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Book cover

Stealing home

Torres, J. (Author). Namisato, David, 1977- (Added Author).

Sandy Saito looks back to his childhood in 1940s Vancouver, when he was eight years old. He's a happy kid: he goes to school, reads comic books and is obsessed with baseball--especially the Asahi baseball team, the pride of the Japanese-Canadian community. Then the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor--and everything changes. The kids Sandy used to play with every day now call him names and chase him from the playground. He and his family are no longer permitted to go outside at night or visit certain areas of the city. Japanese-Canadians are stripped of their rights, their jobs and their homes, and soon the government begins to round up Japanese families, sending them to internment camps. It isn't long before Sandy's family is among them. The reader accompanies Sandy on his journey to the camp and the seasons that follow in this historically accurate portrayal of a grave chapter in both Canadian and American history. David Namisato's detailed art depicts the 1940s setting with cultural and historical precision, following Sandy and his family as they are forced to leave their home and relocate to a prison camp comprised of crowded, makeshift barracks in a remote site without electricity or running water. The theme of baseball, Sandy's favorite sport, runs through the story as a message of hope and renewal.

Book  - 2021
J,GN FIC Torre
1 copy / 0 on hold

Available Copies by Location

Location
Community Centre Available
  • ISBN: 9781525303340
  • Physical Description 112 pages : chiefly color illustrations ; 23 cm
  • Publisher [Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 2021.

Additional Information

Syndetic Solutions - Summary for ISBN Number 9781525303340
Stealing Home
Stealing Home
by Torres, J.; Namisato, David (Illustrator)
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Summary

Stealing Home


When a boy struggles after moving to a Japanese internment camp during WWII, baseball shows him another way to approach life. Sandy Saito is a happy boy who reads comic books and is obsessed with baseball -- especially the Asahi team, the pride of his Japanese Canadian community. But when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, his life, like that of every other North American of Japanese descent, changes forever. His family is forced to move to a remote internment camp, and his father must spend months away from them. Sandy, his mother and his brother cope as best they can with the difficulties at the camp. Over time, Sandy comes to realize that life is a lot like baseball. It's about dealing with whatever is thrown at you, however you can. And it's about finding your way home. In this emotionally gripping graphic novel, J. Torres has artfully woven a fictional story into a historically accurate, thoroughly researched account of the events surrounding the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. Using the approachable graphic novel format, the story of this grave chapter in North American history is gently told with sensitivity and insight, and the theme of baseball runs through the story as a message of hope and renewal. The time and place are evocatively rendered in David Namisato's detailed sepia-toned art. Along with its links to social studies and history lessons, this book offers a perfect lead-in to discussions about differences, inclusion and empathy, and about why this history is relevant today. The book includes extended background information in an afterword by Susan Aihoshi and resources for learning more.