Barbed Wire Baseball

by Marissa Moss

As a boy, Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. Yet he grows up to be a successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig!

When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941, Zeni and his family are sent to one of ten internment camps where more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry are imprisoned without trials. Zeni brings the game of baseball to the camp, along with a sense of hope.

This true story, set in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, introduces children to a little-discussed part of American history through Marissa Moss’s rich text.

Praise for Barbed Wire Baseball

"In language that captures the underlying sadness and loss, Moss emphasizes Zeni’s fierce spirit as he removes every obstacle in order to play his beloved baseball and regain a sense of pride. Shimizu’s Japanese calligraphy brush–and-ink illustrations colored in Photoshop depict the dreary landscape with the ever-present barbed wire, with that beautiful grassy baseball field the only beacon of hope." (Kirkus Reviews)

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Sports, Biography, History, Baseball, Childrens

Audible Audio

First published April 9, 2013

About the author

Marissa Moss has written more than seventy books, from picture books to middle-grade and young adult novels. Best known for the Amelia's Notebook series, her books are popular with teachers and children alike. Her picture book Barbed Wire Baseball won the California Book Award gold medal. Moss is also the founder of Creston Books, an independent children's publishing house.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new baseball season looms in the ol' U. S. of A. and I'll be watching, and listening. Growing up, I bent my ear almost every day to my transistor radio to listen to Ernie Harwell announce Detroit Tigers games. Sometimes I listened, or watched, with my Dad, who also numerous times a year drove me from my home in Grand Rapids across the state to Tiger Stadium. Bleacher seats 5 bucks. My Little League glove was wedded to my left hand; that is, when I was not filling out the score card for the game. In Denny McLain's 34 win season I saw 7 games (and can prove it, the ticket stubs still in my baseball card shoebox), though 3 of those games were losses!

When I was growing up I never read that other, equally passionate baseball fans played baseball here in this country in the forties behind barbed wire in desert concentration camps, Japanese-American families "interned" for fear that they would side with the Japanese post-Pearl Harbor. Was this racism, or a move to reflect reasonable fears? If so, where were the German camps for German-Americans? Families imprisoned for years?! I know, the impact of Pearl Harbor in those early hours was stunning, people were angry, but the apologies that came too little and too late were more than warranted.

I never knew this important story of Kenichi Zenimura, or Zeni, the "father of Japanese American baseball", when he and his family are sent to an interment camp. Before that, Zeni was an ambassador for baseball in Japan, playing alongside the likes of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. The focus of the story is not on the reasonable rage Zeni might have experienced, given his demonstrated patriotism and connections with American baseball, but on building a baseball field with several teams organized into leagues, sewing uniforms, building stands, and so on.

Marissa Moss is an established name in picture books, and I like it that this book exists, and it's well-written, but for me, there are too many words, making this more of an illustrated book than a picture book (where the pictures carry the primary work of the story) Because it is the sepia-toned period artwork of Yuko Shimizu that carries the day for me in this book, and it should be even more central, imo.

So: The All-American sport, played in prison by Japanese-Americans. A sad, shameful tale for a baseball fan to hear about. And I didn't know about it until decades later because the internment was never taught in school, and American baseball never acknowledged this period, so kids like me with mitts on our laps watched in ignorance. And it took decades for American baseball teams to begin to recruit Japanese players from a country that also loved baseball, thanks in part to Zeni, and they love it still.

A companion book I just read is "Baseball Saved Us" on the same topic.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading Michael Cunningham's A Wild Swan: And Other Tales, I noted the bio of its artist, Yuko Shimizu, on the outer flap: it mentions this book. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am interested in books about baseball, even if they are children's books, maybe even especially if they are children's books.

When I got to the story's third two-page illustration (page 7), with a grim Zeni in the forefront while roiling maroon war-clouds swirl in the background, I was nudged by how familiar the art seemed. Not until I finished the book and then looked up the artist's website did I realize I first saw her work on the covers of the graphic series that starts with The Unwritten, Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity. I should've realized and I can only excuse myself by saying I'm not really a visual person.

