Thin Wood Walls

by David Patneaude

Overview

Eleven-year-old Joe Hanada likes playing basketball with his best friend, Ray, writing plays and stories, and thinking about the upcoming Christmas holiday. But his world falls apart when Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor. His country goes to war. The FBI takes his father away. And neighbors and friends in his hometown near Seattle begin to suspect Joe, his family, and all Japanese Americans of spying for the enemy. When the government orders people of Japanese heritage living on the West Coast to move to internment camps, including Joe and his family, Joe turns to the journal his father gave him to record his thoughts and feelings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547349404
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/19/2008
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	1,012,630
Lexile:	620L (what's this?)
File size:	159 KB
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

David Patneaude was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, but has spent most of his life in and around Seattle, Washington, where parts of Thin Wood Walls take place. Stories a friend’s family told him about their internment during World War II inspired him to research and write this story.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-8-The bombing of Pearl Harbor puts an end to 11-year-old Joe Hanada's happy-go-lucky life in the White River Valley near Seattle. Basketball, marbles, and Christmas plans are suddenly overshadowed by fears about the war. When longtime acquaintances begin to suspect Japanese-Americans of being spies, even the loyalty of Joe's Caucasian best friend can't soften the hurt of being called names or of having his father, a leader in the Issei community, taken away by the FBI. Joe finds comfort in his journal, where he records his impressions in both prose and haiku. After he is sent to the Tule Lake Relocation Camp in California with his older brother Mike and their mother and grandmother, Joe finds relief from the tedium of confinement in his writing. When Mike turns 18, he volunteers for the Army, eager to prove his loyalty. Not all of the detainees share his desire to fight for the U.S. Some request repatriation to Japan, while others forbid their children to speak English. The inclusion of many differing viewpoints within the Japanese-American community makes this book unique. Featuring a main character who grows and develops as historical events unfold, this well-written novel is a worthy companion to Ken Mochizuki's Baseball Saved Us (Lee & Low, 1993) and Yoshiko Uchida's Journey to Topaz (Turtleback, 1985) and Journey Home (McElderry, 1978).-Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

On the brink of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Joe Hanada and his family search for the perfect Christmas tree, invited to do so by a good neighbor. Joe and his family are Americans of Japanese origin, as are many in the farming community near Seattle, Washington. Soon, too soon, the friendly atmosphere of the place turns to active hatred by some. On December 7th, the FBI takes Joe's father away in his pajamas and the family begins to struggle to carry on. And then it's their turn. The walls of the title tell much about the harsh conditions in the guarded and fenced facilities where the "detainees" must live-each family in a single room. Some of the non-Japanese are good people, some hateful, and Joe's descriptions of them are powerful. Eventually, his father is returned to the family and his older brother joins the American army and is shipped into combat. Joe's first-person narrative is moving and clear in its depiction of this life, so cruel and unfair, though Joe's voice sometimes seems more mature than an 11-year-old. An important and forceful a contribution to the field. (Historical fiction. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews

"Unique. . . [A] well-written novel." School Library Journal

The author does a fine job of bringing the daily experience up close through the story of an American kid torn from home.
Booklist, ALA

Mriad small humiliations, erupting prejudices, and gross violations of justice are clearly portrayed, though, and readers who've paid any attention to nightly news can draw their own parallels to the imperilment of civil rights in times of national crisis.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Joe's first-person narrative is moving and clear in its depiction of the life, so cruel and unfair.
Kirkus Reviews

Intricate and informative, the story portrays the clash of love and prejudice with depth and even humor.
VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) —

From the Publisher