History

This is a fictitious diary of a 12 year old boy in a Japanese internment camp in California during World War II. (The diary covers the bombing of Pearl Harbor - Dec. 7 1941 thru parts of 1943). The diary is based on letters from Internment camp survivors and other actual events from the time period.

The story helps the reader to understand certain truths about the camps and the consequences of having such camps;

Many of the prisoners, particularly the children were every bit like other Americans in their loyalties, interests and lifestyles and didn't identify with Japan at all.

The camps were a very difficult place to raise children and tended to cause a decline in morals and traditions among the people. A few examples: because the living quarters are so small (one room usually divided with a blanket to accomodate two families), the children roam fairly freely about the camp, allowing for such situations as this: the main character and another boy sneak off to try to see some "naked girls" changing for a play (they are unsuccessful). As far as traditions go, it is very sad to learn that the very traditional Japanese mothers and grandmothers are forced to wear pants because the dust and wind make dresses unmanageable.

The overall injustice of the situation is clearly portrayed as well. Before they leave for the camps, families are forced to sell nearly all of their belongings at ridiculous prices (the author does also introduce us to some kind neighbors and friends who help these families in various ways, such as storing furniture for them). Some of the fathers are taken away for a time to a separate camp because the government thinks they might have specific connections with the Japanese.

After I read the book, I was at first struck that it was very depressing. All of the bad things that happen are not alleviated by a hope in God or even a hero figure on a natural level. Ben Uchida is merely recording the way things are, rather than reflecting on them (with the exception of becoming somewhat cynical). It finally struck me that what the author has done is portray many of the major aspects of the hardships of the internment camp through the eyes of one boy and have all of the different sorts of problems occur within his close circle of friends. I believe that this is somewhat unrealistic and that the book should be read by children old enough to understand this concept. Other than that (and the objectionable incident mentioned above) it really does give the reader a sense of the significance of this terrible event in American history which - even in the politically correct climate of modern America - is largely ignored. The Historical Note section (17 pages) is quite interesting. It includes some factual information about the camps, a number of black and white photos, and a brief history of the treatment of Chinese and Japanese in America (and particularly the discriminatory laws aimed against them over the years). It is also interesting that Franklin Roosevelt (who is so admired by "the left" today) is quite fairly criticized for committing such a crime against American citizens (by Executive Order) and it is interesting that it was Ronald Reagan who attempted to make some sort of retribution (however inadequate) to the Internment Camp survivors.

The Pierce family has now lived in the Texas Panhandle for five years. Shy, insecure, fifteen-year-old Katie, who has always lived in the shadow of her confident, older, sister, Melinda, now steps to the forefront as she takes on new responsibilities when her sister marries and moves away to Amarillo and her mother, upset and worried about Grandmother’s broken hip, leaves to go back to east Texas to take care of her.

Taking over mama’s role of caring for the family is more than a new set of responsibilities for Katie as she puts on hold her dream of studying art and music. With her mother gone, Katie soon finds out just how much she knows about cooking in the kitchen. This is not the only area Katie will have to learn about. Always extremely sensitive, she now must deal with her older brothers’ teasing and the taunting of a bully at school. Oh, what to do and how to handle it!

This is a wonderful story to encourage a young girl to understand what it means to be virtuous and beautiful. Throughout the story, the author makes references to the inner beauty of a young lady’s heart, whether it is Katie’s or the other young women around her.

Katie was aware of Mr. Palmer’s look of gratitude in Annie’s direction. She remembered her own deep sense of comfort at the sight of Annie when she had first arrived this afternoon. And, remembering all these things, Katie wondered if maybe Annie didn’t have a gift of her own—the gift of making people happy.

Perhaps that was the finest gift of them all.

A woman’s beauty is not found in her wearing a bonnet to prevent her from turning brown, but much more.

While the opening chapter seems choppy and hard to follow, once the plot develops, the book is hard to put down. The plot comes to an exciting climax when a blizzard suddenly sweeps across the plains, burying Katie alone with the younger students in the one room school house. It is Katie’s resourcefulness that saves the day.

Years ago the telephone company ran an ad that sang, “Reach out, reach out and touch someone.” But what if you were too afraid to reach out? What if you were too ashamed of your new circumstances to ask for help? That is the situation for the Warren family, a family that moves to the Texas Panhandle in The Good Land.

Carolyn is the youngest member of the Pierce family. At fifteen, she feels on the verge of adulthood. In her mind, however, everyone seems to treat her as the “baby” of the family and she resents it. Can’t they see how mature she is? After all, she is going to Amarillo to a real high school in the fall.

Amarillo will be a whole new adventure for Carolyn. She wonders what living in the city will be like. She wonders if she will have any friends. She wonders if she will miss her family, even though she will be living with her sister.

In the meantime, however, Carolyn wants to reach out and help the new family that has moved into the area, especially Rowena a girl almost her age.

But after two local boys play a mean trick on them, the father wants nothing to do with the local farmers.

That is until a prairie fire threatens to destroy the Warren home, livestock, and land. Will everyone join together in time to save the Warren family?

Loula Grace Erdman expresses an intuitive understanding of a young teenage girl’s heart, all her secret desires and threatening fears.

The Good Land is both an engaging read and an uplifting story. The exciting plot carries the reader along, while at the same time developing the characters’ virtues. The purity and goodness of the characters shines through even as they struggle with their faults.

Although the book is part of a highly recommended series, The Good Land stands on its own.

In the end, Carolyn finds out that growing up can be both complicated and wonderful. With quite the dramatic ending, The Good Land is also a beautiful unfolding of a love story as love stories should be, focusing on relationships and character, especially kindness to others under all circumstances.

Your daughter won’t want to miss this uplifting story of courage and kindness.

This first volume in the Catholic American history program, Land of Our Lady, is intended for the fourth grade. It overviews history from Creation to just before Columbus' voyage in 1492. The focus is mostly on Western History - Europe and the Middle East - but Ancient China is also touched upon. Emphasis is placed on the origins of democracy and people in history who were instrumental in its development in various forms (as a preparation for the study of American History - this year's text develops the "background"). The text is very Catholic with a great deal of attention given to Saints who had a role in history and the Catholic Church's influence on civilization. Also included between each Unit are a Marian hymn (with a black and white illustration of Our Lady) and the history of the hymn. While some more controversial issues such as the Inquisition aren't covered (which is reasonable for a 4th grade text), I was happy to see the author point out some of the good and bad of events such as the Crusades. This balanced presentation of history is more helpful for students who have to prepare themselves to defend their Faith in the future.

The text is readable and interesting (although do keep in mind that I LOVE history), but still rather textbookish. Because it is an overview, many topics are covered rather briefly and the "stories" of history aren't present. There are a rather large quantity of written problems, activities and other reviews designed to reinforce the ideas in the text. I would be inclined to only use some of the written problems and instead supplement with some "living books" (stories from History), such as those listed on our Timeline of Good History Reading.