Yukie is a young girl who lives on an island with her parents and siblings. She plays and explores with her brother, helps their father keep the lighthouse going, and is excited when they leave the island for school, even on the day she lost her lunch overboard and the fish had a feast because of it. She is a typical young girl, except this is not a story of just any girl, or any island, but one of a young Japanese girl during World War II.
Yukie Kimura, Kodo Kimura, and Steve Sheinkin created the picture book Yukie’s Island: My Family’s World War II Story. This book is based on the real Yukie’s life told by her grandson. The interesting part is really that Yukie could be anyone in the world, but it was during a time when her nation was at war, there were the consequences of not being a “good citizen” and the threat of bombings, even in her remote island and the area around them.
Things are sweet, but also sorrowful. There is a lot going on, but done in a somewhat simple manner. Things are well presented, not over the top, and extras give you things that the story was not made for, allowing for multiple ages and interest levels to partake. And of course, there is the art. Slightly dreamy, with realistic details, allowing us into a world that many will never know. The afterwards gives us facts of the time and how Kimura’s memory of things were not linear, yet they were able to combine them into a years time. This also includes the facts adn the slight poetic license taken with actual events.
Overall, this is a delightful book, good for history classrooms, or just for people who like a good book. While it is currently available, I read via an online reader copy.