Returning the Sword: How a Japanese Sword of War Became a Symbol of Friendship and Peace

by Caren Stelson

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, History

32 pages, Hardcover

Published October 7, 2025

About the author

Caren Barzelay Stelson

Reviews

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a poignant, beautifully illustrated book about war, peace, and reconciliation, geared to readers 7 to 11. Highly recommended!

[Bree Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley, Lerner Publishing Group, and Carolrhoda Books for providing me an ARC copy. All opinions are my own and are not influenced.

This children's book beautifully tells the story of World War II American veteran Orval Amdahl and his experience in Nagasaki after the atomic bombing. Orval witnesses the devastation aftermath of the bombing and, when returning home, he was given a Japanese sword. He held onto it for years after, until he reached out to a reporter and she helped him find the rightful owner of the sword. This story is about history, war, peace, and humanity, and is based on a true event.

This book is educational in a way that a child can understand the devastation of what happened in Nagasaki after the atomic bombs. The way the author and illustrator captured Orval's PTSD from the war is subtle, but it left a lasting impact on me in the book.

[Patricia Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful story. The authors note, and the additional info in the back of the book had me tearing up.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caron Stelson, author of another non-fiction picture book, Stars of the Night, goes back to WWII for this one but instead of the Czech KinderTransport, focuses on a soldier’s return from Nagasaki with a souvenir sword and the eventually healing for his war-weary and saddened heart when, years later, he finds the family of the original owner and returns the heirloom.

Captain Orval Amdahl was a U.S. Marine who served on Guadalcanal, the Russel and Marshall Islands, and Saipan before being stationed in Nagasaki to assist in the aftermath of the war, the bombing and eventual surrender of Japan. Like many others, when his tour of duty was over, he left with a legally obtained souvenir sword that started out in his closet. He later began to maintain the sword, musing about his years of service and his desire for healing for those who served and/or suffered during the war. A brief search by a Japanese friend of the author found the family of the sword’s original owner and arrangements were made for a ceremony returning the sword and promoting peace and healing between the U.S. and Japan.

The main text is kept to approximately 1-2 paragraphs per page and large, digitally created illustrated by Amanda Yoshida filling the remaining spaces. The story keeps to the primary elements of Amdahl’s military service in Nagasaki, his return to the states and finally, his efforts to reunite the sword to the first owners. Back matter expands on all three of those components and includes a message from Tadahro Motomura, the son of the Japanese soldier who initially owned the sword.

Recommended for libraries serving lovers of history in grades 3-5.

Thanks for the print arc, Lerner & Carolrhoda Books.

[K.C. Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting bit of history, told in a way that's accessible for kids, I think. I feel a bit weird rating it based on one big issue: when mentioning "the war" and "the bomb" in the main text, there is no indication of who the US Was at war with, or who dropped the bomb. It found it odd that such passive language was used in these instances, when the artist didn't shy away from including (non-graphic) images of war.

The notes in the back address this, and my best guess is that, given the nature of picture books, the author didn't want to spend valuable wordcount trying to explain the context of the events. Perhaps the idea is that parents and/or teachers will already be discussing these things with their kids/students, or that this book will be read in the context of a semester project. Back in my day *waves cane* we had a whole segment of one school year dedicated to learning about Japan, a little bit about WWII, and talking about Sadako, etc. and other related subjects around the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. If the idea is to whip this book out in a similar setting, this would be great. Otherwise, I feel a little weird about the way this part of the story gets glossed over.

All that said, given the West's extensive history of looting and stealing and then making a museum about it, I appreciate the idea of sharing outlier stories with young readers. I just think there needs to be more context, which may vary depending on the ages of any kids involved.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this picture book ARC.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this story. I never knew about this part of WWII. This book is very informative. I liked that it had the information of what happened during the real events in the back of the book as well. I think anyone could enjoy this book and not only Children. It is a very interesting story.

I loved the artwork in the book. I thought that all of it was very beautiful and drawn really well. One of my favorites was how the artist drew the nature aspects of the book. The trees and the ocean were beautiful. The pacing of the book was good too. I felt like I sunk into the story very easily with how the pace was in combination with the images.

The writing was done really well. I could feel the every emotion of the characters with each page I read. Reading this book definately made me want to learn more about the topics even more. The writer really knows how to spark your interest. I think children who love art will love looking at the photos of this book and parents who love history will like to share this book with their kids.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

This nonfiction picture book shares the true story of Orval Amdahl, a Midwestern American soldier who went home after World War II with a beautiful souvenir sword from Japan. He received this sword through official means, since the US Army had confiscated weapons from the surrendered Japanese and allowed their own soldiers to take swords as souvenirs. However, decades later, Amdahl pursued returning the sword to its original owners.

He was able to get in contact with the family of the man who had originally owned this sword, and this book tells the inspiring story of their connection, and how it helped heal wounds. This unique book will appeal to people who are fascinated by World War II history, and it is also a great story about pursuing peace and reconciliation.

I received a temporary digital copy from NetGalley, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Reba · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful TRUE story for a gorgeous illustration! This is a wonderful book; I hope all libraries carry it in their collection. The story is rich, and I give it bonus points for Japanese text with translation used in the dialogue.

[Crystal The Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so sweet. As a children's book, I liked it. I am not sure the story flowed as well, but you get the story.

I enjoyed that this book had a different perspective from WWII.

#returningthesword #netgallery

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nonfiction picture books are the best. I love getting what could have been a whole chapter book in a bite size bit of information. It gets to the point and tells a beautiful story at the same time.

Topics: WWII, Japan, Minnesota, Marine, Sister-Cities, Nagasaki, Sword, Reporter

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up.

ARC from Netgalley.

[Dolores · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely heart-warming story.

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story, but my favorite part was the end pages, where the author explained the true story.