Kazuko: Sixth Grade in World War II Hiroshima
Ages: 12-15, 16-18, 18+
This is the story of a young Japanese girl's experience living through the world's first atomic bomb and its aftermath.
Kazuko describes the relatively carefree days before the war, the increased tempo of war through her elementary school days, and August 6, 1945, the day the bomb fell. The chaos and disruption are palpable as she describes the following days of uncertainty and confusion during evacuation, surrender, and occupation of her home country. In time, she met some of those occupiers, and she concludes her story with impressions of them and her eventual move to the country of her former enemy.
This is a story of resilience and determination set in a time of historical significance. It was a time of great change, and Kazuko shares her observations of it in this engaging memoir.
Reviews
“Even the chaos I witnessed while rushing home didn’t prepare me for seeing my house destroyed,” she writes. Such simple, straightforward reflections fill this little book with warmth and immediacy. An involving memoir of ordinary life in WWII-era Hiroshima.
One of the book’s strengths is its vivid, personal storytelling. . . but what most stands out is the portrait of a resilient, hopeful girl amidst unimaginable adversity. . . Stirring and unforgettable memoir of a Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor.
