Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration by Elizabeth Partridge

 

I missed reading this book when it first came out in 2022 but I am here to say this should be required reading for Americans of all ages. An excellent children't nonfiction book is a treasure for kids and adults, and this is an absolutely astounding take on the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II through the lens (literally) of three photographers who documented the atrocity from different angles. Dorthea Lange, Ansel Adams, and Toyo Mitatake were all taking photos for different reasons and many of their photos remained hidden for many years. The combination of the illustrations and the photographs make for an engaging read and brilliantly show the things that could and could not be photographed. Because this book is the shape of a picture book, middle school students may not pick it up, but it is absolutely perfect for visual learners and gives them exactly the right amount of information they need to understand what happened and empathize with the American citizens whose constitutional rights were stripped from them during a time of war. Educators should read this book and work it into history, ELA, and even art classes. Don't miss this treasure!

Pearl by Sherri L. Smith and Christine Norrie

 

This captivating graphic novel follows a 13-year-old girl from Hawaii to Hiroshima and back again. The year is 1941 and Amy's parents, who are Japanese American, send Amy on a ship to Japan to meet her dying grandmother. Amy's grandma, whom she calls Sosobo, was a pearl diver in her younger years and Amy grows close to her in the months she lives in Japan on her family's farm. But it is 1941, and when Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, the world is at war and Amy can't go back home to Hawaii. Amy soon discovers that America is imprisoning Japanese Americans, including Amy's family. And when the Japanese army finds an American in their midst, they take teenage Amy to spy on American radio broadcasts. So much happens to this young girl, and middle schoolers will be engrossed in Amy's story and they will learn quite a bit about world history, including the atomic bomb that is destined to fall on Hiroshima. This is a quick read with a lot to think about, and one that should be in all middle school libraries. 

Displacement by Kiku Hughes

 

In this time travel graphic novel a modern teenage girl finds herself transported (or “displaced”) back in time to a World War II internment camp for Japanese Americans. Kiki knows that her grandmother spent time in a camp, but knows very little about her experiences. After a few brief displacements, Kiki becomes stuck in the past, which gives her the  opportunity to observe her relatives and maybe even get to know them. She fully lives the life of one of the captive Japanese citizens, but longs to return to her mother in the present day. It can be hard to get kids interested in nonfiction books about this time period, and this story is an excellent gateway to learning about hard history and gaining some empathy for the Japanese people who were so callously displaced. I wished that she had actually gotten to know her grandmother better in the past, but that wasn’t the direction the story took. The art is perfectly suited to the story and will draw readers in. Highly recommended for grades 7-up.