Kenichi Zenimura is now considered the father of Japanese baseball. Barely five-feet tall, he'd become a star player in Fresno (California) leagues; been chosen to play in exhibitions with Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, as well as organizing a 1934 tour to Japan for Ruth. After Pearl Harbor, Zeni, his wife and two sons were forced into one of the interment camps in the Arizona desert. There they had to stay, for four long years.

This book is the story of how Zeni built a real baseball field within the camp's confines, including bleachers that sat 6000 fans. Anyone who has experienced the thrill of walking into a baseball stadium will understand how it felt when the project was completed. The power Zeni must've felt as he finally hit the ball for the first time on his own playing field is depicted in one perfect picture. As he rounds the bases, his joy is now in the forefront of swirling clouds, this time of white.

Zenimura, with Gehrig on one side and Ruth on the other, is the man in the middle:

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Marissa Moss and illustrator Yuko Shimizu tell the story of Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura, a Japanese-American baseball player and team manager in this poignant and inspirational picture-book biography. Having loved the sport since he was an eight-year-old boy, when he saw his first game, Zeni grew up to play the sport, becoming a champion in California's Japanese-American leagues during the 1920s and 30s. He played with Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth in exhibition games, and took the latter on a baseball exhibition tour of Japan. But when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, everything changed. Zeni was sent, along with his family and more than 100,000 other Americans of Japanese descent, to an internment camp for the duration of World War II. Here, at Gila River War Relocation Center, he spearheaded a movement to build a baseball diamond, organizing the camp inmates into teams, and starting a camp league. Taking part in "America's Pastime" helped these wrongfully imprisoned citizens to feel free, even if only for a short time, and made them feel like they belonged in their own country. The book concludes with a detailed afterword about Zenimura, with an author's note, illustrator's note, bibliography and index...

I initially sought out Barbed Wire Baseball (which gained the sub-title "How One Man Brought Hope to the Japanese Internment Camps of WWII" in its paperback edition) after reading and enjoying The Cat Man of Aleppo , a title chosen earlier this year (2021) as a Caldecott Honor book. I was impressed to learn that The Cat Man of Aleppo was only expatriate Japanese illustrator Yuko Shimizu's second picture-book, and, finding the artwork in it so striking and appealing, decided to track down this first book she illustrated. I'm so glad I did, as I found both story and artwork here immensely appealing. The true story of Zenimura's actions, in building and managing a baseball league inside the internment camp, reminded me of the similar but fictional narrative in Ken Mochizuki's Baseball Saved Us , which I read years ago. Apparently there is a documentary about Zenimura, "Diamonds in the Rough: Zeni and the Legacy of Japanese-American Baseball," that includes the testimony of actor Pat Morita (of Karate Kid fame), who was also an internee at Gila River. I will have to see if I can track that down and watch it. In any case, I highly recommend this one to picture-book readers looking for baseball stories, stories of the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, or tales of inspirational people who, no matter how terrible the circumstance, never give up.

[Dov Zeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marissa Moss once again scripts a great kids picture book about a relatively unknown historical player and not-adequately-honored cultural hero. She and Yuko Shimizu team up on this one and hit it almost out of the ball-park.

I'll start with what I like about this book.The art is gorgeous. The story is captivating. Kenichi Zenimura aka Zeni's early determination to play baseball is, seemingly, indomitable and Moss seems to really relish the fabulist nature of the tale. Things that could be huge obstacles seem to melt in Zeni's presence like snowflakes on a hot sidewalk.

Zeni, as he is called throughout the book, the "father of Japanese American baseball", is thrown one of his biggest curve balls just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when he and his family are sent to an interment camp. After his internment, the book documents, page after page, his dogged construction of a playing field in the camp. Once again, seemingly daunting obstacles are easily overcome, and Zeni oversees the building of field, bleachers, the ordering of uniforms. He organizes a whole, spirited culture of baseball in the camp and likely improved the quality of life for a lot of people. (I can't help but wonder if there was any room for girls in this league.)

What do I have to complain about? Mainly this: we don't really understand from the story what is emotionally and otherwise at stake here. It's pretty happy go lucky all the way though, maybe even a little pollyanna, and while I don't think a kid's picture book is the place to stress the horrors of internment, there's just something a little too singularly focused in here. It makes me think of a soup that is lacking some grounding, earthy element. It works okay, but some ingredient is needed to bring out its fullness.

