Journey to Topaz
Written by: Yoshiko Uchida
Published by: Heyday Books
Lexile Measure: 970 L
"Mr. Kurihara had said America was making prisoners of its own citizens, inspecting them, searching them, and herding them like cattle from one camp to another.
But she remembered too what Mother had said back to him. 'Fear has made this country do something she will one day regret, Mr. Kurihara, but we cannot let this terrible mistake poison our hearts. If we do, then we will be the ones to destroy ourselves and our children as well. Don't you see?' Mother had said. 'We must make the best of it.'" (pg. 90).
Summary: The events of Pearl Harbor changed young Yuki's life forever. Soon after the bombing FBI agents took her father into custody, questioning his loyalty to the United States. Her family was forced to pack up and leave their home. They were moved away from the West Coast and into an internment camp in Central Utah. This is the story of friendship, challenges, choices and a young girls bravery as she experiences life at Topaz, Utah's War Relocation Center located near Delta.
Learning Objectives: This story provides an account of Yuki's journey from California into Utah and eventually to Salt Lake City. (Standard 2, Objective 1 a.). Yuki provides a great description of each of the places she calls home along the way allowing students to connect with her journey.
Discussion about moving or packing all of your possessions. Yuki's family must pack everything they are going to take with them into two suitcases each. What would your students bring/leave?
Mapping her route while paying attention to the detail of each home.
- her beautiful home and garden pages 1-4
- Tanforan Assembly Center (a racetrack which had the stables converted into "apartments") pages 46-51
- Topaz pages 83, 97
- Salt Lake City 146-149
Each location provided both positive experiences and negative experiences. Discuss the good things that happened and some of the negative things. How did these things make her experience harder or easier?
Many of the experiences that Yuki had can be related to experiences that students may face today. Some of these include being bullied (pg. 20), moving (pg. 41), loss of a parent, and family members being in the military. Making connections with others will help students gain empathy and understanding of classmates.
During the story there are many difficult things that happen to Yuki, yet she remains happy. How does attitude affect our situation?
The history of internment camps, World War II and Pearl Harbor can also be discussed along with this book. There are many parallels between the treatment of the Japanese people and the Jews in Germany which could facilitate conversation about that as well.
