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Barbed Wire Between Us
A powerful reverso poem about two girls separated by barbed wire and 80 years of history
Barbed Wire Between Us is a powerful reverso poem that tells two deeply resonant stories across time. It begins with a Japanese American girl sent to an internment camp in Oklahoma during World War II. Read in reverse, it reveals the journey of a Latina girl detained in the very same camp decades later, during the U.S. policy of migrant family separation. Harrowing and emotionally charged, this poetic narrative compels us to confront a haunting question: What have we truly learned in the past 80 years about how we treat the most vulnerable among us? With haunting symmetry and striking parallels, Barbed Wire Between Us is a moving meditation on justice, memory, and the echoes of history that still shape our present.
Barbed Wire Between Us is a powerful reverso poem that tells two deeply resonant stories across time. It begins with a Japanese American girl sent to an internment camp in Oklahoma during World War II. Read in reverse, it reveals the journey of a Latina girl detained in the very same camp decades later, during the U.S. policy of migrant family separation. Harrowing and emotionally charged, this poetic narrative compels us to confront a haunting question: What have we truly learned in the past 80 years about how we treat the most vulnerable among us? With haunting symmetry and striking parallels, Barbed Wire Between Us is a moving meditation on justice, memory, and the echoes of history that still shape our present.
48 pages, Hardcover
Published March 31, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
March 31, 2026
Timely and timeless, this is a moving picture book in which we see the echoes of the past in the present. We are taken into the lives of two incarcerated children : a Japanese-American child and a Latina child. Their stories are years apart in terms of time and yet eerily close in terms of human experience of inhuman cruelty. Mia Wenjen’s genius lies in part in choosing the reverse poem form to show us that history is repeating itself; instead of moving forward as a nation, we are moving backward. Yet the book preserves a sense of hope and the illustrations show us stark despair and also glimpses of light. Two thumbs up; and, hands down, this is Mia Wenjen’s best book!
April 2, 2026
Using the structure of a reverso poem, BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US tells the parallel stories of two young girls—one a Japanese American interned during World War II at Fort Sill, Lawton Oklahoma, and the other, an immigrant detained at the same army base some time in 2014 or thereafter. The situations are the same—two immigrant children and their families arriving in the United States filled with hope of settling into their new country only to be treated as criminals—with only the span of time separating them. It is a very powerful story that is both mournful and at times hopeful. BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US would make a terrific classroom read aloud. I highly recommend it.
April 19, 2026
Based on the author's family history this book tells the story of Japanese incarceration during WWII and, at the same army base in Utah, contemporary incarceration of immigrant children. The form, a reverso poem, tells the first story then, to tell the second, reverses. Terrific illustrations by Violeta Encarnacion.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a double story, one told of the internment of the Japanese-Americans during world war two, and the similar internment of them migrants who came to the US for a better life. Same words, similar story.
The author’s mother was almost interred during world war two, but managed to move away from the coast, to Utah. But the conditions there were not much better.
It is a sad state of affairs, with xenophobia making us afraid of other human beings. It is a simple story, with dark pictures, but it is a good starting point to begin a conversation of what has happened in the past, and what is happening now.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is being published on the 31st of March 2026.
The author’s mother was almost interred during world war two, but managed to move away from the coast, to Utah. But the conditions there were not much better.
It is a sad state of affairs, with xenophobia making us afraid of other human beings. It is a simple story, with dark pictures, but it is a good starting point to begin a conversation of what has happened in the past, and what is happening now.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is being published on the 31st of March 2026.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Many thanks to Red Comet Press and Publisher Spotlight for the preview copy.
This amazing book compares the "incarceration experience" of two young girls, one in the 1940's and the other in the 2010's
Told through the eyes of two young girls, the girl in the 1940's tells her story of being ripped from her home and taken with few belongings to a concentration camp in Oklahoma. The first girl, a Japanese American, describes what life is like, all the uncertainty and separation, kindness of strangers, and how they learned to 'make do' until the war was over and they were released and reunited with family. A 2-page spread serves to segue to the second girl's story. The second girl and her family are crossing the barbed wire to go from a life in a dangerous place to another. They are captured, ostensibly by border patrol and taken to a detention camp. There, they were met with kindness from doctors, the difficult life in a harsh climate, family separations, and disappointment that this new country would not fulfill its promise. Backmatter includes a few paragraphs about Ft. Sill's use as a Japanese internment camp and as an immigrant detention center, a note about the poem, and an author's note about her mother's experience during WWII.
