Customer Reviews

The Lucky Baseball: My Story in a Japanese-American Internment Camp (Historical Fiction Adventures)

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Harry Yakamoto is a California kid in 1941. He spends his days, when not in school, helping in his family's restaurant which is located below their home. When he plays it is usually baseball. He's a happy go-lucky, typical American kid - until the US joins World War Two after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Harry's life changes dramatically.

He and his family, with only what they can carry, are sent to "camps" out in the dessert, away from everything and everyone, except other Japanese-Americans. Their new home is a one room box with a dusty floor and no privacy. He lives here with his parents and grandparents. Surrounding the internment camp are guards meant to keep them in not to keep others out. It all feels like a prison with occupants' only crime being of Japanese decent.

Harry's family soon gets busy. His father takes over the dining room and kitchen. Harry forms a baseball team and then a league to play against other interned kids. Soon a guard helps with equipment and the games become a focal point of the week. Harry and his family learn to make the best of a bad situation. When they return home they will need to do that one more time.

This is a fascinating story showcasing the internment camps of World War II. Harry and his family instantly come to life and it is easy to feel the injustice of their situation. This is a fun read and kids will learn about a part of US history that is not talked about much anymore. Another very good tale of historical fiction by author Suzanne Lieurance.


Note: received book from author

In The Lucky Baseball, young readers experience what it was like to have hope in the midst of discrimination as a young Japanese American during WWII. I have visited the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles and spoken with our tour guide who was himself incarcerated during the war. The Lucky Baseball brings this era of history alive to students and offers an insider's look at what life was like living in a Japanese-American Internment Camp.

The Lucky Baseball is a highly entertaining and educational novel about a young Japanese-American boy whose dream is to become a famous baseball player. Set during the time of the war between the US and Japan, the book teaches about that dark era of our time while providing young readers with a fast-paced, interesting plot and a strong and sympathetic protagonist.

This middle-grade historical novel begins on the eve of the war. Our young hero, 12-year old Harry Yakamoto, lives in Seven Cedars, California with his father and grandparents in an apartment above their restaurant. In spite of the regular prejudice he encounters as a Japanese-American, he lives a reasonably happy life doing what he enjoys most: playing baseball and spending time with his family and friends. His biggest dream is to become a professional baseball player one day, but he has a series of obstacles. For one, his father expects him to run the family restaurant one day, and is not pleased when he sees Harry practicing ball too much. To add to that, he's not able to join the teams in town because a lot of the kids -- especially a bully named Tony Rossi -- are prejudiced against his background. In spite of all this, Harry tries to make the best of life.

Then his life turns upside down when the US declares war on Japan, and he and his family are forced to relocate to a camp 200 miles away in the middle of the desert. There, his living quarters are reduced to a cold and dusty, small room he has to share with his family. Dirty latrines, poor food, rude guards, and another bully are some of his other new problems. But the fire of baseball eternally blazes in his heart, and he soon forms a team and becomes the captain. Will Harry live his dream? Will he go back to Seven Cedars and live like a normal American without the evils of prejudice?

I'm not a fan of baseball, but I have to say I loved reading this book. The story and especially the protagonist drew me in from the beginning. Harry is a special character with a distinct voice and personality. He has his flaws, but is brave and pure at heart. He's the kind of young hero readers like to root for. The plot moves fairly quickly without a lot of exposition or description. I felt transported back in time and learned a lot about the camps. The Lucky Baseball offers a glimpse into the evils of war and the injustice of prejudice. What I especially like is that the author doesn't lecture or preach; the message comes through from the action.

The Lucky Baseball is 160 pages and is geared at grades five to seven. If you have a middle grader who loves baseball, this is a story he or she will surely enjoy. It is also excellent reading material for classrooms, as it offers many subjects for discussion. Highly recommended.