Genre 5: Historical Novels

Bibliography

Kadohata, Cynthia. 2004. Kira-Kira. ISBN 0-689-85639-3

Chapter 1 Excerpt

“My sister, Lynn, taught me my first word: kira-kira. I pronounced it ka-a-ahhh, but she knew what I meant. Kira-kira means "glittering" in Japanese. Lynn told me that when I was a baby, she used to take me onto our empty road at night, where we would lie on our backs and look at the stars while she said over and over, "Katie, say 'kira-kira, kira-kira.'" I loved that word! When I grew older, I used kira-kira to describe everything I liked: the beautiful blue sky; puppies; kittens; butterflies; colored Kleenex.”


Plot Summary

Cynthia Kadohata's book, Kira-Kira, details the life of Japanese Americans Katie Takeshima, her sister Lynn, and their family. They originate in Iowa, but have to move to Georgia where there is more work for her parents to get so that they can better take care of the family. This move was not easy for the family and adjusting to their new life down South was even harder. Deep down they know that they are immigrants, but to have people openly express their prejudice against this family's Japanese heritage was very hard on everyone. Katie and Lynn share a very close bond, which ultimately helped them to cope with their new life. Lynn was the older of the 2 sisters and she had a vivid imagination. Her enthusiasmn and magical way of looking at the world was Katie's strength. Lynn taught Katie that even in the midst of hard times, she should look at every situation as "kira-kira," which means "glittering" in Japanese. While inspiring her younger sister Katie, Lynn develops lymphoma and subsequently dies. Of course this is heartbreaking to Katie and her family, but she must be of support to her remaining family. It is the "kira-kira" ideal that Katie holds onto that helps her to get through life with undieing hope.

Critical Analysis

Kira-Kira is Cynthia's Kadohata's first book written for middle school age and older readers. This story is told in first person and the reader can almost see through the eyes of Katie. The author allows the story to flow easily and the first person voice takes us on a sad, yet often times humorous journey with this family. From the first page of the book where Lynn teaches a young Katie that "kira-kira" was a Japanese word meaning "glittering" , which Katie pronounced incorrectly at first: "I pronounced it ka-a-ahhh" to the last page where Katie said "I could still hear her dead sister's voice in the waves: Kira-kira! Kira-kira!" Kadohata's deep sentiment for the characters are evident. She also made the simple things we take for granted seem important and necessary for our existence and happiness. In a school essay that Katie wrote after Lynn's death, she said that "Lynn could take a simple, everyday object like a box of Kleenex and use it to prove how amazing the world is." One can't help but smile when a sister tells her baby sister that tissue glitters "just to make it feel better!" "Kira-kira" definitely keeps us hopeful and reminds us of how we should enjoy life while we have the chance. This Newbery Award winning book will remain with readers for years to come.

Style

In the narration of Kira-kira, Japanese words appear throughout. These words are probably foreign to many readers, but the author included English translations. We got the meaning of Katie's brother middle name. His name is Samson Ichiro Takeshima. "His middle name means 'first son'." The dialect of the southerners was also prevelant in this book. People talked and sounded differently than what Katie and her family were use to. When describing how the people down South spoke, Katie said, "they talked like their mouths were full of rubber bands." As in Kadohata's books, examples of dialect are seen in many historical books. Moreover, this book probably appeals to many ethnic readers since it is sensitive to their cultures. But on the other hand, like in many of her other books, Kadohata writes about topics that may be of more interest to adult readers. For example, we learn about how workers are often times mistreated in factories and how they try to fight for better working conditions by joining unions. Katie mentioned that her "mother and father sometimes talked in low voices about the attempts to unionize the plant." Young readers may not be drawn to grown-up type talk in the books they are reading.

Theme

Kadohata doesn't shy away from talking about racial issues in her books. Actually, many of her books talk about the plight of Japanese Americans and how they are victims of racism. On their journey down South, Katie's family stops at a motel and they see first hand how ethnic people are treated. While they are waiting to check into a room, the motel clerk tells the family, "Indians stay in the back rooms." Katie responded, "We're not Indian." The clerk responded by saying, "Mexican's too." There are also examples of racism towards other races in this book and Katie's family sees this as well. While in some restaurants, people would stare at them as they stared at the "signs that said things like COLORED IN THE BACK." The author also weaves illness and loss into her story of Kira-kira. To Katie, Lynn symbolized strength because she was able to always see the good in everything and this seemed to help keep the family together. Even though Lynn's death was inevitable, Katie felt really bad because she was not by her side like her sister was always on hers. "That cut hard into me...I could not imagine what dying must have felt like for her. I had no idea whether it mattered or not to her that she had been alone at the exact moment she died. But I thought maybe it did matter."


Review Excerpts

John Newbery Medal, 2005
Asian Pacific American Award for Literature, 2005
ALA Top Ten Book
Booklist Editor's Choice
Childrens Literature Choice

Starred review in Booklist: "Kadohata stays true to the child's viewpoint in plain beautiful prose that can barely contain the passionate feelings...The quiet words will speak to the readers who have lost someone they love- or fear that they could."
Starred review in Publisher's Weekly: "The family's devotion to one another, and one sister's ability to teach her younger sister to appreciate the "kira-kira", or glittering, in everyday life make this novel shine."

Connections

This is an excellent book to teach children abouth the importance of family ties. It's also a good choice for further helping students understand the Japanese culture.

*Gather other books by Cynthia Kadohata:
Weedflower. ISBN 978-0-689-86574-9
The Floating World. ISBN 0345381629

*Further Reading
Garland, Sherry. Shadows of the Dragon. ISBN. 0152735321
Lee, Marie. Finding My Voice. ISBN 0606243577
Brown Diggs, Nancy. Steel Butterflies. ISBN 0791436241

*Activities/Assignments related to Kira-kira:

1. Students can keep a diary for a week chronicling their life by freely expressing their thoughts, ideas, and opinions about the people and things around them.

2. Students can research and compare different ethnic group's participation in unions during the 1950's. They can also give their personal feedback on whether or not they would join a union as Katie's mom did by explaining why or why not.