Heroes

by Ken Mochizuki

Teacher's Choices, International Literacy Association (ILA)
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, National Council for the Social Studies / Children's Book Council
Notable Children's Book, Smithsonian A Japanese American boy learns about heroism from his father and uncle who served in the U.S. Army. Donnie is tired of playing the bad guy every time he and his friends get together to play war. According to the other kids, Donnie should play the enemy-after all, as a Japanese American he looks like "them." Instead, Donnie wishes they could just play his favorite game, football. When he argues that his family served in the U.S. Army, Donnie's friends laugh and dare him to prove it. But when he asks his father and Uncle Yosh for proof, they tell him that kids should play something else besides war. "Real heroes don't brag," Uncle Yosh says. "They just do what they are supposed to do." Set against the backdrop of the 1960s, this intergenerational story explores how one family deals with the painful legacy of war and prejudice. In their powerful follow-up to the award-winning Baseball Saved Us , Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee once again present young readers with American heroes they won't usually find in history books, but who they can always hold in their hearts.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Picture Books, Cultural, Realistic Fiction, Asian American, War

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heroes portrays the story of a young Japanese boy and the experiences he goes through during the 1960’s and the start of the new war in Vietnam. Donnie is always forced into the role of the bad guy when him and his friends play war because they say he looks like the bad guys. Irony sets in when we find out his father and uncle are decorated war heroes who fought in the U.S. Army. He wants to prove he isn’t the bad guy, but his father and uncle try to teach him how heroes act by not bragging and just doing what they are suppose to do. The white bordered images are detailed to the point where you feel like running away from Donnie’s friends with him. The pain in his eyes is shown on many pages as he is tormented by his friends because he feels having to be the bad guy is better than having no friends at all. Even though his uncle and father never wanted to brag or talk about their heroism, when they show up at his school in their decorated uniforms, it was a moment of pride. They didn’t have to say anything or tell any stories; their presence like this was enough to help Donnie become respected among his peers. The message of valor and dignity becomes universal when it transcends those in this story, making it relatable to anyone who feels they are different.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, this is an important book to have in any library collection. Asian American experiences are grossly under represented. It is also a great teaching tool and discussion prompt for the cruelty that results when countries have identified ‘enemies’ and citizens then over apply that designation. Japanese American Donnie is stuck playing the enemy in games of war, because he ‘looks the part.’ He knows his dad and uncle served in wars, fighting for America, but they are reluctant to parade their heroism. While the conclusion feels a bit dated and macho to this former San Francisco teacher, and uncomfortably ‘deus ex machina’ in an era when we encourage kids to solve their own problems, I suspect it will satisfy kids. Adults do need to show up and identify the parameters of reality and redirect play into something less overtly cruel.

[Jennifer]

Great for looking at prejudice. American heroes come from all backgrounds.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful! The illustrations help to put together the beautiful story. I love how the author teaches that we should be friends with the people around us even if they don't look the same as us. And that it is OK to have friends like that. The book also teaches that sometimes you need to just let things be, and sometimes its OK to take appropriate action to make a situation better. I appreciate the message a Hero does not brag, but instead are humble and don't make a big deal out of the large deeds that they have done for others. It also does well to show that those around us are on the same team as us and we should be respectful of that even if we do not see physical evidence of it on a regular basis.

[Hayden Hanshew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books kind of touches on the subject of racism, which you really don't see in picture books. I feel like it did talk about racism because the main character, Donnie, his friends pick on him because he is Japanese, and the kids were stuck on the fact that in world war II america fought with the Japanese. They only stopped when they saw that Donnie's uncle was in the full military uniform. The book was good, and it has a good story line and a good moral of the story. I never saw illustrations the way it was done in the book, so that was super cool and the illustrations went with the text nicely.

[Jonathan Omerod · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the book because it teaches kids to not bully other and it's not so good by teaching kids to ask parents to help them instead of fixing the problem themselves

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historically illuminating, artistically riveting, and, in the words of one of my students, "just good parenting."

[Kaela Ewing · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee's "Heroes", Donnie is tired of his "friends" relegating his to the role of the "bad guy" during their game of war. Donnie agrees to play the enemy during war is because he does not have many friends and he will take whatever he can get. His friends constantly tease him and believe that his family is the enemy. When Donnie tries to tell his "friends" that his family members served in the U.S Army and fought for this country during World War 1, they do not believe him. They insist he is lying because of his Asian ethnicity. When his father drives Donnie to school, the other kids stare at him. His peers challenge him to "prove" that his family indeed served in the U.S Army during World War 1. When he consults his father on the manner, Donnie's uncle reassures him that being heroic means doing the right thing without bragging. So, another day arrives and the boys are playing war. Of course, Donnie is the "enemy" and is chased all the way to his father's gas station. Donnie's dad and uncle have looks of disapproval at the other children. Donnie becomes very upset and seeks comfort from his dad. The other kids call him a baby and a "sissy". In this moment, Donnie's father realizes that in order for his son to gain some dignity, he will have to show the other kids that he is not the enemy and should not treat them that way. Donnie's father and uncle arrive at the school in full uniform, with their Veteran's medals and ribbons and all.

