Eureka!

Remembering Manzanar

Publication Information

Author: Cooper, Michael L.

Illustrator:

Title: Remembering Manzanar

Date: 2002

Publisher: Clarion

City: New York

ISBN, paperback: 0-618-06778-7

ISBN, hardback:

Recommended audience:

ABE/ABLE: Yes

ESOL: Yes

Family:

Young Adult: Yes

Picture:

General Information:

Book Type(s): nonfiction, photographic essay

HSE Descriptor(s): social studies

Summary:

Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government ordered forced evacuation of Japanese Americans who lived in the western U.S. This is the story of one relocation camp, Manzanar. The text is supported with archival photographs, end notes, Internet resources, and an index. The photographs by Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange and other famous photographers are especially interesting.

Teaching Ideas:

The book provides the historical center for a small but thoughtful text set about this shameful period of American history: The Children of Topaz, So Far from the Sea, and Home of the Brave. Teachers familiar with Snow Falling on Cedars may want to read excerpts from it aloud as well. Students will find much to discuss and debate. For example, they may wish to consider the overall decision to relocate, its consequences on the families involved. Comparison to post-9/11 prejudices are possible. In addition to the WWW resources mentioned in the end notes, the following will provide related information: "Conscience and the Constitution" (http://www.pbs.org/itvs/conscience), "Children of the Camps" (http://www.children-of-the-camps.org), and the "Japanese American Exhibit and Access Project" (http://www.lib.washington.edu/exhibits/harmony/default.html).

Teaching Strategies: