers, and their mother are relocated to an internment camp in Colorado. Initially, Tomi remains positive and does what she can to help her family and others adjust. But when her father is released from prison two years later, he is justifiably bitter and his experience affects Tomi profoundly; she questions how the country she loves could treat them so unjustly. Jennifer Ikeda solidly narrates the story, which takes place in the fictional camp of Tallgrass, which the author based on the real-life Amache internment camp. Ikeda's steady, soothing voice draws the listener into the story, and she differentiates nicely between characters. The voices of the children match their age, and Ikeda gives the parents and other adults from Japan lightly accented voices. VERDICT While the ending is predictable and the work is not without flaws-there is a lot of unnecessary repetition of information-the subject is important and is made accessible to middle grade listeners because of Tomi's believable character arc.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.