Kadohata's Weedflower

Kira-Kira, by this author, was very depressing and set during an odd historical period, so it's hard to get students to read it. This book, however, is a very vivid portrait of a family removed from their flower farm and sent to an internment camp because of the national feeling against the Japanese during WWII. This is a fine addition to a limited but interesting body of fiction that includes:
Denenberg: The Journal of Ben Uchinda

Otsuka: When the Emperor Was Divine

Salisbury: Eyes of the Emperor

Garrigue: The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito

Uchida: Jar of Dreams