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Tomikazu Nakaji's biggest concerns are baseball, homework, and a local bully, until life with his Japanese family in Hawaii changes drastically after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941.Tags
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At first, I did not think I would enjoy Under The Blood Red Sun, but once I began reading, my mind was changed. Stories about the WWII era and Pearl Harbor have always interested me because it is so hard to believe that our country underwent a time of such difficulty. I enjoyed the book's point-of-view because it was narrated by a young Japanese-American boy and his feelings about this time were projected. The plot of the story is well-developed and very realistic because the readers could understand the thoughts and feelings of Tomi, the main character and narrator. I also really enjoyed how the book included both Japanese and Hawaiian phrases, which gave the reader additional background knowledge about the time period and blend of show more cultures. Like most stories about the WWII era, this book had the ability to capture students' attention, especially students who are learning about this period in history. show less
This is a great way to introduce the dark side of the US during WWII. Our own racism and treament of Japanese Americans is portrayed appropriately for older children and young adults. It is a great companion to books for this age group learning about the holocaust (such as Boy in the Striped Pajamas or Anne Frank)as it demonstrates how pervasive racism is and the consequences of it on a society. The central character is a young Japanese American boy living in Hawaii during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The conflict between his heritage and his country and how his family is treated is well portrayed.
This is a nice book for kids about World War II. It is narrated from the POV of a boy named Tomikazu, an first-generation American-born (Hawaii) Japanese boy. Because of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese in Hawaii face discrimination - Dad is taken to internment, Mom is fired from her maid job, other Japanese are killed or interred, and other boys make fun of Tomi just because of his Japanese heritage. The story does have an hopeful/happy ending, which many Japanese or Jewish or etc did not have in this war.
Under The Blood Red Sun was a book that I was not looking forward to reading, but eventually came to enjoy. It is a story about a Japanese-American boy who lives in a time where the Japanese were patronized and alienated. The point of view is different than your ordinary World War II book, as it is about the life of a Japanese-American boy's life being turned upside down, rather than American Soldiers or Nazi-Germany. The plot of the story is both believable and well-developed and had a clear message. The author clearly wanted readers to understand what it was like to be in this period of history and empathize with the main character, Tomi. The language in the book was interesting because it incorporated Hawaiian and Japanese phrases in show more the text, which gave the book a more authentic feel. Overall, this book could be an eye-opening novel for students and allow them to consider what it is like to be alienated and discriminated by others. show less
Under the Blood Red Sun is an interesting and emotional read for students and adults of all ages. The vocabulary through the book isn’t too challenging for the 5th-7th grade levels. However part of the dialogue pieces are written in Pidgin (an accent from Hawaii) and it may confuse children with the sentence structure. I think that this book would serve as a strong read aloud to introduce historical fiction as a genre or to expand a history lesson by supporting it with a historical fiction story such as this. It focuses on Tomi, a young boy who lives in Hawaii during the time of December 1941. It follows his struggles with friendships, family, and culture in a time where these relationships were tested. It can help students learn to show more put their feet in someone else’s shoes and to have a better understanding of what it was like during that period of history. show less
Under the Blood Red Sun is a historical fiction novel written by author Graham Salisbury. It won the Scott O’Dell Award for historical fiction and was nominated for a YRCA (youth division) in 1997.
The protagonist of the story is a thirteen year old Japanese-American boy named Tomi Nakaji, who lives with his family in early 1940s Hawaii. Tomi, though he is of Japanese descent, is an all-American boy who enjoys hanging out with friends and loves playing baseball. However, everything changes following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. As a result of the attack, Japanese-Americans are viewed with suspicion and an executive order is issued for the relocation and internment of all Japanese-Americans. While mass show more internment as a policy is never pursued in Hawaii like it was in the rest of the country, since the sheer size of the Japanese-American population made it unfeasible, a significant number of adult Japanese-American males were arrested. With the arrest of Tomi’s father and grandfather, he is suddenly thrust into the role of male provider of the household.
Under the Blood Red Sun addresses a variety of complicated themes including racism, ethnic/cultural heritage, and self identity. Thus, even though it is written at a level suitable to be read by a grade 4-8 audience, I think older readers will find the novel just as interesting. show less
The protagonist of the story is a thirteen year old Japanese-American boy named Tomi Nakaji, who lives with his family in early 1940s Hawaii. Tomi, though he is of Japanese descent, is an all-American boy who enjoys hanging out with friends and loves playing baseball. However, everything changes following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. As a result of the attack, Japanese-Americans are viewed with suspicion and an executive order is issued for the relocation and internment of all Japanese-Americans. While mass show more internment as a policy is never pursued in Hawaii like it was in the rest of the country, since the sheer size of the Japanese-American population made it unfeasible, a significant number of adult Japanese-American males were arrested. With the arrest of Tomi’s father and grandfather, he is suddenly thrust into the role of male provider of the household.
Under the Blood Red Sun addresses a variety of complicated themes including racism, ethnic/cultural heritage, and self identity. Thus, even though it is written at a level suitable to be read by a grade 4-8 audience, I think older readers will find the novel just as interesting. show less
This is a story about a Japanese-American boy named Tomi. He is a typical little boy living in Hawaii who likes to play with his friends, that all changes when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. All of a sudden anyone of Japanese descent was looked upon suspiciously. In response his father and grandfather were arrested forcing him into the man of the house role at only 12 years old. His family and him endure many mistreatment simply because they are of Japanese descent. His grandfather had to kill his pigeons, which he loved, because they feared he might use them to send messages to Japan. Tomi was able to get through it because of his good friends that he had. It is a great example of the mistreatment of a race, based off of what the country show more they don't live in did to the country they currently live in. We have seen this happen with many different races, and in sharing these stories with kids maybe there could be a change. This book would be great for a book report for history. It is also great for a read aloud because it can lead to some great discussion on how we should treat people instead of how we did treat them. show less
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Children's Books about World War II (1939-1945)
143 works; 12 members
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22+ Works 4,241 Members
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Under the Blood-Red Sun
- Original title
- Under the Blood-Red Sun
- Original publication date
- 1994
- People/Characters
- Tomikazu Nakaji
- Important places
- Pearl Harbor, O'ahu, Hawai'i, USA; O'ahu, Hawai'i, USA; Hawai'i, USA
- Important events
- World War II (1939 | 1945); World War II, Pacific Theater (1941-12-07 | 1945-09-02); Attack on Pearl Harbor (1941-12-07); Japanese-American Internment (1942 | 1945)
- Related movies
- Under the Blood-Red Sun (2014 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- In Memory of
Henry Forester Graham, USN
Guy Fremont Salisbury, USN
And in Honor of
the Men of the 100th Infantry Battalion
and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team
of World War II,
United States Army. - First words
- It all started the day Grandpa Joji decided to wash his precious flag of Japan and hang it out on the clothesline for the whole world to see.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Papa would hand the katana to Grampa, and Grampa would take it and gently turn the blade in the light. Then he would look deep into my eyes. And nod once.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Epilogue:
In 1943, the mainly Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army was formed, and became one of the army's most decorated units of WWII.
The 442nd earned more than 18,000 individual medals of valor, including a Medal of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 8 Presidential Unit Citations, 588 Silver Stars, and more than 9,000 Purple Hearts. - Original language
- English
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- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Children's Books
- DDC/MDS
- 813.54 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PZ7 .S15225 .U — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
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- 16,835
- Reviews
- 27
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- (3.85)
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- English
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- ISBNs
- 31
- ASINs
- 16