Write to Me: Letters from Japanese American Children to the Librarian They Left Behind

K-Gr 3—Grady tells the story of Clara Breed, a children's librarian from San Diego, who was moved to action when her library's Japanese American patrons were rounded up and imprisoned in internment camps during World War II. As families were forced out of their homes to travel to unknown destinations, she gave out stamped and addressed post cards, asking her young patrons to write to her. She then corresponded with the children as they were moved from camp to camp, sending letters and books. Luminous colored pencil illustrations in muted jewel tones create a nostalgic, bleak atmosphere that suits the tone well. However, the narrative is much more focused on Breed's life than the Japanese Americans wrongly imprisoned, presenting the internment matter-of-factly. The spare text does feature excerpts from the letters, reproduced verbatim, to flesh out the life in the camps, although one letter contains a disturbing reference to Little Black Sambo. Readers will find a large amount of back matter for such a slim volume. An author's note, time lines of Breed's life and the history of Japanese people in the United States, and more make this a potential source for budding researchers, though it will have to be paired with a more substantial text on the U.S. internment of people of Japanese heritage.