Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Krawczyk
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Gentle, true story about finding love, hope in prison camp.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
LOVE IN THE LIBRARY is based on the experiences of the author's maternal grandparents, who were imprisoned at the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho during World War II. Her grandmother, Tama, works at the camp library. She finds comfort in books and in helping others, but she's also scared, sad, and lonely. Tama meets George at the library, and together they find companionship, love, and hope amid the injustices and difficulties. The book also features an ensemble of Japanese Americans of all ages living among family and community, engaging in everyday activities such as reading, cleaning, and playing baseball. In an author's note at the end of the book, Tokuda-Hall gives more information about her grandparents and the history of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Is It Any Good?
This gentle introduction to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II is beautifully told with spare text and muted illustrations. In Love in the Library, bleak conditions and injustices are evident, but so are hope and resilience. The true story of author Maggie Tokuda-Hall's grandparents is inspiring and heartwarming positioned in the bigger story of human dignity in the midst of great injustice. Young readers will connect to illustrations that show children doing every day things like choosing a book at the library or playing baseball in the yard with friends. Imamura's warm, earth-toned illustrations nicely mirror the feelings of both uncertainty and hope in the text.
Tokuda-Hall ends the story with a quote from her grandmother's journal, written during her time at the camp: "The miracle is in us." Families can use this book as a starting point to further discuss incarceration camps and other injustices that have occurred throughout U.S. history. The author's note gives more information, poses questions, and inspires hope.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Love in the Library shows that Japanese Americans were incarcerated in prison camps during World War II. Did you know this happened in the United States during World War II? What else do you know about World War II? How could you find out more?
Tama works in the library at the camp. She's often afraid and worried, but she also finds comfort in reading books. Think of a time when you were afraid or worried. What or who comforted you? How?
The illustrations in Love in the Library show people in the camp doing everyday things, like reading, studying, or playing baseball, with barbed wire fences and guard towers surrounding them. What's your favorite illustration in the book and why? How does it make you feel?
Book Details
- Author: Maggie Tokuda-Hall
- Illustrator: Yas Imamura
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Great Boy Role Models , Great Girl Role Models , History
- Book type: Non-Fiction
- Publisher: Candlewick
- Publication date: February 1, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 6 - 9
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: April 1, 2022
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