(Print:4/7/2020; HMH Books for Young Readers; Illustrated edition; 80 pages; ages 10-12)
Audio: 4/7/2020; Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group; 39:43 mins.; 9780593151037.

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
I selected this book due to it’s being in Goodreads' list of top nominations for 2020. The book is primarily poetry, but with some prose, the theme of the book is anti-war sentiment. Connections are made, of place, time, circumstances, and people. I didn’t relish the descriptions of the atrocities of war, but I did find it insightful and touching.

AUTHOR:
Lois Lowry (3/20/1937) According to Wikipedia, “Lowry has won two Newbery Medals: for Number the Stars in 1990 and The Giver in 1994. Her book Gooney Bird Greene won the 2002 Rhode Island Children's Book Award.”

NARRATOR:
Lois Lowry (3/20/1937) Lois has the right tone of somberness in this narration.

GENRE:
Autobiography, Juvenile non-fiction, sociology

LOCATIONS:
Hawaii, Japan

SUBJECTS:
War, childhood, bombs, innocence.

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
"On December 7, 1941. early on a Sunday morning, Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. Most of the United States Pacific Fleet was moored there. Tremendous damage was inflicted, and the battleship Arizona sank within minutes, with a loss of 1,177 men.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor that day was the beginning, for the United States, of World War II.
I was born in in Honolulu in 1937. Years later, as I watched a home movie taken by my father in 1940, I realized that as I played on the beach at Waikiki, USS Arizona could be seen through the mist in the background, on the horizon."

RATING:
I’d like to give this more than 3 stars, but fractions aren’t possible. I don't generally read things that are libel to cause nightmares or depression so typically avoid ponderings on the dismal state of humanity, but there were a few lighter reflections intermixed.

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As a Hawaiian who lived on the same island, it’s really interesting to read these stories from a personal lenses of what had happened during those times. Reading this from a personal lease helps humanize history and also helps us realize that this didn’t happen 200 years ago or in the very distant past but within a persons lifetime and how it affects them to this day, as of right now 1941 is 82 years which is literally someone else’s age today and that’s crazy to think about and comprehend. I also love how the author is very empathetic and not at all beaming hatred to anyone in her book as well as she recounts her brief personal history with the USS Arizona as well. ( )

This was an amazing book, not only for historical purposes. Written in novel in verse, the story is told from a young girl’s POV, however, when it switches to Japan, the reader sees through the people of Japan’s POV. Readers need to read the afterword, written by the author to better understand the significance of the title. It was so interesting to learn about the lives lost on both sides of the war and how one change in your daily routine could change the path of your life. The illustrations throughout the story fit perfectly with the story, emphasizing the words. Very powerful! Definitely a must read for MS/HS. ( )

Beautifully illustrated, Lowry tells of her childhood memories of the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as well as her life in Japan after World War II. ( )

On the whole, I think this is a lovely little gem of a book, that explores some extraordinary connections in Lois Lowry's childhood.

I don't recommend starting with it as an audio book. While it is amazing to hear the book read by Lowry, I almost bailed out a couple of times in section 1 because I didn't understand where the book was going. It started to feel like a poetic tribute to each individual who died on the Arizona, and while that is moving and worthy, it also started to feel maudlin and sentimental. The second half of the book brings everything together and balances the experience of part 1. I think if I had a physical book to look at, I could have flipped through it a bit and understood what was happening.

I love the overall message. I think the connections are amazing. I think this is a great book to revisit a few times, and an effective way to help kids connect with the events of WWII. Sometimes that war feels fictional and far away -- this book reminds us that it is anything but.

Advanced Listening Copy provided by Libro.fm. ( )