Dash (A Book Review)

Dash (Review by Leighanne Massey)

Bibliography

Larson, Kirby. Dash. New York: Scholastic Press, 2014. ISBN 9780545416351

Plot Summary

Dash is the story of Mitsi Kashino and her Japanese-American family who are relocated to Camp Harmony after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Devastated and without her best companion, Dash, Mitsi struggles to understand the events leading to her family's internment.    

Critical Analysis

The story of Dash is about an 11-year old girl named Mitsi and her Japanese-American family (including her beloved dog Dash) living in Seattle at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The reader will readily identify with Mitsi as she accounts the bullying and tension she experiences at school and in her community. As things escalate and Mitsi learns her family can no longer stay in their community or take Dash with them, she desperately and devastatingly tries to understand why everyone including her best friends suddenly see her as the enemy because of her ancestry. Reflecting the real attitudes and sentiments about Japanese culture at the time, this book takes the perspective of relocated Japanese Americans to military-patrolled camps amid United States fear and paranoia of Japan.  

The author presents Mitsi's story factually with slowly embedded details of the 1940's period including items such as davenports, typewriters, student autograph books, school desks with lids, school chalkboards, time-period cars (Nash), soda shops, etc. What makes it easy to read is the fact that it's told through an 11-year old girl's eyes with simple straightforward language and emotion a young reader can understand and find relatable. When Mitsi's neighbor agrees to watch Dash for her while she is gone, it is the kindness and the letters from "Dash" that keep her hopeful in times of uncertainty.  

Larson is clearly knowledgable about the weather and landmarks found in 1940's Seattle, citing historic streets and buildings such as the Smith Tower and Jackson Street. Larson also descriptively recounts the process Japanese Americans experienced having to sell or dispose of their possessions and being limited on what they could bring with them, being transported to their camps in military trucks for long hours, the dingy look of the rows of poorly constructed barracks, the long lines, waiting, and overcrowding with armed soldiers all around, and the scared and nervous looks on the faces of other families. There are Author's Notes at the end of the story, detailing research about Pearl Harbor and other sources used throughout the book.        

Review Excerpt(s)

Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award (2015)

Starred Review from Publishers Weekly on 06/16/2014:


"As she did in Duke (2013), Larson centers this trenchant novel on a child dealing with hardships on the home front during WWII, including separation from a beloved dog. Inspired by real-life wartime events, the novel vividly communicates the emotional and physical ordeals endured by Japanese-Americans evacuated to relocation camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor..." 

Starred Review from Kirkus Reviews on 05/28/2014:

"Eleven-year-old Mitsi Kashino and her family are forced to move to a Japanese internment camp following the attack on Pearl Harbor.The Japanese-Americans are forced to leave their homes, their jobs, and all but what they can carry. Unfortunately for Mitsi, this also means leaving her beloved dog, Dash, behind. Thankfully, a good-hearted neighbor agrees to take Dash in. The neighbor writes letters to Mitsi, composing them from Dash’s point of view, and these keep Mitsi connected with the world beyond the fence. Overcrowded living quarters, long lines and minimal resources stretch the patience of the internees and threaten the bonds of the Kashino family..."

School Library Journal on 06/01/2014:

"Gr 3–6—After Pearl Harbor, life changes for fifth grader Mitzi Kashino and her family, as it did for all Japanese American citizens across the US during that time. Family and friends are shunned, bullied, fingerprinted, and even incarcerated for visiting Japan. Relocation from Seattle, WA to Camp Harmony, and ultimately to Minidoka, ID, causes the loss of jobs, school, homes, cars, and personal possessions. Pets were not allowed in the camps, and this is where Mitzi's dog Dash becomes the linchpin in Larson's story..."

Connections
Other Kirby Larson books to check out:

Newbery Honor Book (2007), Montana Book Award (2006):

• Larson, Kirby. Hattie Big Sky. California: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2007 (reprint edition)

• Larson, Kirby. Hattie Ever After. New York: Random House Children's Books, 2014 (reprint edition)

• Larson, Kirby. Duke. New York: Scholastic, 2015 (reprint edtition) 

Dash would be a great novel to discuss the effects of the attack on Pearl Harbor and relate it to other wars in history. It could even be used in conjunction with other accounts of Americans affected by WW2. Duke is meant as a follow-up text to Dash.   

