Kira-Kira (original 2004; edition 2006)

Summary: Katie moves with her family to a town in Georgia after the families oriental grocery goes out of business. When they arrive, Katie and her older sister Lynn, find out first hand about racism and that because they are different they are not welcome in their school and community. Lynn dies of lymphoma and something changes in Katie. She tries harder in school and her mother, who concerned herself mostly with her own family, begins to concern herself with other families that are dealing with their own grief.



Personal Reaction: This is probably one of my favorite stories. The parents were incredibly hard working, making sure they could provide for their children and the sisters seemed to have a really close bond. This is another story that a student who recently lost a sibling or family member could read and easily relate to.



Classroom Extension:

1) Create a history lesson about the south and racism.

2) Use this story as part of a multicultural lesson. ( )

Lyrical, interesting, but ultimately depressing. Why are the Newbery winners so sad? This one's about a Japanese-American girl growing up in the South. There's an undercurrent of prejudice and poverty, if the sickness and death doesn't make you melancholy enough. Ultimately transcendent, but be warned. ( )

CAUTION: May contain spoilers.
Although I didn't like this as much as some other Newbery winners and honor books I've read recently, it was still a good book. The story is told by Katie, a Japanese-American girl born in 1951. She tells us that her father and uncle are "kibei," born in the U.S. but educated in Japan. The only mention of WWII is that Katie's uncle was given some money by someone "whose life he saved in World War II." Katie has an older sister, Lynn, and eventually a little brother, Sam. At the beginning of the story the family is trying to run an Oriental grocery in Iowa, with not much success. They move to Georgia to work in the poultry industry -- Katie's mother will work in a poultry processing plant and her father in a hatchery as a chicken sexer. In spite of poverty, overworked parents, and some racism from the other (white) kids they go to school with, things are going OK until Lynn gets sick.

[b:Kira-Kira|89731|Kira-Kira|Cynthia Kadohata|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171163571s/89731.jpg|2096693] is mostly about the relationship between the two sisters, who are several years apart in age, and how the relationship is affected by Lynn's illness and death. But it's also about class and race, bosses and unions, and most of all about aspirations -- those we have for our children and those we have for ourselves. Don't skip this book thinking it's just another "kids' problem novel," because it is more than that.

Speaking of kids' problem novels: there's been a tendency over the last 30 or 40 years, I think, for the Newbery to go to novels with Big Problems -- whatever the latest concern is that kids are perceived to need bibliotherapy for. Sometimes these are constants like the death of a loved one, which is a major part of [b:Kira-Kira|89731|Kira-Kira|Cynthia Kadohata|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171163571s/89731.jpg|2096693]. Sometimes it's having a family member with a handicap or illness, sometimes racism, bullying, alcoholism, the list goes on. I used to be rather scornful of this trend. However, I've come to realize that the good ones of these are much more than "victim novels" and that the Big Problem provides the conflict that's necessary for an intriguing story. Once again I realize that there aren't really that many different plots out there -- it's what the writer does with the plot that makes the difference. ( )

In this endearing book, the Takeshima family moves to Georgia so that Katie's parents can work in the chicken factory. There, young Katie learns about Southern racism and the practically-slave-labor conditions of factory workers. But when Katie's older sister Lynn becomes sick, Katie learns the hardest lesson of all...This is a sweet story - and pretty typical for Newbery winners. (Newbery judges certainly like bereavement, racism, and Southern settings!) The character in the book ranges from about 5-7, I'd say, but I think the subject and reading level is more appropriate for a 10-12 year old. ( )

Characters: Katie, Lynn, Sammy, Uncle Katsuhisa, the parents

Setting: 1950s in Iowa, and later in Georgia

Theme: Family, death, sisterhood, discrimination, friendship, adolescence, coming of age

Summary: Lynn is Katie's sister older by 4 years who taught her that everyday occurrences are kira-kira (glittering in Japanese) and magic. Katie looks up to Lynn as the smartest and the wisest sister. Their parents' oriental supermarket in Iowa goes out of business and the family moves to Georgia where their father's older brother, uncle Katsuhisa, and his family live. In Georgia, where the population of Japanese is relatively small, the girls are not welcomed at school or in the community. When Lynn becomes ill with lymphoma, her family moves into a new house with their younger brother, Sammy, who was born after they moved to Georgia. When Lynn dies, her death brings changes in the family. Katie, who rarely achieved higher than C at school, strives for a better grade and voluntarily does house chores. Their mom, who only had a heart for her own family, starts to share her concern with those who are suffering grief. For the family's winter vacation, they visit the beach in California, Lynn's dream place, where the waves deliver Lynn's voice saying kira-kira to Katie, who gently savors it.

Review: The girls' parents reminded me of my parents and typical Asian parents for that matter. Their parents are extremely hard working who work and sacrifice day and night for family. The mom stinks of pee from wearing a pad (no bathroom breaks while working) and the dad works 90 hours a week and wrecks the boss's car in the middle of the night for injuring his little boy's ankle. It amazes me how much they go through for a family and do so as a matter of course. I enjoyed witnessing the transformation of the relationship between the girls; they started as best friends in the early age and as Lynn grew and matured, she saw her once best friend sister as a baby. But looking at her as a baby or not, not once did Lynn not hold Katie dear to her heart. It was clear that death did not part them and it never will.

Curriculum ties: Health (death, coping with death of family member), social studies (historical background, discrimination), Geography (Iowa, Georgia, California, each state's characteristic, weather, culture)

Award: Newbery Medal ( )