Another goodreads reviewer had a similar response to the book and recommends "Baseball Saved Us" as an alternative or complement. I look forward to reading it.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the time he was a young boy and saw his first baseball game, Kenochi "Zeni" Zenimura wanted to play baseball - he wanted that more than anything. And he was well on his way towards living his dream when he was old enough, managing local teams and playing with the Fresno Nisei League and the Fresno Twilight League, going to exhibition games in Japan, even playing with star players of the New York Yankees. It seemed Zeni was on top of the world, at least until December 7, 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

By now married with two teenage sons, Zeni and his family were forced to move to an internment camp just because they were of Japanese descent. Located on the Gila River Indian Reservation, it was hot and dry desert with too many people crowded into barrack after barrack, each containing row upon row of cots.

While families tried to make a home out of their allotted space, putting up curtains and decorating with all kinds of personal mementos, Zeni still dreamed about baseball and decided he was going to play - right in the desert!

And so he picked a spot and began to clear the grass and rocks, hard work in the desert heat. Yet before he knew it, others joined in to help, including his own sons. Using his ingenuity, his power of persuasion and any other means possible, little by little, Zeni and his helpers began to turn the desert into a baseball field, right down to bleaches for people to sit and watch games. And while the men worked on building a field, the women sewed uniforms out of potato sacks. Lastly, equipment was purchased with funds collected from among the detainees.

Barbed Wire Baseball is an excellent introduction to both Japanese American baseball and the internment of Japanese American in World War II. Marissa Moss gives the same attention to detail in her text that Zeni gave to creating his baseball field. And the beautiful illustrations by Yuko Shimizu bring the whole story together. This is the first children's book that Shimizu has illustrated and for it, she used a Japanese calligraphy brush and ink, than scanned and colored the illustrations with Photoshop, so that the colors give a real sense of the time.

At the end of Barbed Wire Baseball, there is an Afterword about Kenichi Zenimura life, as well as an Author's Note and an Artist's Note, which you may not want to miss reading. Moss has also included an useful Bibliography for further exploration of Japanese American baseball.

I had never heard of Kenochi Zenimura before, probably because I'm not much of a baseball person, but I really was impressed with his perseverance and dedication to creating a place where he and his fellow detainees could enjoy playing or watching baseball in an otherwise desolate place and that would give them all a sense of accomplishment and community. And having lived in Phoenix, AZ for 4 years and being somewhat familiar with the desert around it, I really understood what an accomplishment it was.

This book is a Picture Book for Older Readers and is recommeded for readers age 7+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

This book was orginally reviewed at The Children's War

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kenichi Zenimura fell in love with baseball as a boy, moving to Fresno in 1920 to pursue his dreams of playing with the pros. But after Pearl Harbor, Zeni and his family were sent to an internment camp, imprisoned without trial. Moss tells the story of how Zeni organized baseball teams in the camps, bringing his fierce sense of hope and justice to the hardships Japanese Americans faced during WW2.

[Richie Partington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richie's Picks: BARBED WIRE BASEBALL by Marissa Moss and Yuko Shimizu, ill., Abrams, April 2013, 48p., ISBN: 978-1-4197-0521-2

Dateline: July 4, 2013
"Despite their widespread national pride, Americans evince a much more negative response when asked if the signers of the Declaration of Independence would be pleased or disappointed by the way the United States has turned out. Seventy-one percent of Americans say the signers would be disappointed, while 27% say they would be pleased."
-- from Gallup.com

"Got a beat-up glove, a homemade bat, a brand-new pair of shoes
You know I think it's time to give this game a ride.
Just to hit the ball and touch 'em all -- a moment in the sun;
(pop) It's gone and you can tell that one goodbye!"
-- John Fogerty, "Centerfield"

"Turner went out to the street, looked at the green shutters of Mrs. Hurd's house, and walked back to the parsonage. The sea breeze, wearing its overcoat, followed him all the way until he closed the door on it. Then it tipped up into the sky and spread out, looking for a maple it could scorch or a beech it could blanch. It found the maple and went about its business, so that if Turner had looked out his front door, he might have seen the maple just past First Congregational shiver some and then coldly begin to burn into reds.
"But he didn't look out. He went up to his room and listened to the clicking of the typewriter from his father's study, and he thought about sunlight shutters and strawberry doors and Mrs. Hurd and baseballs hit higher than the dome of the Massachusetts State House and Lizzie Bright, and he suddenly knew that he needed to find a way back to Malaga Island."
-- from another book that incorporates baseball and historical American ignorance, LIZZIE BRIGHT AND THE BUCKMINSTER BOY by Gary D. Schmidt

"First he would need a playing field. There was plenty of empty space, but it was dotted with sagebrush and clotted with rocks."