Code Name Verity (A Book Review)

Code Name Verity (Review by Leighanne Massey)

Bibliography

Wein, Elizabeth. Code Name Verity. New York: Hyperion, 2012. ISBN 9781423152880

Plot Summary

Code Name Verity is about a secret spy named Queenie who gets captured by the Gestapo during WW2 after she parachutes from her best friend (Maddie's) airplane into Nazi-occupied France.

Critical Analysis

Code Name Verity details a Scottish spy named Queenie who is dropped in Nazi-occupied France with her best friend Maddie and detained by the Gestapo who immediately recognize her as a spy. In exchange for more time and her clothes, Queenie takes the easy way out giving codes and information about British aircraft, locations, and other identifying information. Buying herself time, she slowly releases the information by writing a novel centered around her best friend Maddie and their friendship. As the Gestapo and and SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer von Linden struggle with her "confessions," Maddie becomes more evasive and confrontational. It is at the end of the novel that Maddie's true intentions become clear and readers will be thinking about this book long after it has ended, wondering how they missed the real story.

The very first page when Queenie describes her captivity using the words, I AM A COWARD, readers will be hooked and wondering what will happen next to the young woman, fearing for her safety and hoping for her freedom until the very end. Wein carefully weaves details and historical accounts of interrogation practices that were used by Nazi's in this novel about two women who bravely served their country in WW2 by gathering information and learning to fly aircraft. Planes and bombers are described accurately from the 1940's as well as the landscapes of France and Britain although the town Queenie finds herself in is fictional. Wein offers an Author's Debriefing at the end of the story, detailing her research and reinforcing the fictional heroines and other aspects of the story, like when Maddie flew to France by herself which is not something that would have ordinarily been accomplished by a female pilot. Every detail is accounted right down to the fact that ball point pens had just been invented as they were used in the story. A Bibliography at the end of the Debriefing contains specific works about Air Transport Auxiliary, Women's Auxiliary Air Force, etc. Code Name Verity is a story that makes the reader think differently about WW2 and the limited contributions of women at the time.                     

Review Excerpt(s)

Michael L. Printz Honor Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature (2013)

YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Ten (2013)

Boston Globe Horn Book Award Honor (2012)

Starred Review from School Library Journal on 10/01/2015:

"A quick-witted British girl whose plane has crashed in Nazi-occupied France is forced by the Gestapo to confess to her country's war plans. Her writings detail her friendship with Maddie, the pilot who crashed the plane. A must for young adult collections, as is Wein's companion novel, Rose Under Fire, whose intelligence and emotional depth will appeal to adult readers as well. Pearl Cornioley's autobiography, Code Name Pauline, covers similar ground and can provide needed context to Wein's story." 

Starred Review from Kirkus on 02/15/2012:

"Breaking away from Arthurian legends (The Winter Prince, 1993, etc.), Wein delivers a heartbreaking tale of friendship during World War II..."

Starred Review from Booklist on 05/01/2012:

"If you pick up this book, it will be some time before you put your dog-eared, tear-stained copy back down. Wein succeeds on three fronts: historical verisimilitude, gut-wrenching mystery, and a first-person voice of such confidence and flair that the protagonist might become a classic character-if only we knew what to call her."

Connections
Other Elizabeth Wein books to check out:

• Wein, Elizabeth. Rose Under Fire. New York: Disney-Hyperion, 2014 (reprint edition)

• Wein, Elizabeth. Black Dove, White Raven. New York: Disney-Hyperion, 2016

• Wein, Elizabeth. The Winter Prince (The Lion Hunters Series Book 1). North Carolina: Baen, 1994

Code Name Verity would be a great way to begin a discussion on WW2 and the role women had in the war effort. It also contains identifying information on Nazi practices which could also be explored. Rose Under Fire is meant as a follow-up to Code Name Verity.

Catherine, Called Birdy (A Book Review)

Catherine, Called Birdy (Review by Leighanne Massey)

Bibliography

Cushman, Karen. Catherine, Called Birdy. New York: Clarion Books, 1994. ISBN 0395681863 

Plot Summary

Catherine, Called Birdy is the story of a 14-year old girl living in Medieval England in the late 1200's who begins to account her daily life in a journal upon the request of her brother, Edward.  

