Dear America Re-Introducing Dear America

DISCUSSION GUIDE Dear America Re-introducing Dear America The bestselling Dear America series is back, Educators, booksellers, and critics have with beautiful new cover designs for a new praised the unique blend of quality writing and generation of young readers. The intimate diary popularity with young readers: format of these books makes history personal and accessible, allowing readers to experience “ An imaginative, solid entrée into American American history through the eyes of someone history.” —Publishers Weekly their own age. Once they have read these stories, students will no longer think of American “ A wonderful asset to the classroom as well as history as a collection of dry facts with no to home libraries.” relevance to their lives. The Dear America books —Children’s Book Review Service are perfect for parents, teachers, librarians, and booksellers looking for fiction that blends “ Engaging, accessible historical fiction.” reading motivation and American history for —School Library Journal readers in elementary and middle school. “ The Dear America diaries represent the best of The Dear America books are written by historical fiction for any age.” Chicago— Tribune excellent, award-winning authors, who are noted for the quality of their research. Although the characters are created by the authors, many of the books are inspired by actual diaries and journals of the time. Making Connections: A Thematic Approach In many schools, an integrated language A third use for the Dear America books arts/social studies curriculum promotes is the exploration of themes. Readers can interdisciplinary connections and encourages pursue connections across time periods and students to recognize the importance of reading settings. Instead of simply studying life in the and writing in all facets of their lives. The Dear past through textbooks, encyclopedias, or America diaries are perfect for facilitating online research, readers can experience it for this cross-curricular approach for students of themselves and discuss it in the context of diverse ability levels. adventuresome young people to whom they can relate. Other schools teach language arts from a genre perspective, in which all students on a particular grade level read historical fiction, then pattern their own writing after the author’s style. Because of the diary format, the Dear America books work well for examining historical fiction as “genre,” as well as for emulating historical fiction writing. The Fences Between Us The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941 BY KIRBY LARSON Ages 8–14 • 352 pages ew Trade Edition: 978-0-545-22418-5 • $12.99 N Reinforced Library Edition: 978-0-545-26232-3 • $15.99 Summary “Ten days since the attack. I feel like Eden, Idaho, Pastor Davis decides we are a shadow family. Our bodies to move near them and to bring are moving around to all the places Piper along. Piper is outraged at we’re supposed to go—Margie to the prospect of leaving her school, college, me to school, Pop to friends, and home. “I hate you,” she church…. But our real family is in the shouts at her father. “You don’t care shadows, frozen in time and hanging about me. Not one bit. All you care on to every scrap of hope, while we about is the Japanese.” wait, wait, wait, to hear about Hank,” writes thirteen-year-old Piper Davis Piper does make the move and is in her diary. It is December, 1941. reunited with her friend Betty Sato Pearl Harbor has been attacked by and other members of the church. the Japanese, and the United States Life at the camp is harsh. The winter To t h e is at war. No word has come about is bitterly cold, and tragedy strikes Discussion L der Piper’s older brother Hank, a sailor with the deaths of a beloved elderly on the USS Arizona, one of the ships couple, the Matsuis. Still, Piper and reportedly sunk in Pearl Harbor. Betty begin attending school at Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. The United the camp, preparations are made States declares war on Japan. Over 100,000 Finally, a letter comes from Hank for a Christmas celebration, and men, women, and children of Japanese telling the family he is all right. letters come from Hank revealing ancestry living in America are sent to However, things become tense he’s still safe. incarceration camps set up in this country. Whether you came here from Japan or were on the home front for Piper’s a Japanese American citizen, your assets father, the pastor for the Japanese In the spring, Betty’s older brother were confiscated. You were allowed to take Baptist Church in Seattle, as the Jim enlists in the military, and Hank only what you could carry. members of his congregation, now writes that he is coming home. For viewed as the enemy, are