Oppenheim, J. (2006). Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration During World War II and a Librarian who Made a Difference. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
Summary: This book is a compilation of over 200 first-account children's letters from Japanese internment camps. They are addressed to Miss Clara Breed, a children's public librarian from East San Diego who worked with many Japanese youth that frequented her branch . After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Japanese families were required to relocate into internment, or concentration, camps including the children Miss Breed worked with over the years. Upon their departure, she met with many of the children at the train station, asked them to send her letters about their lives in captivity. In return, she sent letters and care packages to give them hope.
Reading Level:
- Quantitative: Lexile 1040
- Qualitative: Grade 8 / Medium-High. This text includes primary documents consisting of letters and photographs from WWII. Knowledge demands are high in subject matter knowledge and intertextuality because of the connections to more mature themes of internment / imprisonment, war and isolation. Language conventionality are moderate, due to the familiar language used by both the children and Miss Breed to communicate with each other in their letters, in contrast to the author's detailed decriptions and elaborations to paint a bigger picture for the reader's understanding. However, because of the sparse visual graphics, the dense text may make it more difficult to follow.
- Content Area: Language Arts, Social Studies
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7-10.1, 2, 3
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7-10.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-10.2, 7
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7-10.4
History-Social Science CA Content Standards
8.3.7
10.8.6
11.7.5
Curriculum Suggestions:
- Class write an internment camp newspaper
- Download photographs from camp and write a narrative to accompany
- Virtual field trip to Manzanar
Related Links:
Awards:
- National Council for the Social Studies Carter G. Woodsen Book Award , 2007
- New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age, 2007
Tags: friendship, secondary, historical, nonfiction