Yukie's Island: My Family's World War II Story
by Yukie Kimura (Author) Kōdo Kimura (Illustrator)
A moving picture book autobiography about a family's resilience and path to healing after the devastation of war.
It's 1945, the final year of World War II. Yukie Kimura is eight years old. She lives on a tiny island with a lighthouse in the north of Japan with her family, and she knows that the fighting that once felt so far away is getting closer.
Mornings spent helping her father tend to the lighthouse and adventuring with her brother are replaced by weeks spent inside, waiting. At some point, Yukie knows, they may be bombed.
Then, it happens. One Sunday, bombs are dropped. The war ends soon after that. Everyone tells Yukie there's nothing to be scared of anymore, but she's not so sure. So she watches and she waits--until a miraculous sight finally allows her to be a kid again.
This is the true story of Yukie Kimura told in her own words, co-created with her son, illustrator Kodo Kimura, and co-written with bestselling Newbery Honor author Steve Sheinkin. Yukie's Island is an honest, thoughtful, and stirring picture book about being a child living through wartime.
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Kirkus
Older children can read the in-depth backmatter for historical context; younger readers will need guidance from well-informed grown-ups.... A thin tale with far richer backmatter.
ALA/Booklist
School Library Journal
Gr 3-5--In simple text and pastoral illustrations, this book offers a look at how war affects children. Yukie lives an idyllic life helping her dad maintain the lighthouse and playing with her brother on a tiny island off the coast of Japan. It is 1945 and World War II feels very far away, until the day the bombs start to fall. When Yukie and her family emerge from the bomb shelter, Yukie no longer feels safe or lighthearted. The world around her begins to heal, but it takes a unique miracle for Yukie to feel like the explorer she once was. The text is minimal, with only one or two sentences per page. Oil on canvas filled with bright blues and greens create serene scenes that highlight the carefree and happy life that Yukie has before the bombings. These turn gray and dismal after the bombings to show the main character's inner turmoil--a jumping-off point for discussion in the classroom. Sheinkin's author's note describes how the idea for the book came to be. Kimura's note provides more detail about his mother, Yukie, and her life in Japan. VERDICT An accessible and compelling book on a tough topic. Purchase for a unique perspective on World War II.--V. Lynn Christiansen
Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Steve Sheinkin is the acclaimed author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories, including Fallout, Undefeated, Born to Fly, The Port Chicago 50, and Bomb. His accolades include a Newbery Honor, three Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, a Sibert Medal and Honor, and three National Book Award finalist honors. He lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife and two children.
Kodo Kimura is a painter whose work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in the U.S. and internationally. Born in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, he studied art in Tokyo and now lives in New York. Yukie's Island is his debut picture book. Yukie Kimura was born in 1937 on a tiny remote island in south Hokkaido called Matsumae Kojima. In 1943, her family moved to Bentenjima, where the events of this picture book take place. Since then, Yukie has become a skilled craftsman and dye artist, raised two boys, and started an herbal garden business with her late husband, Haruo Kimura. She currently lives in Date, Hokkaido, Japan.JNF025130 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | Military & Wars
JNF007000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | General
JNF038020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | Asia
Family
World War, 1939-1945
Japan
Children
Lighthouse keepers
Lighthouses
Kimura, Yukie
Suzuki family
Benten Jima Island
Benten Jima Island (Japan)