Wenjen's spare poem/text is powerful enough to elicit tears from this reader when first reading it. This is the kind of book to use when discussing a unit on empathy. These two innocent young girls were treated horribly because they were "others". Told in a form called "reverso", the same set of words used in the first half are shared in reverse order for the second. Very powerful how the meaning changes...
Illustrations by Violeta Encarnación are, quite simply, stunning. Rendered digitally, the emotions felt by these people who are being victimized by the government are front and center. The agony when the Japanese American girl and her father are being physically separated is so strong. Not a single stroke of her brush is out of place. She uses a palette of brown, black, gold, and green aid in creating the oppressive mood of this place.
Include in units on social justice, human rights, immigration, WWII/Japanese internment, and creating empathy for others. This would be a wonderful exemplar to use for writing poetry and developing comparison and contrast skills.
Highly Recommended for K-5.
This amazing book compares the "incarceration experience" of two young girls, one in the 1940's and the other in the 2010's
Told through the eyes of two young girls, the girl in the 1940's tells her story of being ripped from her home and taken with few belongings to a concentration camp in Oklahoma. The first girl, a Japanese American, describes what life is like, all the uncertainty and separation, kindness of strangers, and how they learned to 'make do' until the war was over and they were released and reunited with family. A 2-page spread serves to segue to the second girl's story. The second girl and her family are crossing the barbed wire to go from a life in a dangerous place to another. They are captured, ostensibly by border patrol and taken to a detention camp. There, they were met with kindness from doctors, the difficult life in a harsh climate, family separations, and disappointment that this new country would not fulfill its promise. Backmatter includes a few paragraphs about Ft. Sill's use as a Japanese internment camp and as an immigrant detention center, a note about the poem, and an author's note about her mother's experience during WWII.
Wenjen's spare poem/text is powerful enough to elicit tears from this reader when first reading it. This is the kind of book to use when discussing a unit on empathy. These two innocent young girls were treated horribly because they were "others". Told in a form called "reverso", the same set of words used in the first half are shared in reverse order for the second. Very powerful how the meaning changes...
Illustrations by Violeta Encarnación are, quite simply, stunning. Rendered digitally, the emotions felt by these people who are being victimized by the government are front and center. The agony when the Japanese American girl and her father are being physically separated is so strong. Not a single stroke of her brush is out of place. She uses a palette of brown, black, gold, and green aid in creating the oppressive mood of this place.
Include in units on social justice, human rights, immigration, WWII/Japanese internment, and creating empathy for others. This would be a wonderful exemplar to use for writing poetry and developing comparison and contrast skills.
Highly Recommended for K-5.
May 15, 2026
This amazing book compares the "incarceration experience" of two young girls, one in the 1940's and the other in the 2010's
Told through the eyes of two young girls, the girl in the 1940's tells her story of being ripped from her home and taken with few belongings to a concentration camp in Oklahoma. The first girl, a Japanese American, describes what life is like, all the uncertainty and separation, kindness of strangers, and how they learned to 'make do' until the war was over and they were released and reunited with family. A 2-page spread serves to segue to the second girl's story. The second girl and her family are crossing the barbed wire to go from a life in a dangerous place to another. They are captured, ostensibly by border patrol and taken to a detention camp. There, they were met with kindness from doctors, the difficult life in a harsh climate, family separations, and disappointment that this new country would not fulfill its promise. Backmatter includes a few paragraphs about Ft. Sill's use as a Japanese internment camp and as an immigrant detention center, a note about the poem, and an author's note about her mother's experience during WWII.
Wenjen's spare poem/text is powerful enough to elicit tears from this reader when first reading it. This is the kind of book to use when discussing a unit on empathy. These two innocent young girls were treated horribly because they were "others". Told in a form called "reverso", the same set of words used in the first half are shared in reverse order for the second. Very powerful how the meaning changes...
Illustrations by Violeta Encarnación are, quite simply, stunning. Rendered digitally, the emotions felt by these people who are being victimized by the government are front and center. The agony when the Japanese American girl and her father are being physically separated is so strong. Not a single stroke of her brush is out of place. She uses a palette of brown, black, gold, and green aid in creating the oppressive mood of this place.
Include in units on social justice, human rights, immigration, WWII/Japanese internment, and creating empathy for others. This would be a wonderful exemplar to use for writing poetry and developing comparison and contrast skills.
Highly Recommended for K-5.
S.B.