Sometimes, I feel like a broken record. (Some might wonder, given the diminishing amount of new music on vinyl, whether today's kids have an understanding of that saying. But, actually, thanks to the popularity of glitch hop, plenty of them do.)

Picture books for older readers are so where it is at. Here's an exceptionally-engaging, well-researched, eye-catching, American history lesson, an excellent piece of nonfiction with a lexile level of 800 (perfect, by that measure, for typical fourth and fifth grade students), that will have young readers doing some real thinking and asking questions about the wisdom and manner in which America has behaved in the past.

I was a damned good student, and I loved American history. That I never, as a child, heard of the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII was not a result of my randomly being home with the flu on a day this topic was discussed at school. No, this was a topic that was not part of the curriculum, nor mentioned in the textbooks employed in my schools during the sixties and early seventies when I was growing up on Long Island. And I would begin my argument that the Founding Fathers would be quite proud of the way America has turned out -- however belatedly -- by citing the increasing openness over recent generations of America to look at and discuss how badly the white men in charge during the first couple of centuries behaved toward those who were female, Native American, black, Asian, non-Christian or, heaven forbid, gay. The changes that have been wrought in my lifetime, both in moving toward liberty and equality for all, and in our increasingly open discussion of how badly the country repeatedly screwed up in its treatment of so many people, makes me pleased to be part of the American experiment and certain that Tom, Ben, and John (who were signers), as well as George and James and Abigail (who were not signers) would all be blown away in a good way by what they found today.

I love BARBED WIRE BASEBALL. You have an unlikely hero, a guy barely five feet tall, born in Japan, who loves baseball, gets to meet and play exhibition games with the Babe and the Iron Horse (Ruth and Gehrig), and eventually ends up -- like 110,000 other Japanese-Americans -- in one of those internment camps in the desert. But Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura became a leader of those ill-treated Americans by creating a baseball field and organizing a baseball league in the Gila River detention facility in Arizona where he and his wife and sons were being held. He employs ingenuity and determination to create an amazing baseball field -- one which Turner Buckminster would be excited about -- and then uses the game to create community in this detention camp. You walk away from this book -- as with so many great picture books for older readers being published today -- going, "Whoa! What a great story! Why hadn't I heard of this guy/topic/issue before?"

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...

[Spencer Messinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for reading olympics 22/23 at my elementary school.

[Emma VanBuskirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss is a biography about Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura and his dream of playing baseball. The setting starts out in Fresno, California when the New York Yankees pick Zeni for their team during an exhibition game. After several years the setting shifts to Gila River, Arizona after Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japan. Zeni and his family were moved to a camp along with other Japanese Americans because they were seen as a threat to the government after what happened at Pearl Harbor. The theme of this biography is determination and hope. While in the camp, Zeni, his children, and many others helped build their own baseball field, so they could play while they were there. This book has won the Asian/Pacific American book award for its incredible story of Zeni's history and culture. The book's back matter includes an afterword that summarizes Zeni's baseball history and an author's and illustrator's note that shares what the story means to them.

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing story about the father of Japanese baseball and his life in an internment camp. Fantastic illustrations.

[Lori]

Barbed Wire Baseball

1)Text-to-World
What does this remind you of in the real world? Students should be given a chance to relate this story, based on the real life story of Zenichi Zenimutra to current happenings and past history. Connections could be found with war stories of WWII the students have heard, prison stories, stories of people surviving and thriving during difficult circumstances, and baseball stories.

