The Bracelet is written by Yoshiko Uchida and illustrated by Joanna Yardley. The story is set in 1942 during World War II. Emi, a seven-year-old girl, and her family are being sent to a prison camp since they are Japanese-Americans. As they pack up, Emi's best friend Laurie comes to say goodbye and give Emi a bracelet. Emi loves the bracelet and promises to wear it all the time but between home and the prison camp she loses it. She looks all over but cannot find her bracelet. She finally realizes, though, that she can still remember Laurie even without a bracelet.
I thought this book did a better job of explaining what Japanese-Americans went through during WWII than any of the history lessons I've ever been taught. The focus of the story is really about friendship and and family, but we also get a glimpse of the unfair and harsh treatment that many loyal Americans endured all because of prejudices. The Bracelet doesn't go into great detail about prison camps or the reasoning behind them, but it provides enough background to get readers interested learning more. Seeing these experiences through the eyes of a child takes history and makes it personal. This would be a great book to use to introduce students to a lesson on internment camps. A note in the book says that Yoshiko Uchida uses her own experiences of being a Japanese-American during WWII to influence her writing of The Bracelet and some of her other books. Other works by Yoshiko Uchida include The Invisible Thread, New Friends for Susan, Takao and Grandfather's Sword, and The Rooster who Understood Japanese.
I thought this book did a better job of explaining what Japanese-Americans went through during WWII than any of the history lessons I've ever been taught. The focus of the story is really about friendship and and family, but we also get a glimpse of the unfair and harsh treatment that many loyal Americans endured all because of prejudices. The Bracelet doesn't go into great detail about prison camps or the reasoning behind them, but it provides enough background to get readers interested learning more. Seeing these experiences through the eyes of a child takes history and makes it personal. This would be a great book to use to introduce students to a lesson on internment camps. A note in the book says that Yoshiko Uchida uses her own experiences of being a Japanese-American during WWII to influence her writing of The Bracelet and some of her other books. Other works by Yoshiko Uchida include The Invisible Thread, New Friends for Susan, Takao and Grandfather's Sword, and The Rooster who Understood Japanese.
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