Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J FICTION DEA | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | J FICTION DEA | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson brings us the first new Dear America diary in years, taking readers through the attack on Pearl Harbor, the start of World War II, and the Japanese incarceration.With this sweeping tale of life on the World War II homefront, Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson brings her incredible talent to the Dear America series. When Pearl Harbor is attacked, America is finally unable to ignore the wars raging in Europe and Asia any longer. And one girl's entire life is about to change when everything she knows is turned on its head. After the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, where her brother, a navy sailor, is stationed, Piper Davis begins chronicling her compelling journey through one of history's most tragic and unforgettable eras.
Author Notes
Kirby Larson is the acclaimed author of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book Hattie Big Sky ; its sequel, Hattie Ever After ; The Friendship Doll ; Dear America: The Fences Between Us ; Duke ; Dash , winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction; Liberty ; Code Word Courage ; Audacity Jones to the Rescue ; and its sequel, Audacity Jones Steals the Show . She has also cowritten the award-winning picture books Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival and Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, and a Miracle . She lives in Washington with her husband and Winston the Wonder Dog.
Reviews (4)
Horn Book Review
Three reissued titles find orphaned Margaret as companion to a wealthy woman aboard the Titanic; Abigail describing Valley Forge; and "Mem" telling of the Mayflower voyage. In new series entry Fences, Piper discusses her family's involvement in WWII. Each of the fictional diaries, in addition to presenting one girl's unique perspective, conveys engaging information about the story's time period. [Review covers these Dear America titles: The Winter of Red Snow, The Fences Between Us, A Journey to the New World, and Voyage on the Great Titanic.] (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Scholastic has reinvigorated its venerable Dear America series of diary-format historical novels with an interactive Web site and newly designed titles by award-winning writers, including this first release from Larson, author of the Newbery Honor Book Hattie Big Sky (2006). In 1941 Seattle, 13-year-old Piper Davis enjoys moving between two communities: junior high and the congregation at a Japanese Baptist church, where her father is a pastor. Then, just months after Piper's beloved brother joins the navy, Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor. Larson deftly folds historical detail into Piper's lively diary entries, which describe her friendships, first romance, and school dramas as well as her view of the subsequent internment of Japanese Americans and the prejudice against sympathizers, including her family. Eventually, Piper's father follows his congregation to a camp in Idaho, and Piper's emotional accounts of life there will stir readers. A fictional epilogue, extensive historical notes, photos and maps, a glossary, and an author's note complete this moving title with obvious curricular ties that will draw readers beyond the classroom, too.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-In 1941 Seattle, Piper Davis is a typical 13-year-old in many ways: she enjoys spending time with her friends, listening to big-band music, and walking home from school with the boy she's sweet on. Since her mother died when she was a baby, her father, pastor at the Japanese Baptist Church, has raised Piper and her older sister and brother. She has never found straddling the two distinct communities unusual; however, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, her world is turned upside down. Suddenly, families from her father's church are being singled out: the FBI has no qualms about arresting American-born Japanese, and "No Japs" signs appear in downtown shop windows. Most of her school friends believe that the Japanese students should be expelled and can't understand why Piper defends them, especially since her brother, Hank, was at Pearl Harbor. When her father announces that he and Piper will follow their congregation to the Minidoka War Relocation Camp in Idaho, she is furious that she is being uprooted from her friends and her home. Over the following months, though, she develops an appreciation for her father's courage, and her previous acquaintance with Betty Sato deepens into a close friendship. While Cynthia Kadohata's Weedflower (S & S, 2006) explores this infamous period in American history through the eyes of a Japanese-American girl, Piper's convincing narration allows readers to appreciate the dilemma that occurs when individual rights seem to clash with national security. The thought-provoking themes are supplemented by a comprehensive historical note, photographs, and resources, and an abundance of online activities on the publisher's site.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
(Historical fiction. 9-13)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
From Dear America: The Fences Between Us Ten days since the attack. I feel like we are a shadow family. Our bodies are moving around to all the places we're supposed to go--Margie to college, me to school, Pop to church--doing all the things we're supposed to do, saying the usual things like, "Yes, school was good today," "I got an A on that Chem lab," or "Please pass the salt." But our real family is in the shadows, frozen in time and hanging on to every scrap of hope, while we wait, wait, wait to hear about Hank. Excerpted from The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis by Kirby Larson All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