Critical Analysis

Catherine, Called Birdy is an account of a 14-year old girl who happens to be the daughter of a country knight living in a village in Medieval England in the late 1290's. Upon the request of her favorite older brother, Edward (the monk), she begins an account of her life as a favor to him. It is the hope that Birdy's constant reflection will mature her wily ways. Upon her first attempt at writing, Birdy's entry is brief, detailing how many fleas she removed and her strong dislike for spinning. She deliberates the relevance of her entries seemingly doubtful of its benefits...that is until her mother tells her if she journals for her brother then she won't be expected to embroider as much.   

Birdy accounts her days in often humorous detail with easily understood English excepting some period-specific words such as her go-to saying "Corpus Bones" and others like "privy," and "glorious robes of samite and ermine," which rely on context. Readers will be amused when they read about her antics at driving suitors away, find themselves surprisingly empathetic toward her limitations and longing for adventure, mischievousness, and love of her mother, uncle and brother as well as her birds. As Birdy matures, she experiences the inequality of men and women of different stations/places in Medieval England as well as prejudice and racism against people of Jewish descent. Cushman portrays the events of England in the late 1200's realistically with town hangings, the health and hygiene of the people, drunken and rioting behavior resulting in deaths or burned cottages, a royal funeral procession, church influences, and even details of castles and manors such as Birdy's and how they were often dirty (the rushes had to be constantly replaced and/or cleaned), they often had vermin such as rats and in Winter, the inside of castles or manors could be very cold and even freeze on the inside. Many aspects of Medieval life are developed throughout this story that will seem foreign to readers. Cushman offers an Author's Note at the end of the book, detailing additional research about this time period and the mindset and priorities of people in Medieval England.                                    

Review Excerpt(s)

Newbery Honor Book (1995)

Publishers Weekly (1994):

"You can run, but you can't hide" is the rather belated conclusion reached by Catherine, called "Birdy" for her caged pets, in this fictive diary of a medieval young woman's coming-of-age and struggle for self-determination..."

Starred Review from School Library Journal (1994):

"Grade 6-9-This unusual book provides an insider's look at the life of Birdy, 14, the daughter of a minor English nobleman. The year is 1290 and the vehicle for storytelling is the girl's witty, irreverent diary. She looks with a clear and critical eye upon the world around her, telling of the people she knows and of the daily events in her small manor house. Much of Birdy's energy is consumed by avoiding the various suitors her father chooses for her to marry..."

Kirkus Reviews (1994):

Unwillingly keeping a journal at the behest of her brother, a monk, Birdy (daughter of a 13th-century knight) makes a terse first entry--``I am bit by fleas and plagued by family. That is all there is to say''--but is soon confiding her pranks and troubles in fascinating detail. Her marriage must suit her drunken father's financial needs, and though the 14-year-old scares off several suitors (she pretends to be mad, sets fire to the privy one is using, etc.), in the end she's ``betrothed and betrayed.'' 

Connections
Other Karen Cushman books to check out:

A 1996 Newbery Award Winner:

• Cushman, Karen. The Midwife's Apprentice. New York: Clarion Books, 1995. ISBN 978-0547722177 

• Cushman, Karen. Matilda Bone. New York: Clarion Books, 2014 (reprint edition)

• Cushman, Karen. The Ballad of Lucy Whipple. New York: Clarion Books, 2012 (reprint edition)

Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice provide historical accounts and practices of Medieval England which would appeal to readers or students studying or interested in this time period. The two stories could be compared and contrasted based on the female lead characters and what their lives were like during this period.  

Funny Bones (A Book Review)

Funny Bones Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras (Review by Leighanne Massey)

Bibliography

Tonatiuh, Duncan. Funny Bones Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2015. ISBN 9781419716478

Plot Summary

Funny Bones is a perfectly detailed account of Posada's influence on 1850's Mexico through his often humorous and perceptive drawings of the culture featuring calaveras as his subjects.   

