Thin Wood Walls ANNOTATION
When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Joe Hamada and his family face growing prejudice, eventually being torn away from their home and sent to a relocation camp in California, even as his older brother joins the United States Army to fight in the war.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Eleven-year-old Joe Hanada likes playing basketball with his best friend, Ray, writing plays and stories, and thinking about the upcoming Christmas holiday. But his world falls apart when Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor. His country goes to war. The FBI takes his father away. And neighbors and friends in his hometown near Seattle begin to suspect Joe, his family, and all Japanese Americans of spying for the enemy.
When the government orders people of Japanese heritage living on the West Coast to move to internment camps, Joe turns to the journal his father gave him to record his thoughts and feelings. Writing journal entries and haiku poetry offers some relief as Joe struggles to endure life in Tule Lake War Relocation Camp—days filled with boredom, concern for his father, and worry for his brother, who joins the American army to prove the bravery and loyalty of Japanese American citizens.
Thin Wood Walls is a powerful story of a boy who grows up quickly in a changed world.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Tim Davis
Eleven year old Joseph Hanada is a lot like other American boys: He loves sports, endures school, and enjoys hanging out with friends. However, on December 7, 1941, he discovers that being an American is not always easy, especially when your family is Japanese-American. The Seattle suburb where Joseph and his family live is quickly infected with tension and suspicion. To many Americans, Japanese immigrants (issei) and American-born Japanese (nisei) look like enemies. Joseph's father, in fact, is soon taken away by FBI agents. Federal authorities, looking for evidence of treason, ruthlessly search the Hanada home. Then, when President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, the fate of the Hanada family becomes inevitable: They are removed from their home—like 120,000 other innocent Japanese-Americans—and they are "relocated" to an internment camp for the duration of World War II. This powerful book is the story of Joseph's and his family's endurance in the midst of American paranoia and prejudice. Throughout his multi-year ordeal, Joseph finds strength through his family, a few friends, and his journal writing. In his journal, Joseph keeps a poignant record of his experiences, and he also writes beautiful haiku (many of which are included in the novel's narrative). Readers of all ages should enjoy reading this well-written fictional account of the Hanada family's ordeals during a shameful period in American history. 2004, Houghton Mifflin, Ages 8 to 14.
School Library Journal
Gr 5-8-The bombing of Pearl Harbor puts an end to 11-year-old Joe Hanada's happy-go-lucky life in the White River Valley near Seattle. Basketball, marbles, and Christmas plans are suddenly overshadowed by fears about the war. When longtime acquaintances begin to suspect Japanese-Americans of being spies, even the loyalty of Joe's Caucasian best friend can't soften the hurt of being called names or of having his father, a leader in the Issei community, taken away by the FBI. Joe finds comfort in his journal, where he records his impressions in both prose and haiku. After he is sent to the Tule Lake Relocation Camp in California with his older brother Mike and their mother and grandmother, Joe finds relief from the tedium of confinement in his writing. When Mike turns 18, he volunteers for the Army, eager to prove his loyalty. Not all of the detainees share his desire to fight for the U.S. Some request repatriation to Japan, while others forbid their children to speak English. The inclusion of many differing viewpoints within the Japanese-American community makes this book unique. Featuring a main character who grows and develops as historical events unfold, this well-written novel is a worthy companion to Ken Mochizuki's Baseball Saved Us (Lee & Low, 1993) and Yoshiko Uchida's Journey to Topaz (Turtleback, 1985) and Journey Home (McElderry, 1978).-Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
On the brink of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Joe Hanada and his family search for the perfect Christmas tree, invited to do so by a good neighbor. Joe and his family are Americans of Japanese origin, as are many in the farming community near Seattle, Washington. Soon, too soon, the friendly atmosphere of the place turns to active hatred by some. On December 7th, the FBI takes Joe's father away in his pajamas and the family begins to struggle to carry on. And then it's their turn. The walls of the title tell much about the harsh conditions in the guarded and fenced facilities where the "detainees" must live-each family in a single room. Some of the non-Japanese are good people, some hateful, and Joe's descriptions of them are powerful. Eventually, his father is returned to the family and his older brother joins the American army and is shipped into combat. Joe's first-person narrative is moving and clear in its depiction of this life, so cruel and unfair, though Joe's voice sometimes seems more mature than an 11-year-old. An important and forceful a contribution to the field. (Historical fiction. 6-9)
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