Dash

Book title __________Dash_________________________

Author, Illustrator _ Kirby Larson and Kathy Hsieh__________

 Publisher, Year ____ Scholastic Inc. _2016___________________________

Bibliography

Larson, K. (2016). Dash. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN 9780545416368

Plot Summary

Due to her heritage, Mitsi Kashino and her family were forced to pack their suitcases and evacuate their home and leave their dog, Dash, after the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. Mitsi and her family were relocated to a few overly crowded internment camps. The only comfort for Mitsi were letters she received from her beloved dog, Dash.

Critical Analysis

Larson’s Dash is one of her few books that take place during WWII and has a dog that greatly impacts the story. As a Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award recipient, Dash takes into consideration the era it is based on, the events that were occurring during this time, and the audience it is intended to reach. Larson provides pictures and links to the resources she used in this book to make sure the information was reliable on her website. The story begins after winter break in 1942. Mitsi begins to experience prejudice from her friends and peers. This can be seen early on in the book when her friends starting referring to Misti as “Jap”, which leads to many more onslaughts of prejudice taunts and actions. For example, her best friends stop hanging around her; some kids picking on Misti after school repeating “remember Pearl Harbor”; Patty, at one point, changes the shape of her face by narrowing her eyes and hurls insults to Misti. Finally, Misti finds hurtful notes about her in her best friend’s, Mags, locker. The story continues to follow Misti and her family’s journey to the internment camps she must live in until she is reunited with her dog.

What captivates the intended audience is having the story from Misti’s point of view. It allows the story’s eyes to have the experience and exposure of an eleven-year-old Japanese American girl during World War II. There have been other books that have children’s perspective of WWII in other infamous books such as Night by Elie Wiesel or The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. However, what makes Dash stand out from the others is that it emphasizes the cruel treatment of Japanese Americans in America during that time. And what makes Dash more relatable is the author’s ability to captivate her audience by allowing Misti to explain her situation and how she views things rather than overloading the audience of everything that was going on at that time. Since the book is aimed at juvenile aged children, the book is set up like a chapter book rather than a picture book. Though there are eighteen chapters in the book, the chapters are short and hold the readers' attention. 

At the end of the book, the author provides author notes to explain more about Japanese and Japanese American roles during WWII. Larson explains Executive Order 9102 signed by President Roosevelt. The author’s note section acknowledges that Dash was inspired by true events of a girl named Misti who was separated from her dog “Chubby”.

Review Excerpts and Awards

·         Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award

·         Capitol Choices Nomination

·         NAPPA Gold Award

·         CBC Hot off the Press Featured Book

·         BEA Galleys to Grab

·         State Young Readers Choice Award Nominations:

o   Mississippi Magnolia Award

o   New Hampshire Book Award

o   Tennessee Volunteer State Award

o   Virginia Reader’s Choice Award

Kirkus Review: “Larson makes this terrible event in American history personal with the story of one girl and her beloved pet. Spot-on dialogue, careful cultural details and the inclusion of specific historical characters such as artist Eddie Sato make this an educational read as well as a heartwarming one. An author’s note adds further authenticity.”

Publishers Weekly: “Vividly communicates the emotional and physical ordeals endured by Japanese-Americans evacuated to relocation camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.”

Connections

If you would like to learn more about other books written by Kirby Larson, please visit the author’s website at http://www.kirbylarson.com/

If you would like to read other books that are based in WWII era, please consider reading the following books:

·         Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban ISBN 978-0374302160

·         Mare's War by Tanita Davis ISBN 978-0375857140

·         The War That Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley ISBN 978-0147510488