attacked, Piper, the time is bittersweet, as she Imagine being a typical American child banned from public places, and counts the days until Hank’s arrival one day and a few days later you are being even arrested. Piper, too, sees this and the days before Jim’s departure. treated as a terrorist. One incarceree, who discrimination firsthand, as her The camp community all turn out to actually lived in the camps, recalls the friend Betty Sato is called names see Jim off. Betty gives her brother horror this way: “I remember the soldiers and spat upon at school. a senninbari, a thousand-person marching us…and I looked at their rifles belt, for good luck, and Piper gives and I was just terrified because I could Soon, all the people of Japantown Jim a special photo album she has see this long knife at the end…I thought I are forced to move to an created for him. was imagining it as an adult much later…I thought it couldn’t have been bayonets incarceration camp. Piper writes, because we were just little kids.” “Japantown is still as a cemetery. I Piper realizes she’s learned a lot in a know this relocation plan is because year, and she credits her father with Newbery Honor winner Kirby Larson of the war and it’s meant to help us teaching her that “even if we can’t transports Dear America readers inside the feel safe, but when I look around, I do much about the fences that get Minidoka War Relocation Center in Eden, don’t feel safe; I feel sad.” built around people, when fences Idaho. Through the diary entries of thirteen- get built between people, it’s our year-old Piper Davis, youngsters can taste Piper’s father, now without a job to tear them down.” the ever present volcanic ash dust, smell the church, makes many trips to Camp fetid sewage, yearn for running water, and Harmony with much needed food watch as families try to make homes out and supplies for the incarcerees, of recently vacated horse stables. The Fences as the Japanese are now called. Between Us illuminates a part of our history where Americans were denied their civil When the incarcerees are moved liberties and constitutional rights. to a more permanent camp, the Minidoka War Relocation Center in Thinking About the Book 1. Who gives Piper her diary? Why 4. Do you think Piper’s father made 6. What are some of the worst does that make it especially the right decision when he chose things about life at Minidoka? meaningful for her? Why does to take her to Idaho with him so What are some activities the Piper call her diary Dee Dee? they could be near the Minidoka incarcerees developed to make 2. Why didn’t Piper stop to help War Relocation Center? life more bearable there? Betty Sato when Betty was 5. Explain why Japanese living in 7. During World War II, there was a confronted and spat on by the the United States were forced popular poster that read, “Loose boys at school? What would you to give up their possessions Lips Might Sink Ships.” What do have done? and many of their freedoms to you think that means? 3. When Piper tells her father live in incarceration camps like 8. Why does Betty Sato’s brother, about the origami crane project, Minidoka? Were both Issei and Jim, decide to enlist in the he tells her, “A tree is known by Nisei treated in the same way? United States Army’s all- its fruit.” What does Pop mean? Japanese unit—the 442nd Regimental Combat Team? Student Activities 1. When the Japanese must leave 3. Choose one of the following 4. See what you can discover for Camp Harmony, they are quotes from Piper’s diary and about the Civil Liberties Act of only permitted to take what they explain what you think it means: 1988. What does this have to do can carry. If you were forced to “ Every time we make something with the events described leave your home and could only beautiful out of something ugly, in Piper’s diary? take what you could carry, what we will keep Mr. Matsui’s memory would you choose, and why? alive.” (page 226) 2. For good luck, Betty Sato makes “ Sometimes, you just have to have an origami crane to give to the someone to blame. Even if it’s the wounded soldier, John. Try your wrong person.” (page 39) hand at Japanese paper folding “ Jim was living in a Friday— with the pattern found at the mistaken for the enemy, sent away following website: www.origami. to a camp—but he was choosing org.uk/origamicrane.htm to live as if Sunday was coming, as if his actions could change people’s ideas and feelings.” (page 278) “ Pop made me realize that even if we can’t do much about the fences that get built around people, when fences get built between people, it’s our job to tear them down.” (page 284) About the Author Kirby LArson is the acclaimed author of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book Hattie Big Sky.

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