Journey to Topaz [Paperback]

Yoshiko Uchida (Author), Donald Carrick (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1988 | Age Level: 7 and up

Like any 11-year-old, Yuki Sakane is looking forward to Christmas when her peaceful world is suddenly shattered by the bombing of Perl Harbor. Uprooted from her home and shipped with thousands of West Coast Japanese Americans to a desert concentration camp called Topaz, Yuki and her family face new hardships daily.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Although classified as juvenile reading, many adults will find this book enlightening. It is written with skill, sensitivity and a confidence gained from first-hand experience.
ALA Notable
California Recommended Reading List Core Title -- Lee Ruttle, Pacific Citizen

This tragic herding of innocent people is described with dignity and a sorrowful sense of injustice that never becomes bitter. -- Saturday Review

About the Author

Yoshiko Uchida, who lived in Berkeley, California, was the author of many children's books, as well as books for adults. She was the foremost Japanese-American woman writing about the Japanese-American experience. She said of these books: "I hope not only to reinforce the self-knowledge of young Asians, but to give all young people a sense of continuity with history and kinship with the past."

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Creative Arts Book Company (April 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916870855
• ISBN-13: 978-0916870850
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,126,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Internment from a child's point of view, November 8, 2005

By 

Torrance Bookmarks (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journey To Topaz: A Story Of The Japanese-American Evacuation (Paperback)

This was interesting to me since my mother was about Yuki's age when she went to "camp". My mother doesn't talk much about that time, maybe because some things you just want to forget. It helped me understand some of the fear and prejudice towards Japanese Americans during the war. I have mixed feelings about the internment. It was horrible how so many people lost their livelihoods, but on the other hand, in camp, they were sheltered from the hatred and hostility they may have experienced at home. This was wartime, so everyone was feeling some kind of unhappiness. I give this book 4 stars and 5 stars to Uchida's "Journey Home", the story which follows Yuki's family out of camp.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sorrowful, moving tradegy..., November 6, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Journey to Topaz (Paperback)

Yuki is a Japanese-American girl, who lives a normal life in Berkeley, California. Suddenly, a war transforms her life into a long trip of misery and pain. Her father is torn away from the family, and her friends are seperated. In her school, kids sneer at her and call Yuki a "Jap". The bombing of Pearl Harbor causes Yuki to move from one place to another... cramped concentration camps and horsestall homes. Friendships bud and families reunite, giving Yuki hope of having a home with her family once again.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful historical fiction, January 9, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Journey to Topaz (Paperback)

I homeschool my 12 y.o. son, and we read this book for a historical fiction book group. It is a beautifully written story of the tragic internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. It brings to life both the physical realities and the emotional burdens that were imposed by tearing people from their homes and sending them to dismal war camps. I highly recommend this book as an accompaniment to non-fiction reading about the internments, because it provides such a vivid picture of this sad chapter in American history.