Twelve year old Tomi Itano sees herself as a proud
Japanese-American even though she has never been to Japan nor speaks Japanese.
In 1941, the year the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and it is this very event
that changes Tomi’s perspective on life. Tomi and her family must endure
unimaginable racist attitudes from their fellow non-Japanese Americans who now
view them as the enemy. Tomi starts to see the hurtful store front signs that
read “No Japs Allowed.” She is even no longer welcomed as part of her
beloved Girls Scouts. To make matters even more unbearable, Tomi’s father
is suspected of being a spy and is arrested and sent to an internment camp in
New Mexico. It did not take long for Tomi, her mother, and her brothers
to be evacuated from their home and sent to the internment camp in Tallgrass,
Colorado.
As the family is forced to relocate Tomi’s mother becomes worried
about their strawberry fields. She also becomes bitter as the family is close
to losing everything they own. Selling their belongings for very cheap is too
painful; she even breaks her washing machine because the thought of selling it
for a quarter proves unbearable. As the family transitions from
their home-life to camp-life, they try to establish a “normal” life by going to
school and making friends. As time passes, life at the camp gives Tomi a chance
to reflect on how she really feels about the way others treated her because of
her nationality.
Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky by Sandra Dallas is a touching story about a young girl
during the 1940’s. Readers will be introduced to a terrible event that occurred
in America and the toll it took on one particular family.
For readers in 5th grade and up.
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