Journey to Topaz

by Yoshiko Uchida

Illustrator Donald Carrick

Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1971

Summary:

Yuki is an eleven-year-old Japanese-American, who is eagerly anticipating Christmas. But the year is 1941, and the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan suddenly transforms her entire life. Overnight her parents become "enemy aliens," and Father is taken by the FBI. All Japanese on the West Coast are being evacuated, and Yuki, her mother, and her brother Ken, are sent to Tanforan Race Track Assembly Center that houses hundreds of Japanese in small, dark horse stalls. There Yuki meets Emi and her grandparents, that become an important part of her new life. Soon the whole camp is shipped to a new site in Topaz, where Yuki is hoping to find a better life. A barbed-wire enclosure in the desert of Utah in Topaz meets the new residents with its terrifying dust storms that bring illness and tragedy to Emi and her family. It's a story of people relationships, family values and rediscovering the world.

Recommendation for Parents:

Journey to Topaz is a story of a Japanese-American evacuation during the World War II. The story describes the life of one Japanese- American family that goes through a chain of unfortunate events all of which are based on the actual facts. The realism of the narration owes the author's personal experience. In the Prologue Yoshko Uchida shares that she was one of those several thousand Japanese living in California whose lives were transformed when war broke out between the United States and Japan in December 1941. The book is a good depiction of these historical events. The sketchy black-and-white illustrations reflect the gloomy mood of the book and help visualize important scenes.

Recommendation for Other Teachers:

The book shows the injustice of the government's decision for "the indiscriminate removal of 110,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, without hearings of any kind, from the entire West Coast", and the loyalty of Japanese-Americans to the United States. The proximity of the plot settings (Berkeley, California) makes the plot and the characters more real for Californian students. Although written in a simple language, the book offers plenty of chances for expanding students' vocabulary. The narration is full of descriptions of feeling and emotions that can inspire interesting class discussions. The organization of the chapters allows for developing prediction strategies for young readers.

Personal Note:

I recommend this book to deepen the understanding of the tragic historical events during WWII. It is a well-written story with a captivating plot that lets the reader easily connect with the main characters and see the hardships of the Japanese-American families during WWII. It's a great read-aloud for the 6th grade.

Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Boy King

by Zahi Hawass

Director of Excavations at the Giza Pyramids and the Valley of the Golden Mummies

National Geographic, Washington, D.C., 2005

Summary:

Zahi Hawass, a world-famous Egyptian archaeologist, who devoted his life to the mysteries of ancient Egypt, tells a story of a great discovery of the tomb of king Tutankhamun of Egypt by an English archaelogist Howard Carter. The author describes the famous Valley of the Kings that was the resting place for many of the pharaohs, Carter's work and his lucky day in November 1922 when the astonishing discovery in the Valley was made. The book gives us wonderful descriptions of life and mysterious death and the burial of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Recommendation for Parents:

The book represents an exciting piece of academic writing. It offers a good opportunity to spark children's interest in history. It makes the subject of history more personal as it uncover some fascinating aspects of life of ancinet Eguptians and the work of archaeologists.

Recommendation for Other Teachers:

It is a great supplementary reading that goes along with the Social Studies curriculum in the 6th grade. The book provides some intriguing details about the life and burial of ancient Egyptians. It is full of amazing photographs of ancient artifacts, excavation sites, and CT scan three-dimensional images of Tut's body that children will appreciate.

Personal Note:

I recommend this book because it promotes development of academic language and deeper understanding of ancient history.

Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and other natural disasters

by Andrew Langley

Kingfisher Knowledge Publications, Boston, 2006

(A Houghton Mifflin Company Imprint)

Summary:

Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and Natural Disasters brings you face-to-face with nature's most destructive and terrifying forces. Besides giving the striking descriptions of the catastrophic events the book offers the scientific background and explanation. The readers learn how these disaster are triggered and how people try to protect themselves. The book is one of the series that cover various thought-provoking topics, including Archaeology, Mummies, Gene and DNA, etc.

Recommendation for Parents:

The book provides wonderful narration supported by compelling photographs of natural disasters and takes the readers into the heart of the subject. The information is well-organized into subtopics that are broken down into smaller parts for easy reading. The size of the pieces encourages even struggling or lazy readers to make some progress on the book. Every subtopic includes extra web sites, book lists, and places to explore science.

Recommendation for Other Teachers:

This book is a wonderful addition to the science lessons in the 6th grade that coresponds with the Houghton Mifflin curriculum. It provides readers with the Glossary of academic terms necessary for the grade level. It encourages the readers to explore the science and perceive it as relative to the world we live in. Notwithstanding the density of some informational pieces, the book is good for short read-alouds to promote awareness of the fundamental scientific issues in children.

Personal Note:

I believe that the time devoted to science in the 6th grade curriculum is insufficient for studying the physics and the geology in relative depth, so I recommend the book as a supplementary academic reading.