Critical Analysis

Winner of several awards, Duncan Tonatiuh captures the story of the famous holiday El Dia de Muertos, or Day of the Dead in Funny Bones Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras in this informational picture book. Calaveras means skeletons and they are adorned everywhere during this November 1-2 celebration across many parts of the world to celebrate death and life. Funny Bones features an Author's Note at the end of the book as well as the Glossary, Bibliography, Art Credits, where to find Posada's work, an Index, and a note from the author about how the artwork was made in the book(hand-drawn and then collaged digitally). Funny Bones implies just what the title intends; it is mostly a story readers will enjoy about Jose Guadalupe Posada who was born into a big family in 1852 and became an icon for El Dia de Muertos with his illustrations. The picture book progressively chronicles his life spanning about two decades. 

His older brother taught him to read and write and it was through this schooling Posada developed a love of drawing. His brother enrolled him in a local art academy and Posada took off from there learning lithography, engraving, and etching in his lifetime. Tonatiuh captures the elements of Mexico in the mid 1800's through the clothing and Mexican surroundings in the unique collage illustrations and representations of Mexican people featuring heads with exaggerated protruding lips. The intricate process Posada used to create his drawings is also detailed in the book. Interwoven with Tonatiuh's text is authentic artwork from Posada and his friend Manuel Manilla. Actual calaveras drawings can be seen from Posada in this story of how one man poked fun at the culture, political figures, historical events, society and Mexican government of his time. What is even more interesting about this historical account are the thought-provoking questions posed to the reader concerning the hidden meanings behind Posada's work. What was he actually saying? Though the author notes there are still some unanswered questions about Posada, one thing that is not questioned is his ever-lasting presence in Mexico during El dia de Muertos when his calaveras paintings are displayed everywhere for everyone to enjoy even to this day.                     

Review Excerpt(s)
A 2016 Sibert Award Winner, Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Honor Book, and a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2015.

From School Library Journal:

"Gr 3–6—Tonatiuh's latest delves into the life of artist and social commentator extraordinaire José Guadalupe Posada, best known for his literary calaveras, brief and amusing rhyming poems about skeletons dressed in clothes, going about their daily business. The beautifully expressive Day of the Dead-inspired illustrations on heavy paper pages sport borders of bones, grinning skeletons, and Tonatiuh's signature figures shown in profile, influenced by the ancient Mexican art of his ancestors."

Kirkus Reviews:

"Tonatiuh further marks himself as a major nonfiction talent with this artistically beautiful and factually accessible offering that effectively blends artistic and political content for young readers."

Booklist:

"Playful but informative, this picture book offers a fascinating introduction to the artist and his work." 

Connections

Other Duncan Tonatiuh books to check out:

A 2015 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book and a 2015 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book:

• Tonatiuh, Duncan. Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2014. ISBN 9781419710544

A Pura Belpré Author and Illustrator Honor book 2014:

• Tonatiuh, Duncan. Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2013. ISBN 9781419705830

• Tonatiuh, Duncan. The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2016. ISBN 9781419721304

Teachers can utilize Funny Bones, The Princess and the Warrior and Pancho Rabbit to teach customs and elements of tales and legends to students about Mexican culture. Students could compare and contrast the stories or check out other books featuring the same Mexican tales and legends. 

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation is a great piece about a part of our history's past. This could be a great piece to discuss segregation with students or children.    

What To Do About Alice (A Book Review)

What To Do About Alice (Review by Leighanne Massey)

Bibliography

Kerley, Barbara. What To Do About Alice? New York: Scholastic, 2008. ISBN 9780439922319.

Plot Summary

What To Do About Alice chronicles the interesting life of Theodore Roosevelt's daughter and her vivacious personality.     