I chose this book as a Quality Children's Book because it addresses the stigma that existed during the time of World War 1. The author and illustrator are both of Asian decent and provide represent Asian culture. The story offers multiple perspectives and a variety of questions to consider: Why did the other kids treat Donnie and his family like the enemy? Are they sound justifications?

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ken Mochizuki is one of my favorite authors because he presents issues and experiences that are not widely known (at least to me) in American and Japanese American life. Heroes is a realistic fiction picture book that is told through the eyes of a young Japanese American boy as he attempts to "play war" with his other Caucasian American friends. The narrator, Donnie, is always made to be "the bad guy" even though, as he explains, his family fought for the Americans in WWII and the Korean war. His friends don't believe him, and Donnie tries to prove to his friends that his Japanese American family does, in fact, consist of heroes and should not be pigeonholed just because they happen to "look" like the "enemy" in recent wars. The plot is rich, with a clear problem and solution and realistic characters. The dialogue in the story seems realistic to how little boys would talk and interact with their parents. I like this book so much because it is a simple, but powerful lesson about the experiences of second, third, fourth, etc. generation immigrants in America and how they are often made to feel like they aren't as "American" as they are Japanese, Indian, etc merely because of how they look. This isn't to say that they can't and don't deeply connect to their country of origin, but those expectations shouldn't be placed upon them by "us." While the book initially presents stereotypes of what the "good" and "bad" guys look like, it does a wonderful job of pushing back on that concept. I like this book for a bit older students, such as 3rd-5th, and it connects well to any study of WWII or the Korean War.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Summary: The story began with a young Korean boy, Donnie, going to school after the Korean War. His so called friends always wanted to play war after school and made Donnie be the ‘bad guy’ because of his race and what he looked like. He had to prove he wasn’t and his father and uncle were heroes of the war on the American side. He continuously was teased because he ran to his uncle and father while playing war one day.
a. Review: This story was very sentimental and touching because of the hardship Donnie has to go through everyday at school because of his race. I love how the story ended (don’t want to spoil it for other viewers) but it made me smile. This book shows real life issues that can happen between students and their peers inside and out of the classroom. This racial or cultural issues are extremely significant and a huge issue that I strongly am against and will do everything I can in my future classroom and community to dissolve.
2. Illustration and Design: The orientation of this book is landscape and it tells us there is a story to be unfolded. There is a book jacket that has the same illustrations as the hard cover does underneath. The end pages are solid forest green. There is a title page, an author’s note, and copyright page (1995). The peritext also included the medium: the text is set in Trump Medieval and the illustrations are rendered by applying encaustic beeswax on paper, then scratching out images, and finally adding oil paint for color. I personally really like the illustrations because of the unique and different way they were made. It gives the story and book ‘pizazz’ in a darker/deeper way with the rustic feel to it.

[Charmaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story about a young boy being bullied by his peers. The Donnie is from a different country and is constantly being teased at school. Donnie wants to prove to his friends his dad is a hero because he fought in a war but no one believes him. In the end Donnie's dad shows him what a real hero looks like by ignoring his friends antagonism. I would use this story to talk about characters in a story. As a teacher I would use this story to reinforce the importance of descriptive writing and also building upon characters. Characters are developed by using describing words that allow you to imagine the character in your head. I would remind students that without looking at the story they can form a vision of a character. After reading the story I will ask students to think how they think the character looks, their personality and the emotions they experience in the story. I would remind students they have to pay attention to the details in the story to help develop the character in their brain. I will reread specific pages in the story for students to see examples of words describing the character. Once we have talked about describing a character I will do a follow up activity to emphasize the strategy students learned in class. Students will practice writing descriptively to help improve their c by making it more interesting and engaging to read.

[Justin Myerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

No Awards
Donnie is the main character who is a Japanese American kid in most likely the 1960s-1970s west coast America who is heavily discriminated against among his friends at school. In his friend group they love playing war where Donnie is always the bad guy and Donnie hates his role. He eventually proves to his friends through the help of his father that Japanese weren't always the bad guys because they were heroes too by helping America fight in the many wars over the years.
This is a very powerful book that talks about the discrimination that Japanese Americans faced in America following World War 2. A topic that is hardly discussed in class especially on the East Coast because this issue was more prominent in the west. I recommend this book to teachers who want to teach about other types of discrimination that people have faced in our history.
Grade Level: 3-6
In Class Uses: In a history lesson on discrimination in post war America against Japanese Americans, this book is a great story for that. If a teacher wants to teach about Japanese American contribution during wars this book is good for that also.

