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aanya12's review
5.0
"It was the one thing they took from us that we were able to steal back"
This was a heartfelt book about a Japanese boy, who faced discrimination during the time of WW2 and was forced to move to a camp with his family, this heart-wrenching tale about how the boy, Sandy and his family find a safe place by playing baseball, a thing which lightens up everybody's mood!
This was a heartfelt book about a Japanese boy, who faced discrimination during the time of WW2 and was forced to move to a camp with his family, this heart-wrenching tale about how the boy, Sandy and his family find a safe place by playing baseball, a thing which lightens up everybody's mood!
awkwardreader13's review
3.0
2.5?
got this through Netgalley.
I thought this was a pretty interesting story, because it teaches you about a personal experience during the war. However, the ending was pretty abrupt, and I felt like there could've been more to it. Rather than ending it so soon, it would've been interesting to learn more of what happened later, how long they stayed there etc.
got this through Netgalley.
I thought this was a pretty interesting story, because it teaches you about a personal experience during the war. However, the ending was pretty abrupt, and I felt like there could've been more to it. Rather than ending it so soon, it would've been interesting to learn more of what happened later, how long they stayed there etc.
lisa_m's review
challenging
emotional
4.0
I really enjoy reading graphic novels lately and most of them fall in 2 categories.
Either they are simple reads for children, or funny/cute storys with pretty illustrations.
This book is special though. It deals with a tragic topic, war. Specifically the war between the USA and Japan after Pearl Harbor happened. It's all told from the perspective of child.
It's a heartwarming story about family and love and what's really important in life. Books about war always make me sad, because it's such a terrible thing to have to life through for everyone, but especially as a child. This graphic novel managed to find a good balance. It's not diminishing the trauma of such an experience, but it's also not exploiting it.
I enjoying reading it as much as you can when reading a story like this but it's definitely something I will continue to think about.
Either they are simple reads for children, or funny/cute storys with pretty illustrations.
This book is special though. It deals with a tragic topic, war. Specifically the war between the USA and Japan after Pearl Harbor happened. It's all told from the perspective of child.
It's a heartwarming story about family and love and what's really important in life. Books about war always make me sad, because it's such a terrible thing to have to life through for everyone, but especially as a child. This graphic novel managed to find a good balance. It's not diminishing the trauma of such an experience, but it's also not exploiting it.
I enjoying reading it as much as you can when reading a story like this but it's definitely something I will continue to think about.
nikkicalvert's review
4.0
Stealing Home by J. Torres was about a young boy's struggle to grow up during WWII while being displaced to a Japanese internment camp after the attack at Pearl Harbor. Sandy Saito has a passion for baseball and misses his absent father who is forced to be elsewhere for the duration of the war.
This graphic novel was a very good introduction to the historic reality of the Japanese internment camps for a middle grade level. It was a coming of age story that was a bit about baseball without being too much about baseball, and captured a basic understanding of what young children of Japanese descent may have experienced during this forced incarceration that happened across North America in the 1940's.
Stealing Home was reminiscent obviously in subject matter but also a bit in illustration style of They Called Us Enemy by George Takei but again, Stealing Home is directed towards a middle grade audience.
Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. I would recommend this book for middle grade classrooms and a must read for history if homeschooling.
This graphic novel was a very good introduction to the historic reality of the Japanese internment camps for a middle grade level. It was a coming of age story that was a bit about baseball without being too much about baseball, and captured a basic understanding of what young children of Japanese descent may have experienced during this forced incarceration that happened across North America in the 1940's.
Stealing Home was reminiscent obviously in subject matter but also a bit in illustration style of They Called Us Enemy by George Takei but again, Stealing Home is directed towards a middle grade audience.
Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. I would recommend this book for middle grade classrooms and a must read for history if homeschooling.
__offsetpaper__'s review
4.0
Thanks to Netgalley for a free advance copy in an exchange for an honesty review.
This middle-grade graphic novel tells the story of how the aftermath of Pearl Harbor affected the Japanese community in Canada. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, anti-Japanese xenophobia had been spreading for decades throughout Latin America, often influenced by U.S. attitudes and actions. It affected the life of our main protagonist, Sandy's too. Japanese Canadians were treated unjustly and were kept inside internment camps. They suffered the pain of break-ups in which the men, women, and children were sent to different camps and endured the disrespect and hostility of Canadians for their Japanese origin.
Although internment camps were associated with little freedom and the constant displeasure of being guarded, the Japanese were treated civilly. Despite the poor quality of their housing, they did have a roof above their heads. Sandy loves to play Baseball with his father, but his father has so many important duties more than playing. Sandy realizes, his life is also like 'Baseball'. The illustrations are absolutely magical and the writing is lyrical.
This middle-grade graphic novel tells the story of how the aftermath of Pearl Harbor affected the Japanese community in Canada. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, anti-Japanese xenophobia had been spreading for decades throughout Latin America, often influenced by U.S. attitudes and actions. It affected the life of our main protagonist, Sandy's too. Japanese Canadians were treated unjustly and were kept inside internment camps. They suffered the pain of break-ups in which the men, women, and children were sent to different camps and endured the disrespect and hostility of Canadians for their Japanese origin.
