Kathryn Fitzmaurice. A Diamond In The Desert. New York: Penguin Group, 2012.
Awards:
Summary: In this story, Tetsu and his family are forced out of their home and into a camp for Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Before being put in the camp, Tetsu absolutely loved baseball. Baseball was his life. After being put in the camp, this was forced to change. Until the boys built the baseball field at the camp, there was no baseball. Tetsu's little sister, Kimi, got sick and everything changed again. He refused to play baseball. Tetsu has to learn how to overcome obstacles in his life to still enjoy what he loves.
Audience: I would use this book for grades 4th through 6th.
Themes: One major theme in this book is family. Tetsu goes through a lot with his family and learns a lot about being a part of a family. His father is gone for the beginning half of the book and Tetsu's family really struggles with this. Once he returns, things start going back to "normal". Things aren't always easy while living in the camp, but they stick together and everything ends up being okay in the end.
Another major theme in this book is baseball. There is more to it than just a game in this book. It is Tetsu's love and passion. It brings a special bond to him and his dad; as well as the boys in the camp. Tetsu made wonderful friends at camp once they started a baseball team. He also had a great role model as his coach. There was also some patriotic symbolism behind this theme (discussed further below).
Evidence:
"He'll never be a red-orange fish. But he can be a white fish." Page 220
I thought this was an interesting quote that Kimi says to Horse. I think it could be interpreted in different ways; maybe Kimi is saying they will never be Americans but they will be Japanese- Americans. Or, maybe she is talking about family. Horse's aunt will never be his parents but at least he has family.
"I thought about why my family was being forced to leave everything. I thought about the 'Star Spangled Banner'. How the song said it was waving over the land of the free and the home of the brave."
I think this quote was a very interesting one. It really makes you think about these families being forced into the camps and having their freedom essentially taken away. It really puts thing into perspective while reading this book.
Connections: I would use this book in my classroom with a Social Studies lesson. This would be a much more interesting way to learn about the Japanese Internment Camps rather than reading about it out of a textbook. This book really brings this time period alive. Boys especially, would love reading about baseball and learning about the history at the same time. This book would be a great tool.
Reactions: Personally, I enjoyed this book. It wasn't one of my favorites but I think students would enjoy it. The format threw me off a little bit, but students might like it broken up how it was. Like I said earlier, it would be a good book to read when teaching Social Studies or American History. Other than that, I probably wouldn't have chosen this book on my own.
Reception: "This is an okay book for an upper elementary or middle school student who has never read about Japanese internment camps. I have read others on the same topic that I found more engaging, so this didn't exactly hold my attention. The breaks were too short/frequent (They aren't really chapters as they have no numbers or titles, just diamonds). I would understand if the breaks were more like daily diary entries, but sometimes they were continuing action that appeared broken up for no reason to me." -Jeanne, Adult
"This is an okay book for an upper elementary or middle school student who has never read about Japanese internment camps. I have read others on the same topic that I found more engaging, so this didn't exactly hold my attention. The breaks were too short/frequent (They aren't really chapters as they have no numbers or titles, just diamonds). I would understand if the breaks were more like daily diary entries, but sometimes they were continuing action that appeared broken up for no reason to me." -Jeanne, Adult
Hyperlinks:
Author Website
Book Reviews
Book:
Awards:
- New York Historical Society Book Prize Finalist
- Bank Street Best Book for 2013
- 2013 Judy Lopez Memorial Awards Honor Book
- VOYA 2012 Top Shelf Fiction choice for Middle School readers
- Nominated Title on the 2013 ALSC Notable Children’s Book List
- Indiebound Kid’s Next List pick for Spring 2012
Summary: In this story, Tetsu and his family are forced out of their home and into a camp for Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Before being put in the camp, Tetsu absolutely loved baseball. Baseball was his life. After being put in the camp, this was forced to change. Until the boys built the baseball field at the camp, there was no baseball. Tetsu's little sister, Kimi, got sick and everything changed again. He refused to play baseball. Tetsu has to learn how to overcome obstacles in his life to still enjoy what he loves.
Audience: I would use this book for grades 4th through 6th.
Themes: One major theme in this book is family. Tetsu goes through a lot with his family and learns a lot about being a part of a family. His father is gone for the beginning half of the book and Tetsu's family really struggles with this. Once he returns, things start going back to "normal". Things aren't always easy while living in the camp, but they stick together and everything ends up being okay in the end.
Another major theme in this book is baseball. There is more to it than just a game in this book. It is Tetsu's love and passion. It brings a special bond to him and his dad; as well as the boys in the camp. Tetsu made wonderful friends at camp once they started a baseball team. He also had a great role model as his coach. There was also some patriotic symbolism behind this theme (discussed further below).
Evidence:
"He'll never be a red-orange fish. But he can be a white fish." Page 220
I thought this was an interesting quote that Kimi says to Horse. I think it could be interpreted in different ways; maybe Kimi is saying they will never be Americans but they will be Japanese- Americans. Or, maybe she is talking about family. Horse's aunt will never be his parents but at least he has family.
"I thought about why my family was being forced to leave everything. I thought about the 'Star Spangled Banner'. How the song said it was waving over the land of the free and the home of the brave."
I think this quote was a very interesting one. It really makes you think about these families being forced into the camps and having their freedom essentially taken away. It really puts thing into perspective while reading this book.
Connections: I would use this book in my classroom with a Social Studies lesson. This would be a much more interesting way to learn about the Japanese Internment Camps rather than reading about it out of a textbook. This book really brings this time period alive. Boys especially, would love reading about baseball and learning about the history at the same time. This book would be a great tool.
Reactions: Personally, I enjoyed this book. It wasn't one of my favorites but I think students would enjoy it. The format threw me off a little bit, but students might like it broken up how it was. Like I said earlier, it would be a good book to read when teaching Social Studies or American History. Other than that, I probably wouldn't have chosen this book on my own.
Reception: "This is an okay book for an upper elementary or middle school student who has never read about Japanese internment camps. I have read others on the same topic that I found more engaging, so this didn't exactly hold my attention. The breaks were too short/frequent (They aren't really chapters as they have no numbers or titles, just diamonds). I would understand if the breaks were more like daily diary entries, but sometimes they were continuing action that appeared broken up for no reason to me." -Jeanne, Adult
"This is an okay book for an upper elementary or middle school student who has never read about Japanese internment camps. I have read others on the same topic that I found more engaging, so this didn't exactly hold my attention. The breaks were too short/frequent (They aren't really chapters as they have no numbers or titles, just diamonds). I would understand if the breaks were more like daily diary entries, but sometimes they were continuing action that appeared broken up for no reason to me." -Jeanne, Adult
Hyperlinks:
Author Website
Book Reviews