2)Perspectives and Values:
a)Japanese Americans during WWII-Zeni’s family was placed in a prison camp at Gila River, Arizona where “he felt he was shrinking into a tiny hard ball” (p. 9);
b)Life and feelings in a prison-living within a fence “not allowed outside after dark…guards light swept across the yard” (p. 23) so no one would escape;
c)Conquering oppression using what you have, within yourself and around you-“He knew he was still behind a barbed wire fence, but he felt completely free, as airy and light as the ball he had sent flying” (p. 34);
d)Even though Zeni was small in stature compared to other big league baseball players “he felt ten feet tall, playing the game he loved so much. Nothing would ever make him feel small again” (p. 36).

3)Remembering: When did the story (based on real events) take place?
Applying: If you were imprisoned, even though you were innocent, what could you do to help
others imprisoned with you, like Zeni helped his fellow prisoners?
Evaluating: Do you think that Japanese Americans should have been imprisoned during WWII?
Why do you feel that way?
Understanding: How would you characterize Zeni’s actions during his imprisonment?
Analyzing: How would you contrast how America felt about and treated Janapese Americans
during WWII and now?
Creating: Using half the class in the Japanese American roles and half as the prison guards, act
out the story.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marissa Moss does such a wonderful job of presenting little known people who made a big impact on history in some way. She's done it again in sharing the story of Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura, the "father" of Japanese American baseball. This picture book biography would pair nicely with Kathryn Fitzmaurice's historical fiction title, A Diamond in the Desert. The illustrations, afterword, and bibliography add to the strength of this book.


I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you or order Barbed Wire Baseball on IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/978141...

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title page with a game ticket, the baseball image on the back echoing the Japanese flag, and the front cover with Japanese writing in the style of Japanese baseball cards from mid-twentieth century complete the package of this well-crafted, inspirational story. The artwork, done with Japanese calligraphy brush and ink, is a perfect match to this story of a man who continued his love of an all-American game while America imprisoned him.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zeni finds himself behind barbed wire in the Gila River War Relocation Center with his family and other Japanese-Americans during World War II. He decides to build a baseball field in the Arizona desert. The ingenuity this took to "do it right" is inspiring. The book, a true story about a dark point in American history, is actually fun and hopeful. The illustrations capture the feeling of each point in the story. You don't have to love baseball to be a fan of this book.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great picture book to use when introducing the U.S. internment of Japanese Americans.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent real life story of the inspiring Japanese-American baseball player, Kenichi Zenimura. He played in exhibition games with Lou Gherig and Babe Ruth and helped popularize the sport in Japan. During WWII, Zeni and his family were incarcerated at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona. The desert was hot and dry, the guards shone spotlights and guns on them and the people had very little but Zeni brought baseball to his people. He persisted and insisted on creating a REAL ball field even though his sons were impatient to play. The camp commander gave in to his requests and told the guards to look the other way when the men snuck around at night. Baseball gave the Japanese-American internees a sense of hope, pride and normalcy.

Marissa Moss's text is pretty straightforward and approachable for mid-elementary and up. I hope Japanese speaking children newly arrived in the U.S. can read it too. The story is pretty remarkable and an overall positive one.

The illustrations, by a recent transplant from Japan to New York, reflect traditional Japanese art. They were done in Japanese calligraphy brush and ink. The artist didn't know much about Japanese internment but her studio mate, Katie Yamasaki, was coincidentally, working on a book based on her own family's experiences in internment camps. She was able to provide a better understanding of the subject and further research online showed a lot of photos that inspired the internment camp.

Backmatter includes an Afterward with a one page bio of Zeni before, during and after the war. An author's note and an artist's note explain how they came to learn about this story and share it with readers. In tiny print in the back, there's a bibliography and index.

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbed Wire Baseball is a moving, visually arresting picture book biography that tells the story of Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura, a pioneering Japanese American baseball player who brought hope and purpose to life inside an internment camp during WWII. Through Marissa Moss’s spare, effective prose and Yuko Shimizu’s striking, stylized illustrations, readers are introduced to a little-known chapter in American history.

Reading this in today’s political climate adds layers of meaning. Zeni’s experience—an immigrant working tirelessly to achieve the American Dream, only to be stripped of his rights and freedom based on ancestry—feels tragically timeless. His resilience in the face of injustice is deeply affecting. Exiled to a bleak and inhospitable desert landscape, Zeni’s decision to build a baseball field echoes the spirit of Field of Dreams: if he builds it, they will come. And they do. First family. Then neighbors. Eventually thousands.

