Love in the Library

Gr 1-4--Based on true events, a gentle story about finding love and hope in a Japanese internment camp. After being relocated to Minidoka, a prison camp in Idaho, Tama takes a job in the camp's library. She loves books and notes that the justice championed in her favorite stories is in stark contrast to her new life of senseless captivity. Enter George. He visits the library every day but never reads a word. He waits patiently for Tama to realize that he loves her. When Tama finally sees what George truly holds "close to his heart," the two are married and soon are a family of three. Tokuda-Hall shares the message that love is a miracle and can grow in the most unlikely of places. She ends the story with her grandmother's own words, "The miracle is in all of us." This lovely, inspiring story unfolds in Imamura's muted art, cushioning the harsh reality of how Japanese Americans were treated during World War II. Young readers may find it hard to relate to the love story of two 20-somethings, finding it easier to connect with this subject matter by reading a story that centers on a child's experience or a beloved sport, as in Yoshiko Uchida's The Bracelet or Marissa Moss's Barbed Wire Baseball. In the back matter, Tokuda-Hall recounts the true story of how her maternal grandmother and grandfather met in an internment camp in the 1940s and writes a stirring and heartbreaking paragraph about how "[h]ate...is an American tradition." VERDICT This story is important but will require book-talking and story time sharing to find the right audience in a picture book format.--Shannon O'Connor, Unami M.S., Chalfont, PA

Love blooms in the Idaho desert at the Japanese prison camp called Minidoka in this stirring, compassionate narrative inspired by the experiences of Tokuda-Hall's (Squad) Japanese American maternal grandparents. Employing simple yet evocative language ("Though each camp was different, they were all the same. Uncomfortable and unjust"), the author follows word-loving volunteer librarian Tama as she struggles to name her shifting emotions in the camp, where internees suffer from extreme weather conditions, a lack of privacy--the library window's foremost view of a guard tower offers a constant reminder--and inhumane treatment. "But she could not think of a word that was right. She was scared and sad and confused and frustrated and lonely and hopeful." The constant smiles and companionship of George, the small library's consistent patron, soon prove comforting--and lead to something more. Fluid, dynamic gouache and watercolor illustrations by Imamura (Winged Wonders) spotlight the expressive internees' individualism amid a bleak landscape, immersing readers via era-specific wardrobes and hues. Alongside a sensitive introduction to life in Japanese internment camps, this picture book transcends its central romance to encompass love for books, community, and being "human." Back matter features a striking author's note that provides further context and draws effective contemporary parallels, plus a photograph of the real-life Tama and George. Ages 6-9. (Jan.)