Home of the Brave
by
Allen Say
In dreamlike sequences, a man symbolically confronts the trauma of his family’s incarceration in the Japanese internment camps during World War II. This infamous event is made emotionally clear through his meeting a group of children all with strange name tags pinned to their coats. The man feels the helplessness of the children. Finally, desperately he releases the name t...more
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
April 30th 2002
by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
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This is the children's book equivalent of Oscar-bait. It deals with a serious subject seriously. It has bloodly brilliant art direction. But it doesn't make much sense, and when you go to rip on it, you feel bad because you don't want to look like you're ripping on Japanese Internment. I'm not ripping on Japanese Interment. I'm not ripping on writing children's books about serious subjects; in fact, our dark history is a necessary component of any child's education. I'm just ripping on this book...more
Mar 05, 2012
Taylor Nolan
added it
This book was printed in a portrait orientation. The colors used on the cover as well as in the actual images are very dark colors, mostly black white and grays. When I was reading the first few pages of this book I would have said that the relationship between the images and the text were enhancing, because the pictures basically had most of what the text said. But later on in the book I would say the relationship becomes symmetrical. Although the text and the images portrayed the same thing, I...more
This reminded me so much of my dream sequences that I encounter. it seems like I tend to mix up the heavy thinking that I'm doing sometimes into one dream. This was my first reaction however as I re-read i started to see the parallels between what the character was experiencing in his life, the Native American and Japanese experience. I love books like this. Visually I was interested in the trajectory movement in the pictures. The waterfall, the light through the tunnel,the light through the hol...more
It was a little difficult for me to follow this book. I liked the concept of the nametags going away. It looked the illustrator used watercolors for this story. The way the water flows and the horizontal skyline makes me beleive that is what he used. Also The illustrator has the illustration with a white border. Also the author put the words on the left side of the page with an all white background. The illustrations were always on the right side of the pages, thus hinting at the idea of moving...more
I would not necessarily recommend this book for early readers. I would say this book was geared towards an older crowd, maybe 5th grade to 8th grade. It is very informative about WWII and the Japanese camps that were created in the U.S. It takes focus to understand what is going on in the story and should be read in a quiet or classroom environment. Discussions would help a lot with this book to ensure everyone knows what is going on.
This book is very deep and serious. The story symbolizes the Japenese during WWII and how the innocent Japanese people were put into camps, similar to the Jewish people during the Holocaust. It might be a little hard for young children to relationship the main character has experienced that relates to the Japanese people. The illustrator uses a white border throughout the book. It isn't a very colorful book, which I think the illustrator chose this because the story isn't a vibrant story. It is...more
Oct 22, 2012
Monique Franco
added it
In this dreamlike story, a young man comes across an internment camp which housed the Japanese during World War II. Here the young man finds children who bare their names on tags strung around their necks, finding his own grandfather's tag as well. The children join in a chant, pleading to go home. The young man answers their prayers as he takes the tags, the restless souls, and sends them flying through the air, free to go home.
This odd, dreamlike story evokes the emotions any of us (but especially people of Japanese-American descent) might have when we ponder the horror of our own government imprisoning more than 120,000 people during World War II for no reason other than fear. This book is probably best for older elementary and middle schoolers after they know the facts of the Japanese American internment.
Format: Picture Book
Interest Level: 6th grade and up
In a dream, the main character remembers the Japenese Internment camp. At first he doesn't know where he is. He sees two children with tags arouond their necks who explain they are from camp. He tells them he'll take them back and that's when he sees the camp and all the children with their tags. The man finds a tag with a name that links his life with the children's. The picutres and story leave you with a haunting feeling.
Interest Level: 6th grade and up
In a dream, the main character remembers the Japenese Internment camp. At first he doesn't know where he is. He sees two children with tags arouond their necks who explain they are from camp. He tells them he'll take them back and that's when he sees the camp and all the children with their tags. The man finds a tag with a name that links his life with the children's. The picutres and story leave you with a haunting feeling.
Home of the Brave by Allen Say follows a man as he discovers his past. He learns through a strange metaphysical encounter in the desert of his family's internment during WWII.
More than a hundred thousand Japanese Americans were interned during WWII following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Most of those were children and women. Home of the Brave drives that fact home with the encounter involving in part, a baseball game with children living in one of the camps.
I think the book has an appeal for its...more
More than a hundred thousand Japanese Americans were interned during WWII following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Most of those were children and women. Home of the Brave drives that fact home with the encounter involving in part, a baseball game with children living in one of the camps.
I think the book has an appeal for its...more
This is a really cool picture storybook dealing with the Japanese internment camps during WWII. I'm going to recommend that our history department use this when they teach Hiroshima and/or when they teach their WWII unit.
Nice novel in verse. I liked the redemption/hope contained in a meek and mild Minnesota cow, as a Sudanese refugee's salvation. We Americans don't know how good we have it.
Aug 18, 2010
Baylydelano
marked it as to-read
Georgette highly recommended this Young Adult book
While I read this book I had a slight sense of creepiness, the drawings also helped to enhance this feature. The story's message was good, but I thought it might have been slightly better portrayed. I did like the title of this book, it was ironic and powerful. I would probably still recommend, but it just didn't feel like very much of a children's book.
*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2009...
*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2009...
Feb 28, 2013
Kelly
marked it as to-read
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Allen Say is one of the most beloved artists working today. He is the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for GRANDFATHER'S JOURNEY, and also won a Caldecott Honor and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for THE BOY OF THE THREE-YEAR NAP (written by Dianne Snyder). Many of Allen’s stories are derived from his own experiences as a child. His other books include THE BICYCLE MAN, TEA WITH MILK, and TREE OF...more
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