Critical Analysis

Barbara Kerley is an award-winning author known for her books written about prominent topics in science and history. What To Do About Alice is a Biography set in a picture book format that highlights Theodore Roosevelt's daughter and her unordinary behavior as documented in the early 1900's. With factual excerpts embedded throughout, the story begins two days after Alice is born, briefly mentioning the devastation after her mother's death. As Roosevelt remarries and Alice grows, so does her big personality. With historical facts in the time period portrayed accurately in the colorful depictions of clothing, period documents, buildings, furnishings, and transportation, Edwin Fotheringham helps paint a comical picture of a bold girl growing up in the spotlight of her political father. Referred to by her father as "running riot," Alice adversely described herself as "eating up the world." Alice could be seen staying out late, gambling, playing with her pet snake, and joining a club with boys. Even with some setbacks, She enjoyed life differently than girls her age and did not want anyone feeling sorry for her. Though her antics continued in the White House when she was a teenager and her father became President, the nation began to love Alice and anticipate the news stories about her. Roosevelt was once documented as saying to a friend, "I can be president of the United States, or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly DO BOTH." Readers will fall in love with Alice just as a nation did in a conservative time when hardship and prosperity prevailed.                     

Review Excerpt(s)

A Starred Review From Booklist on December 15, 2007:

"Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was....The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art."

A Starred Review From Kirkus on February 1, 2008:

"Theodore Roosevelt's irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book.... Kerley's precise text presents readers with a devilishly smart, strong-willed girl who was determined to live life on her own terms—and largely succeeded."

A Starred Review From School Library Journal in March 2008:

"Kerley's text gallops along with a vitality to match her subject's antics, as the girl greets White House visitors accompanied by her pet snake, refuses to let leg braces cramp her style, dives fully clothed into a ship's swimming pool, and also earns her place in history as one of her father's trusted advisers. Fotheringham's digitally rendered, retro-style illustrations are a superb match for the text."

Connections

Other Barbara Kerley books to check out:

• Kerley, Barbara & Fotheringham, Edwin. A Home for Mr. Emerson. New York: Scholastic, 2014. ISBN 9780545350884

• Kerley, Barbara & Fotheringham, Edwin. The Extraordinary Mark Twain. New York: Scholastic, 2010. ISBN 9780545125086

• Kerley, Barbara & Selznick, Brian. Walt Whitman: Words for America. New York: Scholastic, 2004. ISBN 9780439357913

Teachers can utilize these books to facilitate a research project about influential Americans and their lasting impact on the country. Students could even check out other books about these famous figures, comparing and contrasting the information contained.  

Looking Down (A Book Review)

Looking Down (Review by Leighanne Massey)

Bibliography

Jenkins, Steve. Looking Down. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995. ISBN 0395726654 

Plot Summary

Looking Down is a wordless picture informational book about the perspective of Earth from Space.  

Critical Analysis

Jenkins' colorful and detailed cut-paper collage art takes the reader farther than words can in this wordless unique viewpoint of Earth from Space. With a reputation for worthwhile science books for children, Jenkins fascinates again as he expertly leads a journey from the Moon to Earth by placing the reader in the seat of a rocket ship. As Earth draws near, differing outlines of landforms, water, and clouds can be seen with consistent accuracy. As the reader zooms closer, aerial views of a farm town and river come alive before our very eyes until resting on a neighborhood, a house, and then eventually taking on the mindset of a little boy viewing a ladybug under a hand lens. The clever design and sequence of this picture book will draw in curious imaginations and questions from children almost certainly. It is a great conversation piece to utilize in a classroom environment. Jenkins concludes noting that the town used in the book is based loosely on many towns on the East Coast.      

Review Excerpt(s)
From School Library Journal:

"PreSchool-Grade 3-The Earth floats in space, a small blue marble, growing with each turn of the page. The North American continent swells until the streets of a (fictional) coastal town become visible, then a particular neighborhood; a dot on the sidewalk becomes a boy with a magnifying glass, viewing-what? A ladybug fills the last page. Using neat, sharp-edged paper collages and pure, simple colors, Jenkins convincingly conveys, better than most aerial photography, both a sense of height and an almost vertiginous feeling of movement in this wordless fall. Books with expanding rather than contracting scales, such as Istvan Banyai's Zoom (Viking, 1995) or the Hirsts' My Place in Space (Orchard, 1990) end on more cosmic notes, but younger readers will find this an exciting, eye-opening slide."

From Booklist:

"Ages 4-7. Jenkins' distinctive cut-paper collage illustrations take readers on a fascinating, wordless journey that begins with a look at the earth from outer space and ends with a close-up of a ladybug. The double-page spreads show progressively smaller aerial views of a coastline, a town, a street, and so on, until they finally zoom in on the ladybug as seen through the magnifying glass of a young girl. As with all wordless books, children can apply their own interpretation to the pictures to create a story that is uniquely theirs. The book can also be used by preschool and primary-grade teachers to introduce basic science vocabulary, and of course, it can simply be enjoyed as a work of art."

