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Lexile/Reading Level
810L

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical

Historical Time Period
World War II
Date
1940s
Topic
Internment Camps | Japanese-American Evacuation | Prisoner
Geographic Region
California | United States - America | Utah
Main Character
Family
Award-Winning Book
ALA Alex Award
Format
Audiobook | Book | Ebook

When the Emperor Was Divine

Author: Otsuka, Julie

The debut novel from the PEN/Faulkner Award Winning Author of The Buddha in the Attic

On a sunny day in Berkeley, California, in 1942, a woman sees a sign in a post office window, returns to her home, and matter-of-factly begins to pack her family’s possessions. Like thousands of other Japanese Americans they have been reclassified, virtually overnight, as enemy aliens and are about to be uprooted from their home and sent to a dusty internment camp in the Utah desert.

In this lean and devastatingly evocative first novel, Julie Otsuka tells their story from five flawlessly realized points of view and conveys the exact emotional texture of their experience: the thin-walled barracks and barbed-wire fences, the omnipresent fear and loneliness, the unheralded feats of heroism. When the Emperor Was Divine is a work of enormous power that makes a shameful episode of our history as immediate as today’s headlines.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
700L

Genre/Category
History | Nonfiction

Historical Time Period
Modern | World War II
Date
1940s
Topic
Hardships | Internment Camps | Japanese | Military and Wars | Prejudice and Racism
Geographic Region
United States - America
Format
Book

Japanese American Internment: An Interactive History Adventure (You Choose: History)

Author: Hanel, RachaelPart of a Series: You Choose Books

Describes the events surrounding the internment of Japanese Americans in relocation centers during World War II. The reader’s choices reveal the historical details from the perspective of Japanese internees and Caucasians.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
1040L

Genre/Category
Biographies | History | Nonfiction

Historical Time Period
World War II
Date
1940s
Topic
American History | Internment Camps | Japanese-American | Libraries | Military and Wars
Geographic Region
California | United States - America
Main Character
Woman/Women
Format
Audiobook | Book

Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration During World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference

Author: Oppenheim, Joanne F.

A chronicle of the incredible correspondence between California librarian Clara Breed and young Japanese American internees during World War II.
In the early 1940’s, Clara Breed was the children’s librarian at the San Diego Public Library. But she was also friend to dozens of Japanese American children and teens when war broke out in December of 1941. The story of what happened to these American citizens is movingly told through letters that her young friends wrote to Miss Breed during their internment. This remarkable librarian and humanitarian served as a lifeline to these imprisoned young people, and was brave enough to speak out against a shameful chapter in American history.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 6-10 Grades

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical

Historical Time Period
World War II
Date
1940s
Topic
Internment Camps | Military and Wars | Short stories | Women Volunteers
Main Character
Woman/Women
Award-Winning Book
Christophers Book Awards
Format
Book | Ebook

Dancing in Combat Boots

Author: Funke, Teresa R.

When the going got tough during World War II, America’s women got going. By the millions, housewives and mothers took off their aprons and stepped into factories, offices, hospitals-anywhere capable hands were needed to replace those of the husbands and sons now battling overseas. The eleven fictional stories in this remarkable collection are based on real women whose experiences were at once typical and extraordinary. Irene bucks rivets in an aircraft factory while Doris learns to pilot military planes. Marjorie survives the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while Jean spends three years under guard in a Japanese internment camp. Lucy joins the segregated Women’s Army Corp and Kathryn joins the Red Cross-shipping off to the front lines where she dances in combat boots with American GIs. From the topsy-turvy days following Pearl Harbor, through four long years of hardship, to the post-war campaigns to put women back in their place, these stories reveal the many facets of women’s lives as they gave their all for the war effort.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
Recommended for 4-8 Grades

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical

Historical Time Period
World War II
Date
1940s
Topic
Based on True Story(s)/event | Choices | Gangs | Internment Camps | Japanese-American | Loyalty | Military and Wars | Patriot
Geographic Region
California | United States - America
Main Character
Boy(s)
Award-Winning Book
Colorado Book Award Nominee
Format
Book | Ebook

No-No Boys (Home-Front Heroes)

Author: Funke, Teresa R.Part of a Series: Home-Front Heroes

Based on a true story in the winter of 1943… Fourteen-year-old Tai Shimoda’s family has lost everything. Like many other Japanese-Americans at the start of World War II, Tai’s family has been forced to leave their home and move to Tule Lake Relocation Center-a desolate camp surrounded by barbed wire in northern California. Though he misses his home in Sacramento, Tai keeps busy at Tule Lake hanging out with friends and training for the judo tournament. But as tensions in camp rise, Tai’s brother, Ben, joins a group that has refused to swear allegiance to the United States. They call themselves the No-Nos. Tai’s father calls them Disloyals. Soon Tai must decide what he believes. Will he join his beloved brother and the No-Nos or, like his father, remain true to America?

