Theme: The book, So Far From the Sea, can be used to introduce your students to Japanese-Americans, internment camps, World War II, refugees, discrimination, multigenerational families, parents who have jobs and homes that were taken them away from them, parents who serve in the military.

Background: It was 1942, the President agreed to remove all persons of Japanese lineage… aliens and citizens alike, from the areas of California, Oregon and Washington. There were 2,192 Japanese Americans arrested by the FBI. President Roosevelt created the War Relocation Authority (WRA). Milton Eisenhower became responsible for the plan to move the Japanese Americans to the internment camps. Congress imposed federal penalties for Japanese who refuse to obey the orders. The United States opened Manzanar, the first American concentration camp.

Pre-reading: Show the students the cover of the book, read its title and the names of its author and illustrator. Ask them what they think the book will be about. Next show the class a few of the book’s pictures and ask them again what the book will be about. Talk with the class about the location of the book and tell students that the book has a story within a story. Explain that the father will tell a story that happened many years ago.

Reading: Show the book’s illustrations to the class as you read the story. Ask them to study the illustrations carefully. What details can they find in the pictures? Have them look closely at the expressions on the faces for the characters. How do their expressions change during the story? Ask the class how the characters were feeling while they were waiting for the bus to the camps. Do the illustrations communicate these feelings?

Interview: Talk with a Japanese-American. Do they know anyone who was interned in the camps? How has life in America changed for Japanese Americans? Or interview a WWII Veteran. Find out about their experience during the war. Write a short story about the person you interviewed.

Social Studies: Locate Japan on a world map. Spend more time studying Japanese Americans, Pearl Harbor and WWII. Talk about the internment camps in America. Why were the Japanese interned and not the Italians or the Germans?

Literature: Read books like, Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida, Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say, I am an American by Jerry Stanley. Look for other books by Eve Bunting or Chris Soentpiet.

Art: Make an Origami Popper

Start with a perfectly square sheet of blank printer paper. Special origami paper can be used, but I found that regular blank printer paper works fine. And, you can decorate it any way you want!

Easy instructions with pictures can be found at origami-instructions.com.

Bulletin Board: Display a large suitcase in your classroom. Have each student list what they would pack if they had to leave home suddenly. Remember, they only have one suitcase and they must be able to carry it!

If you enjoyed reading So Far From the Sea write a review and post it online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble so others can enjoy your reading experience.

 

Author, Eve Bunting

The author of more than 150 books, Eve Bunting has written something for every age group on subjects ranging from homelessness (Fly Away Home), a modern-day look at a Civil War battlefield (The Blue and the Gray), the Irish village of Maghera where she was born (Market Day), and Smoky Night, about the Los Angeles riots, illustrated by David Diaz and winner of a Caldecott Medal.

Look for another Eve Bunting and Chris Soentpiet collaboration, Jin Woo.