Kira-Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of Kira-Kira.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1288)
Read in November, 2005
Author: Cynthia Kadohata
Title: Kira-Kira
Genre: terminal illness, Japanese American family
Publication Info: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. New York. 2004.
Recommended Age: 10 and older
Plot Summary: Katie Takeshima was born in Iowa in 1951. She loved her older sister, Lynn, and looked up to her. When they were still young, their family moved to Georgia, where their uncle lived. Katie’s father got a job at a hatchery. He separated the male and female chicks just after they hatched ...more
Title: Kira-Kira
Genre: terminal illness, Japanese American family
Publication Info: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. New York. 2004.
Recommended Age: 10 and older
Plot Summary: Katie Takeshima was born in Iowa in 1951. She loved her older sister, Lynn, and looked up to her. When they were still young, their family moved to Georgia, where their uncle lived. Katie’s father got a job at a hatchery. He separated the male and female chicks just after they hatched ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
Kira-Kira is the story of the Japanese-American Takeshima family, told from the point of view of Katie, the youngest daughter. We learn in the opening passage of the story that Kira-Kira means “glittering” in Japanese, and that it was Katie’s first word, taught to her by her older sister Lynn. It’s obvious from the beginning that Katie adores Lynn.
Born in Iowa to Japanese immigrants, Katie and Lynn have a nice childhood, but everything changes when the family’s oriental food store ...more
Born in Iowa to Japanese immigrants, Katie and Lynn have a nice childhood, but everything changes when the family’s oriental food store ...more
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone
I believe this is the most inspiring story I've read, and I hope Cynthia Kadohata would produce books like these more often.
At the start of the novel, Katie, her older sister Lynn (whom she calls Lynnie), and their parents are living in Iowa and own an Asian foods store. When the store is shut down because there are hardly any oriental people living in Iowa, the family moves to an apartment home in Georgia where Katie's parents can work at a hatchery with six other Japanese families. Lynnie...more
At the start of the novel, Katie, her older sister Lynn (whom she calls Lynnie), and their parents are living in Iowa and own an Asian foods store. When the store is shut down because there are hardly any oriental people living in Iowa, the family moves to an apartment home in Georgia where Katie's parents can work at a hatchery with six other Japanese families. Lynnie...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Like this review?
yes
(2 people liked it)
1 comments
Read in April, 2008
Another Newberry - a very tenderly written story about a Japanese family that relocates to Southern Georgia in the 60's - woven in with race, integration, death, and coming to terms with the realities of life. I found myself relating to Katie so much, as the middle child who takes on the role of parent when her older sister gets sick, and the younger brother needs to be taken care of. Then as her parents work more and more to pay for the medical bills, Katie finds herself cooking, and putting th...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This is by far one of the loveliest books I have read in a long time! I can't remember when I last cried over a children's book, but this touching story about a young Japanese-American girl definitely made me shed a tear or two. Katie and her family, including big sister Lynn and little brother Sammy, live in a small town in Georgia during a time when looking different means low-paying jobs and unaffordable housing. Katie's parents eventually end up working multiple factory jobs to support th...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2007
Katie Takeshima's first word is "kira-kira," the Japanese term for "glittering." Her older sister, Lynn, is extremely intelligent and taught her this word. Katie and her family move south to Georgia, where there are less than fifty Japanese Americans alongside them. Her parents start jobs with long hours and inhumane treatment, in the hopes of one day getting a real house. The sisters save their candy money and are eventually able to donate it to the family to help in the...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
no one/ morbid people who are also bad readers
Blech! I don't understand the point of books like this. There's a girl, blah-de-blah about the girl, then there's the girl's older sister who the girl idolizes and hero-worships etc etc, then the girl's sister gets sick and dies and hasn't the girl learned a nice little life lesson?
Books like this only exist because people hope if they write about death maybe they'll understand it better. Guess what? You will never understand death. Death will never be a nice little life lesson. You will never...more
Books like this only exist because people hope if they write about death maybe they'll understand it better. Guess what? You will never understand death. Death will never be a nice little life lesson. You will never...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2006
A beautiful story. I listened to the audio version of this book and thought it was just lovely. I love to say "Kira-Kira", which means glittering in Japanese.
The story follows a Japanese-American family living in the south during the 1950s. The youngest of two girls, Katie is struggling to make sense of the inequalities her parents are faced with. Additionally, Katie's sister, Lynn is terminally ill. It is Lynn who teaches Katie the meaning of Kira-Kira, and also its impo...more
The story follows a Japanese-American family living in the south during the 1950s. The youngest of two girls, Katie is struggling to make sense of the inequalities her parents are faced with. Additionally, Katie's sister, Lynn is terminally ill. It is Lynn who teaches Katie the meaning of Kira-Kira, and also its impo...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This was a really good book. It really allowed me to see how sisters treat each other and how the family runs even when being poor. I cannot imagined my life being like that, but however, I sympathized with them because comparing my life to theirs, mine is alot better. I have my family helping me when in the story, the two sisters were attempting to save money to later on donate it to the purchase of the family's new house.