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
970L

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical

Historical Time Period
World War II
Date
1940s
Topic
American History | Based on True Story(s)/event | Hardships | Internment Camps | Japanese-American Evacuation
Geographic Region
California | United States - America
Main Character
Girl(s)
Format
Book

Journey To Topaz: A Story Of The Japanese-American Evacuation

Author: Uchida, Yoshiko

Like any 11-year-old, Yuki Sakane is looking forward to Christmas when her peaceful world is suddenly shattered by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Uprooted from her home and shipped with thousands of West Coast Japanese Americans to a desert concentration camp called Topaz, Yuki and her family face new hardships daily.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
1040L

Genre/Category
Biographies | History | Nonfiction

Historical Time Period
World War II
Date
1940s
Topic
American History | Internment Camps | Japanese-American | Military and Wars
Geographic Region
California | United States - America
Main Character
Family | Girl(s)
Format
Audiobook | Book | Ebook

Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment

Author: Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki

Jeanne Wakatsuki was seven years old in 1942 when her family was uprooted from their home and sent to live at Manzanar internment camp–with 10,000 other Japanese Americans. Along with searchlight towers and armed guards, Manzanar ludicrously featured cheerleaders, Boy Scouts, sock hops, baton twirling lessons and a dance band called the Jive Bombers who would play any popular song except the nation’s #1 hit: “Don’t Fence Me In.”

Farewell to Manzanar is the true story of one spirited Japanese-American family’s attempt to survive the indignities of forced detention–and of a native-born American child who discovered what it was like to grow up behind barbed wire in the United States.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
640L

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical | Realistic

Historical Time Period
World War II
Date
1940s
Topic
Intergenerational Relationships | Internment Camps | Japanese-American | Military and Wars | Pearl Harbor | Prejudice and Racism
Geographic Region
Hawaii | United States - America
Main Character
Boy(s)
Award-Winning Book
Nene Award | Nominee | Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award | Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Format
Book | Ebook

Under the Blood-Red Sun

Author: Salisbury, Graham

Tomi was born in Hawaii. His grandfather and parents were born in Japan, and came to America to escape poverty.

World War II seems far away from Tomi and his friends, who are too busy playing ball on their eighth-grade team, the Rats.

But then Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, and the United States declares war on Japan. Japanese men are rounded up, and Tomi’s father and grandfather are arrested. It’s a terrifying time to be Japanese in America. But one thing doesn’t change: the loyalty of Tomi’s buddies, the Rats.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
NA - Recommended or 7-9 Grade

Genre/Category
Biographies | History | Nonfiction | Religion

Historical Time Period
World War II
Date
1940s
Topic
Boarding Schools | Christian | Courage | Culture and Traditions | Internment Camps | Military and Wars | Survival
Geographic Region
Asia | China
Main Character
Boy(s)
Format
Book | Ebook

Boy’s War, A

Author: Michell, David J.

A Boy’s War” tells of a six-year old Australian boy, son of a missionary, who went off to Chefoo boarding school in China in 1939 and didn’t see his parents again until 1945. World War II intervened and he was interned by the Japanese in Weihsien camp in Shandong province, China.

This is a brief book of 170 pages, but Michell covers a lot of ground. He tells about his life at the boarding school as the clouds of war gather and Japan conquers more and more of China. Then, he endures two years of internment with more than one thousand other foreigners at Weihsein. The internees were rescued dramatically by American partroopers at the end of the war and young David undertakes an epic journey back to Australia by ship where he is reunited with his family. The author concludes by telling us about his 1985 return visit to Weihsein.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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Lexile/Reading Level
750L

Genre/Category
Fiction | Historical

Historical Time Period
World War II
Date
1900s | 1940s
Topic
Asian-American | Culture and Traditions | Friendship | Internment Camps | Japanese-American | Native Americans/Canadians | Pearl Harbor
Geographic Region
Arizona | United States - America
Main Character
Girl(s)
Format
Audiobook | Book | Ebook

Weedflower

Author: Kadohata, Cynthia

Twelve-year-old Sumiko feels her life has been made up of two parts: before Pearl Harbor and after it. The good part and the bad part. Raised on a flower farm in California, Sumiko is used to being the only Japanese girl in her class. Even when the other kids tease her, she always has had her flowers and family to go home to.
That all changes after the horrific events of Pearl Harbor. Other Americans start to suspect that all Japanese people are spies for the emperor, even if, like Sumiko, they were born in the United States! As suspicions grow, Sumiko and her family find themselves being shipped to an internment camp in one of the hottest deserts in the United States. The vivid color of her previous life is gone forever, and now dust storms regularly choke the sky and seep into every crack of the military barrack that is her new “home.”

Sumiko soon discovers that the camp is on an Indian reservation and that the Japanese are as unwanted there as they’d been at home. But then she meets a young Mohave boy who might just become her first real friend…if he can ever stop being angry about the fact that the internment camp is on his tribe’s land.

With searing insight and clarity, Newbery Medal-winning author Cynthia Kadohata explores an important and painful topic through the eyes of a young girl who yearns to belong. Weedflower is the story of the rewards and challenges of a friendship across the racial divide, as well as the based-on-real-life story of how the meeting of Japanese Americans and Native Americans changed the future of both.

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site. Book descriptions are sourced from either Amazon.com or GoodReads.
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What is my Child’s Lexile Measure?

GRADELEXILE
1st0-300L
2nd140-500L
3rd330-700L
4th445-810L
5th565-910L
6th665-1000L
7th735-1065L
8th805-1100L
9th855-1165L
10th905-1195L
11th/12th940-1210L
College+1210+

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Please note: Our posting a book in our Homeschool Librarian database does not mean that we endorse its contents. Please use your own discretion when selecting books for your child to read. Also, our posts may contain affiliate links to Amazon.com. Purchases made through our affiliate links help support this site.

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