The heart of the story lies in that act of defiance-through-joy: carving out a space for dignity, community, and even play amid confinement and cruelty. The book’s final pages, including archival photos and detailed notes from both author and illustrator, enrich the narrative further and give young readers (and the adults reading alongside them) historical grounding.

This is a standout picture book biography that highlights resilience, creativity, and the enduring power of community. Barbed Wire Baseball doesn’t shy away from difficult truths, but it also offers young readers a story of hope and dignity. It’s a powerful, unforgettable read that deserves a place in every library and classroom.

[❂ Ann ❂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent the better part of last night crying over this book. Zeni was only 5ft, 100 pounds, but he was determined to have the American dream. And it came true because he ended up playing for the Yankees next to Babe Ruth until Pearl Harbor happened. Loyalty didn't matter; anyone of Japanese descent were shipped off to internment camps as possible spies and traitors. Zeni and his family were sent to Gila River Relocation Camp, Arizona. To overcome his malaise, Zeni decided to make the best of it. The desert climate and the barb wires didn't deter him. With the assistance of his sons, he rerouted laundry pipes, took wood from the fencing and watered down dust to clay and made a bonafide baseball field. Women sewed uniforms from potato sacks and the community came together to buy baseball bats, balls and gloves through the mail. Zeni coached, managed and organized many teams from prison. For when he played the game he truly felt free. Years later, in 2006, his descendants received accolades in his place. He was inducted into the Shrine of Eternals located in Cooperstown, New York for making a valuable contribution to baseball. The author's research notes and documents at the end of the book showed how he tried to stay true to the real Kenichi Zenimura. A picture of Zeni next to a towering Babe Ruth survived, although, sadly, none were recovered from his days at Gila River Relocation Camp.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sigh. So many books crossing my radar because of book bans in Florida. Oh, wait, they are not “bans.” They are “under review.” Except, when they are “under review” the books are not on the shelf which is…a BAN!

What is the objection to this story? For me? No objection at all. It was an interesting piece of WWII history with which, prior to reading this, I was unfamiliar: Kenichi Zenimura, a Japanese American baseball player who played with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, built a baseball field at the Arizona internment camp he was sent to with his family. Yup. He built a baseball field. And played baseball. And loved the game. And felt free when he swung a baseball bat.

What does Duval County Florida find objectionable? I’m not sure exactly. But, if I was to guess, it would be that the picture book shares an ugly piece of American History: during World War II, Americans gathered other American citizens and put them in camps…because of their country of origin and the color of their skin.

This title was one of 176 books banned in Duval County in January 2022. Oh, excuse me, “removed from the shelves for review.” It is so unfortunate that Duval County children may not be able to experience the beauty of Zeni’s story. We should learn from history and fight to not repeat it, not repeat history by gathering books and words and burning them, figuratively or literally.

[JIll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barbed Wire Baseball explores the boredom everybody felt while incarcerated in a Japanese internment camp in Gila River, Arizona during World War II. This diverse picture book for younger readers is written in a third person perspective. Kenichi Zenimura (Zeni) is a Japanese father who is living at the internment camp with his family. Zeni and his two teenage sons, Howard and Harvey build a baseball diamond and bleachers to play baseball to occupy their time and normalize their lives and make the situation bearable.. The major conflicts of the story are against nature, the challenge of creating a baseball diamond in the desert and a conflict with society of being locked up in an internment camp. This is a lighthearted story hints at the unjust situation and tries to make the situation bearable. The depth of the conflicts are appropriate for young readers, and the characters are likable. However, character development is minimal and the action is slow and predictable. Lastly, I would recommend this book for young readers who are learning about the plight of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a boy, Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. Yet he grows up to be a successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941, Zeni and his family are sent to one of ten internment camps where more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry are imprisoned without trials. Zeni brings the game of baseball to the camp, along with a sense of hope.
This true story, set in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, introduces children to a little-discussed part of American history through Marissa Moss’s rich text and Yuko Shimizu’s beautiful illustrations. The book includes author and illustrator notes, archival photographs, and a bibliography.

