Here are the six books selected by local teen Kai Vanderlip, with assistance from Lake Washington School District librarians, for his Day of Remembrance Japanese Incarceration Literature for Libraries project.
"The Cat Who Chose to Dream" by Loriene Honda, with illustrations by Jimmy Tsutomo Mirikitani and an introduction by George Takei.
Honda's book is from the point of a view of a cat who chose to be incarcerated as a gesture of support for his Japanese American family. Mirikitani, the illustrator, was himself incarcerated during the war, and was the subject of the 2006 documentary "The Cats of Mirikitani."
"Fish for Jimmy" written and illustrated by Katie Yamasaki.
Yamasaki, a muralist and author, based this story on her own family's memories of incarceration. In it, an older brother takes care of his younger brother after the family is incarcerated, sneaking out at night to catch fresh fish to encourage young Jimmy to eat again.
"Fred Korematsu Speaks Up" by Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi, with illustrations by Yutaka Houlette.
Part of a series for young people about real-life heroes, this book tells of activist Fred Korematsu's incarceration and fight for justice after refusing to comply with incarceration.
"The Bracelet" by Yoshiko Uchida, with illustrations by Joanna Yardley.
Drawing on her own childhood memories, Uchida's book centers on a 7-year-old girl incarcerated with her family, and devastated over the loss of a bracelet given to her by her best friend.
"Desert Diary: Japanese American Kids Behind Barbed Wire" edited by Michael O. Tunnell.
This nonfiction book is a remarkable primary document: a daily illustrated diary kept by a class of third graders incarcerated at Topaz Camp in Utah during the war, including archival photographs.
"A Place Where Sunflowers Grow" by Amy Lee-Tai, with illustrations by Felicia Hoshino.
In this picture book, a young girl incarcerated in the Utah desert tries to plant flowers, wondering if anything can grow in a place where nothing is beautiful.
