Rachel Lyash - Weedflower

For the pre-reading, I really tried to think about how horrible it feels to be lonely. I have moved so many times in my life that feeling lonely is really something I know well. You never really forget the feeling of having no one to talk to, hang out with, or even someone just to look at. I also remember that being lonely means that you're often stuck inside your head, which can be dangerous if you're not happy.

Sumiko was a great character, and I thought she was very strong. I thought Cynthia Kadohata did an amazing job at capturing the voice of children; she also made such an impression with the class party. Sumiko was so excited to finally go to a party and finally make some friends; she had no idea about the prejudice that was really out there. While I was reading about the mother of the birthday girl telling Sumiko that she wasn't welcome at the party, I literally felt a little sick and my mouth fell open. One reason I think Sumiko is a great, strong character is because she was shocked, but she knocked on the door and asked for her gift back. I loved that she didn't run away crying immediately and that she realized those people didn't deserve the beautiful scarf.

My two favorite characters in this book are definitely Sumiko and Frank; I love their chemistry and friendship. Reading about the way Frank would glance at her and look at her when he was talking to Tak-Tak just reminded me of early middle school days. I thought this book was an excellent read, and it flowed very smoothly. The author also does an amazing job at creating empathy for the characters.

I think Weedflower would be a perfect book for the classroom; it's an interesting and steady moving story, it's a great historical fiction novel, it has many possible lesson plans, and it can really show students the injustice that the Japanese and Native Americans went through during this time. As far as lesson plans, you could assign the class a journal where they write as if they were in the Japanese camp. Students could also research a wide variety of topics: WWII, Japanese camps, Native American treatment during this time, the culture of the United States during WWI, etc.