I learned that in the society, there are alot of people that are less f...more
I learned that in the society, there are alot of people that are less f...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2007
Kira-kira means "glittering" in Japanese, and that is how Katie's older sister Lynn describes everything from stars to the way that tissue paper floats on the breeze. Kira-kira is about Katie and Lynn and their brother Sammy, who are growing up Japanese in Georgia in the 50s. Their parents struggle to make ends meet, but Lynn always looks to the future, and she teaches Katie to do the same. When Lynn becomes very ill, it's up to Katie to remember what it is to look to the future and se...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2005
I am disappointed that this novel was chosen for the Newbery Medal Award. While not a bad book, by any means, I didn't feel that this story every struck any particularly strong chords or said anyting in a new and creative way. It seemed all too obvious that the sister was going to die, very early in the book. It also seemed too obvious that the parents were likely to vote for the union despite their talk against it.
The only thing that made this story slightly unique was that it was a Japanes...more
The only thing that made this story slightly unique was that it was a Japanes...more
Like this review?
yes
4 comments
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
my friends!!!!
This book is about the two sister's memories as one leaves the other to a far far away world. Katie struggles to make her sister's wish come true. No matter how hard it is, she will make her last wish come true. It is up to her who can turn her future kira-kira. Their memory of kira-kira will always be locked in their hearts forever. When i read this book i was wondering what this book have to do with kira-kira. Yay, i learned a Japanese word and i think this word is so .... elegant? Meaningful?...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2007
This is a lovely children's/young adult book, which tells the story of a Japanese-American girl in 1961 and how she deals with the terminal illness and death of her older sister. Gracefully written, it neither over states nor minimizes the experience and effect of such a profound loss. It also avoids condescending to a young audience, an unfortunately common failing in young adult books. This is in many ways a very sad book (as it must be to be faithful to the subject) but it also conveys the...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone
Read this last night during one of my famous insomniac moments. Wonderful story about two Japanese sister's relationship while growing up in racist 1950's Georgia. Their parents both work sweatshop hours in a chicken factory saving up for the American dream of owning their own home. This really got to me as I could identify somewhat with the poverty and looking up to an older sister. I could really connect with Katie, the younger sister. Its written from her perspective and her memories, as well...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I don't remember this book 100%. I read it around the same time that I read Camille's favorite kids book- Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster boy (which was runner up to this book). Kira Kira is the story of a young JapaneseAmerican girl and her family. The parts I remember the best are: her parents work in a horrible chicken factory for crap money, her sister is her idol but she gets sick, her brother previous to the beginning of the book got caught in an animal trap and is now crippled, and he...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
A beautiful story. I actually listened to the audio version, and the storyteller was so enjoyable to listen to. The story is about a Japanese/American family, but mostly focuses on the realtionship of two sisters, Lynn and Katie. I love Katie's innocence and honesty. I love Katie's southern accent, made even more real as I listened to the story. I also appreciated the integrity of the parents who were rarely dealt with fairly, but who always worked hard and were honest with others. The sto...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
recommended to Lucia by:
Newbery shelfrecommends it for: teens with uptight parents
My Leap Year book, and what a book! I did not realize this was about the death of a sibling. It was handled very well. Each time a read a book dealing with sibling/ child/teen death I wonder if this could be used to help heal from this type of grief.
I do know that, although I have been joking with coworkers about leaving the library and going to GA to become a chicken sexer, I don't really want to work in a poultry plant. I don't know how my checken went from feathers to salad.
Sweet boo...more
I do know that, although I have been joking with coworkers about leaving the library and going to GA to become a chicken sexer, I don't really want to work in a poultry plant. I don't know how my checken went from feathers to salad.
Sweet boo...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
For ages 10 and up
Kira-Kira is heart warming book about a girl named Katie Takeshima who moves from her Japanese community in Iowa to the racist south of Atlanta, Georgia. In Atlanta Katie is picked on and teased for being different. Luckily for Katie her older sister Lynn is there to stand up for her and to teach her how to see the world as Kira-Kira. The sky is Kira-Kira because it is solid and see through at the same time, the sea is the same. It is Lynn's greatest desire to see the ocean. A few years later L...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2005
If I ever end up with a career writing children’s books, this author will be at least partially to blame. After finishing this story (with a particularly transparent plot—I could’ve told you the conclusion after reading the jacket blurb, even if I were 8 instead of 23!), I’m not so convinced that making it as an author has to be difficult. Sure, there’s some great children’s literature out there. (See my raving comments about Andrew Clements’ Frindle from a few weeks back.) But if ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