From Horn Book:

"Beautiful, engaging, and full of possibilities for discussion, the book will be a welcome addition to the collections of young science enthusiasts."

Connections

Other Steve Jenkins books to check out: 

• Jenkins, Steve. Actual Size. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. ISBN 9780547512914

2004 Caldecott Honor Book:

• Jenkins, Steve. What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. ISBN 9780618997138 

• Jenkins, Steve. Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1997. ISBN 9780395861363

Teachers can use Looking Down to share with their class to build curiosity of Earth and Space. It can even be used as a lesson opener for the planets and The Solar System. 

Teachers can utilize the story Biggest, Strongest, Fastest and What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? to teach animals, their characteristics, habitats, and size in a way children can understand.  

Orchards (A Book Review)

Orchards (Review by Leighanne Massey)

Bibliography

Thompson, Holly. Orchards. New York: Random House, 2011. ISBN 9780385739788

Plot Summary

Kana Goldberg is sent during her Summer vacation to stay with her family in Japan after a girl in her 8th grade class falls victim to constant bullying. Feeling a sense of guilt for not having helped the girl, Kana goes through a cultural journey of self-realization and soon develops empathy for those affected, feeling a sense of urgency in the end to honor her fallen classmates.   

Critical Analysis
"One week after 
you stuffed a coil of rope 
into your backpack 
and walked uphill into 
Osgoods' orchard 
where blooms were still closed fists 

my father looked up 
summer airfares 
to Tokyo (Orchards)."

From the very first line, the free verse flows quickly, hits powerfully and catches the reader's attention instantly. Over-abundant in purposeful language with lots of built-in metaphors, Thompson both delivers and captures the emotions of guilt and blame accurately. The author intertwines the internal struggle of the main character as she tries to cope with the aftermath of the events and her own cultural identity. Although lengthy, the verse style in Orchards allows the story to progress naturally catching the reader off-guard in the end. The aspects of Japanese culture coupled with the woodcut illustrations of Japanese emblems after each chapter keep the reader tied into the impact of the poems. This is a story beautifully told that will leave a mark on the reader, particularly since its relevance in today's culture cannot be underscored.              

Review Excerpt(s)

"Thompson has crafted an exquisite, thought-provoking story of grief and healing that will resonate with teen readers and give them much to discuss."

-Starred Review, School Library Journal, March 2011

“Eloquently captures a teenager’s anger, guilt, and sorrow after a classmate takes her own life. . . . Understated yet potent verse.” -Review, Publishers Weekly, January 3, 2011

“A fast-paced page-turner that explores the rippling effects of suicide.” 

-Review, Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2011

“Readers will want to talk about the big issues, especially the guilt of doing nothing.” -Review, Booklist, January 1, 2011

“Compelling. . . . Teens who enjoy learning about other cultures will relish Thompson’s ability to evoke the sights, smells, and tastes of Japan, while poetry fans will enjoy the novel’s unique format.” -Review, VOYA

Connections

Other Holly Thompson books to check out:

• Thompson, Holly. Tomo: Friendship through Fiction: An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories. California: Stone Bridge Press, 2012. ISBN 9781611725186 

• Thompson, Holly. The Language Inside. New York: Random House, 2013. ISBN 9780385739795

• Thompson, Holly. Ash: A Novel. California: Stone Bridge Press, 2001. ISBN 9780893469887

Tomo would be an interesting account of the events in Japan following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. It could lead into a history lesson about Japan or tsunami and earthquakes. Teens will relate to the characters in this book.

The Language Inside would be a book for teens who can relate to living in a different country and having to move when tragedy strikes in their lives.

Ash: A Novel in Thompson's first novel and would interest teens who like Japanese culture and stories of redemption after witnessing traumatic events. 

Each of Thompson's books center on Japanese culture since the author lives and teaches creative writing in Japan. Her books also glean aspects of the culture and celebrations such as O-bon which might interest readers familiar with this custom.