As always a good historical fiction separates the history from the fiction and the author does a nice job at the end of the book of filling in the details of a long ago historical period that most would like to forget happened. It seemed to drag in the details of making the ball field, but came together well in the end.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The rest of the place slumped, dreary and sad, but the baseball field glowed green with hope.”

The story of Kenichi Zenimura, known as the Dean of the Diamond and “the father of Japanese American baseball.” He was a player and a coach, and founded the Fresno Athletic Club. He even toured in Japan, promoting the game. But after Pearl Harbor, he and his family was sent to an internment camp along with thousands of other Japanese-American citizens.

It was within the internment camp that he built a baseball field, complete with bleachers for spectators. “He knew he was still behind a barbed wire fence, but he felt completely free, as airy and light as the ball he had sent flying.”

Includes an afterward and author’s note with additional information as well as a bibliography for further reading.

[Rachel Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found a text-to-text in "Barbed Wire Baseball" by Marissa Moss. While I can't remember the name of the book I am thinking of, I remember learning about World War II in middle school. Our history book for that year mentioned a lot of things about the Japanese camps when America went to war with Japan. I remember being very sad and surprised by this because I had only heard of the concentration camps for Jews in Germany during that time. However, the text did mention that the Japanese would try to find ways to keep themselves busy and happy while imprisoned: but my history book didn't mention anyone building a baseball field like Zeni built in the camp he was sent to! I didn't know how much the Japanese would be able to do something like build a baseball diamond. I find it very interesting how much history there is in the world that is unknown and not in history books. I would have found that class a bit more interesting if our history book included the story of Zeni and his baseball diamond! :)

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

39 pgs. Great story about a Japanese baseball player in California during WWII. His family was rounded up and sent to an internment camp. The struggles he endured and pride he felt for his favorite sport were inspiring. I think this book would be a great one to use with a history unit on WWII. The illustrations are very different from most art styles. I think the art captures the emotion of the situation well with colors, texture and perspective. There is additional information at the end that will add to the depth of this topic. This book has won many awards and I would highly recommend it to Grade 5 students.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring story about the human spirit and baseball. My biggest complaint is that the book is very text heavy for a picture book. I get that it was trying to cover a lot and I'm not exactly sure what could have been cut in order to make it less text heavy but books like this are so hard to market to my students. Kids who like picture books aren't able to read that amount of text and kids who can read the text aren't interested in picture books. It's also hard to do read alouds because it takes so long that our entire class period is over before we even finish the book!
Still a really interesting story though!

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the true story of Kenichi Zenimura - known as Zeni - who was born in Japan but moved to Hawaii with his parents when he was 8 years old. There, the first time he saw a baseball game Zuri knew he wanted to be a baseball player. Years later, even though he was a small man he made the team. Unfortunately, after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Zuri and 120,000 other Japanese Americans were forced into internement camps. There Zuri made a way to continue playing ball. Great story and illustrations.

[Jose Agosto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keywords: Baseball, Japanese American

Kenich Zenimura, a Japanese American baseball player, is the focus of the book Barbed Wire Baseball. This is the story of how he started from scratch and created a baseball diamond in the Gila River Japanese internment camp during World War II, giving people hope and dreams even under the most difficult circumstances.

Conflict is present in this book, Zeni is put into an internment camp during World War II. This happens in the middle of his baseball career potentially ending his dreams of playing baseball, the sport that he loves.

[Cory Guthrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be a very good way to cover the fact that the Nazis weren't the only people who had prison camps during world war II which of course the Americans did after the attack on Pearl Harbor and it didn't exclude the famous baseball players or anyone with his decent which is something I never considered and honestly my teachers told me oh America didn't treat Japanese people different after the attack up util eighth grade which is when I found out about them.

[Nole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I think that our hero is an inspiration to all those that were told they were to small to achieve what they wanted which is a common thing most students will have experienced. This is also a great story to show making the best of your situation and lastly a History lesson to discuss 1940's America.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Japanese internment camp becomes a beacon of hope when a baseball field, players in crisp uniforms, and a stand full of cheering fans mimic normalcy. In a world spinning out of control then, as now, we look for the helpers.

Hopeful, yet still punching you in the gut for what should have never been.