Although internment camps were associated with little freedom and the constant displeasure of being guarded, the Japanese were treated civilly. Despite the poor quality of their housing, they did have a roof above their heads. Sandy loves to play Baseball with his father, but his father has so many important duties more than playing. Sandy realizes, his life is also like 'Baseball'. The illustrations are absolutely magical and the writing is lyrical.
readingwithtaco's review
3.0
Stealing Home
This is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel about a young Canadian boy who was sent to an internment camp during WWII, and how baseball united and keep the hope for many in the camps.
The graphics were beautiful and the story was sad and informative. I didn’t know that Canadians also had internment camps. The ending however felt a little sudden, I thought there was going to be more. The end notes, however, provided a lot of additional information, but I wish more was included throughout the story.
I still think this is a great classroom resource for talking about the Japanese Internment camps, especially for getting all kids engaged in the topic.
Pub Date: October 5th
Thanks netgalley for this this advance e-copy in exchange for a honest review.
This is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel about a young Canadian boy who was sent to an internment camp during WWII, and how baseball united and keep the hope for many in the camps.
The graphics were beautiful and the story was sad and informative. I didn’t know that Canadians also had internment camps. The ending however felt a little sudden, I thought there was going to be more. The end notes, however, provided a lot of additional information, but I wish more was included throughout the story.
I still think this is a great classroom resource for talking about the Japanese Internment camps, especially for getting all kids engaged in the topic.
Pub Date: October 5th
Thanks netgalley for this this advance e-copy in exchange for a honest review.
emmycd's review
4.0
3.5 stars
Thank you to J. Torres, Kids Can Press and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I only recently learned of Japanese internment through George Takei's [b:They Called Us Enemy|42527866|They Called Us Enemy|George Takei|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541125895l/42527866._SX50_.jpg|66245778] and I didn't know this also happened in Canada! This is something this book taught me.
I think this graphic novel lays out what happened to Japanese-Canadians during World War I clearly, sensitively and in a way that the target age-group will understand. It is told through the eyes of children and does so authentically. I also enjoyed the information at the end of the book which explains the history behind the story.
What lets this novel down, however, is that the book ends rather abruptly. A baseball field is built and baseball starts to be played again properly by people in the camp. It seems such a weird place to stop as we were really halfway through the story. I know what happened afterwards as I've read [b:They Called Us Enemy|42527866|They Called Us Enemy|George Takei|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541125895l/42527866._SX50_.jpg|66245778], but the children reading this might not know. What happened to the families? Do they still live there? Did it end up like what happened to the Jews in Germany? What happened to their homes? These are all questions they may have, but are never answered and I think that's not a good thing with a topic like this.
Thank you to J. Torres, Kids Can Press and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I only recently learned of Japanese internment through George Takei's [b:They Called Us Enemy|42527866|They Called Us Enemy|George Takei|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541125895l/42527866._SX50_.jpg|66245778] and I didn't know this also happened in Canada! This is something this book taught me.
I think this graphic novel lays out what happened to Japanese-Canadians during World War I clearly, sensitively and in a way that the target age-group will understand. It is told through the eyes of children and does so authentically. I also enjoyed the information at the end of the book which explains the history behind the story.
What lets this novel down, however, is that the book ends rather abruptly. A baseball field is built and baseball starts to be played again properly by people in the camp. It seems such a weird place to stop as we were really halfway through the story. I know what happened afterwards as I've read [b:They Called Us Enemy|42527866|They Called Us Enemy|George Takei|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541125895l/42527866._SX50_.jpg|66245778], but the children reading this might not know. What happened to the families? Do they still live there? Did it end up like what happened to the Jews in Germany? What happened to their homes? These are all questions they may have, but are never answered and I think that's not a good thing with a topic like this.
rodgers_reads's review
5.0
When life becomes too difficult to comprehend, we all seek some type of escape. As Sandy and his family are ripped from their homes and forced into a Canadian Japanese Internment camp. This middle-grade graphic novel does a fantastic job of providing young readers with facts about a difficult time period. Sandy begins to realize that life is a lot like baseball. His favorite sport also helps him to comprehend what is going on around him. This book will pair exceptionally well with fellow graphic novels White Bird, They Called Us Enemy, and Displacement.
jackelz's review
5.0
This was a great look at the Japanese Canadian experience during WWII; a perspective I hadn't read about before. I love how this book is targeted towards younger readers, but even as an adult, (hopefully) you can sympathize with the main character Sandy. Baseball is life, and I'm glad baseball provided the hope they needed in order to survive the camp.
megbowman8's review
This book was beautifully done. The delivery of a part of history was well done. I can see the target market really enjoying the book. If an individual goes into the book not knowing anything about the actual history this book is a great way for readers to have some idea about it. It's relatable. The graphics of it was really well done. The dad reminded me of Atticus Finch.