[Alexis Mraz]

The story is told post-war, when everyone is very judgmental about the other party. A young boy is Asian and all the kids in school hear at home that this people are bad and that we should be fighting them. With this in mind, the boys always want to play war, because thet have the perfect bad guy. The boy is so sick of being the bad guy that he tries to prove that he's not the bad guy, and is actually on the same side as the other boys. The father and uncle finally make a seen that proves to all the children that not all Asian people are bad.

This is a classic school story. A child will at some point be the bully or get bullied so this is something that they can relate to. It was written with the sense of how to feel apart of a group. It shows that every race at some point has been looked down upon, and not everyone is bad for it. It shows that wars happen, and it doesn't matter make you look like its about what you believe in. The pictures are so clear that it looks like photographs and you can see when and where the story is taken place.

[Ladeja Slaughter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story to read to teach children about bullying and judging people before you really get to know them. This story is about a boy named Donnie who is Japanese American who plays "war" with his friends but they always want him to be the "bad guy" because that's all they know is that during the war the Japanese were "bad" ones. Donnie doesn't really want to be the bad guy but he does because he feels that is the only way he'll have friends, even though his so-called friends think he and his family are the enemy because they are Japanese Americans when in fact Donnie's family served in the US Army and fought against said enemy. This book has great illustrations and teaches a great lesson.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written by Ken Mochizuki and is illustrated by Dom Lee. If you liked Baseball Saved Us, you will like this book as well. Unlike Baseball Saved Us, though, Heroes is a Vietnam era 1960's. What is likable about the two books together is treatment of Japanese Americans can be traced from one era to the next.

In Heroes, Donnie is always made to play the bad guy because he looks like the bad guy. This is ironic because both his father and uncle both fought in the U.S. Army.

It is for kids in preschool and up. The Lexile is 670.

A timeline regarding the Vietnam War can be found on infoplease:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A000129...

[Julian Franklin]

Heroes is about a Japanese-American boy, Donnie. Donnie must constantly be the enemy and the other boys chase him because he is Japanese. Donnie wants to prove to the boys that his dad and uncle fought for America. In the end, his dad and uncle are able to give him advice and help him, so that he will not be the enemy to his friends anymore.
Many children have been teased or picked on in school before. This book is written in narrative, so it can help children with their narrative writing. This book builds acceptance in the classroom. It is a great example to use when introducing narrative writing.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would use this book in conjunction with a discussion on war and the military. The war veterans symbolize heroism and bravery, so these are things to discuss with students before and after reading this book. It explains how a Japanese-American family deals with the legacy of war. The boy constantly is made fun of at school, so his dad and uncle come to school in uniform and demonstrate the respect that all soldiers should receive. Set in the 1960s during the Vietnam war, this book could also be used with teaching about this time period in history.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read this book in Literacy class in a small group. I enjoyed reading this book because the book has great ethics and values reflections for students and teachers. This book is helpful for teaching students reading with the Four Resource Model strategy. A teacher can use this book in the classroom for Code Breaking, Text Participant, Text User and Critical Practices. There are lots of questions, reflections and adjective word wall activities that a teacher can use in the classroom using Heroes as a guide.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life of Japanese-American children following WWII was plagued with racism. Other children saw them as "the enemy", who were often portrayed as treacherous during the American propaganda campaign. Few realized that several many Japanese-Americans served bravely during the war. Donnie's father was one of them.

[Christy Whitaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written from the perspective of a young, Japanese-American child growing up in the U.S. after WWII. Why is Donnie always the bad guy? Mainly because the children aren't shown any other way to view others. This is a great way to teach students how we should treat all people as equals, because, in truth, we really are all equal.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Heroes addresses Asian American discrimination during the Vietnam War. This book portrays the prejudice against Donnie. He is always forced to be the bad guy when playing war with his friends. This book would be good to use to talk about how Asian Americans were treated during both WWII and the Vietnam War. I would feel comfortable using this in an elementary classroom.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was another great piece of historical fiction about Asian Americans in the 1900's. This one focused on the racism that was endured by one boy during the Vietnam War. It was well written and reflected Asian Americans in the most positive light. Very well done book.

[Beth Schencker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story about a young boy, Donnie, who is always made the “bad guy’ when playing with his friends because of the way he looks. His friends cannot understand that a Vietnamese could have fought in the US Army. Until Donnie’s father and uncle show up to Donnie’s school in full uniform.

[Malissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touching book about a sad time in our history.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it and their were some lessons in it.The kid in the story was bullied it was sad.

[Delenn Navsaria · Rating 2 out of 5]

heroes is about a boy who has some friends.

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

it was not a good book. it was bad because it was very boring and nothing happend. i did not get it very well. it was not well written. really i could write better than that.

[Jaden · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome A little harsh but cool

[Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Heroes because the book tells you that even if you don't look like everybody else

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect Memorial Day/Veteran's Day or even Asian Pacific Islander month read. All ages.