"Dear Miss Breed" by Joanne Oppenheim (Non-Fiction)

How many of you remember 9/11? If not what about the latest terrorist attack at the airport? Did you notice how some people will treat Muslims differently after these incidents - like it is all their fault. That they themselves had a hand in it, even though you have seen them every day for the last however long. Do you think this is the first time that has happened in the United States? Well, it isn't. In fact many times, just being associated with the culture that did the deed, makes you as guilty as the guilty party. In "Dear Miss Breed", the author, Joanne Oppenheim takes us back to a time in history right after Pearl Harbor. She connects us to the Japanese Americans who lived in San Diego who were moved to internment camps in the center of the U.S. In this real story of Miss Clara Breed, a Children's Librarian at the San Diego Public Library opens up to us through a series of letters that were written to her by her young patrons from these camps. Through these we learn of the hardships, loss of family, and the prejudice they all encountered. We will follow them from being told to leave their homes to after the war and see what happens to these children. Over 200,000 Japanese Americans were interred during WWII and in this book you will learn exactly what happened. Oppenheim also was able to connect with some of these children to interview them on what they remembered, so you will get first hand accounts.
If you like to read about real people and how history shaped their lives, then this is the book for you.