Children's Literature Consultant
Told through the eyes of two young girls, the girl in the 1940's tells her story of being ripped from her home and taken with few belongings to a concentration camp in Oklahoma. The first girl, a Japanese American, describes what life is like, all the uncertainty and separation, kindness of strangers, and how they learned to 'make do' until the war was over and they were released and reunited with family. A 2-page spread serves to segue to the second girl's story. The second girl and her family are crossing the barbed wire to go from a life in a dangerous place to another. They are captured, ostensibly by border patrol and taken to a detention camp. There, they were met with kindness from doctors, the difficult life in a harsh climate, family separations, and disappointment that this new country would not fulfill its promise. Backmatter includes a few paragraphs about Ft. Sill's use as a Japanese internment camp and as an immigrant detention center, a note about the poem, and an author's note about her mother's experience during WWII.
Wenjen's spare poem/text is powerful enough to elicit tears from this reader when first reading it. This is the kind of book to use when discussing a unit on empathy. These two innocent young girls were treated horribly because they were "others". Told in a form called "reverso", the same set of words used in the first half are shared in reverse order for the second. Very powerful how the meaning changes...
Illustrations by Violeta Encarnación are, quite simply, stunning. Rendered digitally, the emotions felt by these people who are being victimized by the government are front and center. The agony when the Japanese American girl and her father are being physically separated is so strong. Not a single stroke of her brush is out of place. She uses a palette of brown, black, gold, and green aid in creating the oppressive mood of this place.
Include in units on social justice, human rights, immigration, WWII/Japanese internment, and creating empathy for others. This would be a wonderful exemplar to use for writing poetry and developing comparison and contrast skills.
Highly Recommended for K-5.
S.B.
Children's Literature Consultant
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
With its striking cover showing two children back to back behind silvery embossed barbed wire, this book packs an emotional punch. Boston-area writer Wenjen employs a reverso poem to illustrate history repeating itself in its treatment of ‘others’. The first half of the book tells the story of the internment of Japanese Americans through the eyes of a child during World War II. Lines of lyrical text relate the child’s memory of suffering, but also of “the kindness of strangers.” The gorgeous artwork, which appears to be a combination of traditional and digital tools, keeps the child front and center, focusing her face and hands. As she leaves the camp, the text reads “it was over,” “from barbed wire, new life will begin.” Then, after a wordless spread showing two views of barbed wire in the sun, the poem begins again, starting with the last lines of the poem that appeared during the first half. Illustrations show migrants travelling alongside barbed wire. And the drama begins again in the present day. It ends with the words, “In this land of promise, we hoped to find a place to belong.” The same internment camp is present in both halves of the book.
Notes at the end identify the camp as Fort Sill in Oklahoma. There’s also a bit about reverso poems and about the author’s inspiration coming from her mother’s experience during World War II. Although both halves of the book end on a positive note, the tone is still somber and emotional. The front and back of the book’s case have the images of folded paper cranes, which are also present in the two children’s stories. This picture book will resonate with elementary school children who are studying war or bias.
Although I appreciated the information on Japanese American internments, I felt that including a bit about who is being interned now (and where) would have balanced out the back matter.
Notes at the end identify the camp as Fort Sill in Oklahoma. There’s also a bit about reverso poems and about the author’s inspiration coming from her mother’s experience during World War II. Although both halves of the book end on a positive note, the tone is still somber and emotional. The front and back of the book’s case have the images of folded paper cranes, which are also present in the two children’s stories. This picture book will resonate with elementary school children who are studying war or bias.
Although I appreciated the information on Japanese American internments, I felt that including a bit about who is being interned now (and where) would have balanced out the back matter.
April 16, 2026
This book, whish is cataloged as fiction in the juvenile picture books, illustrates the how Fort Sill (located north of Lawton and approximately 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City) is an army base that served as an internment camp for Japanese Americans in WWII. This same base starting being used as a immigrant detention center again in 2014. While this book is listed as fiction, due to it not telling the story of a specific individual, it illustrates a very real reality for many immigrants.
This book uses a reverso poem inspired storytelling technique, where it uses the same lines in reverse to tell different stories with the accompanying pictures. I really like this method to show the circular nature of history repeating it's self, always victimizing those who come seeking a better life than the one they had in their home countries.
I also want to mention the author's note about her family who emigrated from Japan during WWII from Hiroshima. They had family in a remote part of Utah and so they were spared living in the camps, but as they were working as farm laborers and living in tents, they often joked that they might have been better off in the concentration camps.
I hope more people will read this book and become aware to the injustice happening right in front of our eyes. So many people can try and justify in the times what is right and what is wrong, but just as the FBI proved the Japanese Americans were not a security threat and did nothing to remedy the situation with any expediency, the detained immigrants are still unjustly locked up though they offer no threat to daily life. I just hope by being mixed into the regular picture books means it is more widely available and gets more eyes on it than it might have being a nonfiction book.
This book uses a reverso poem inspired storytelling technique, where it uses the same lines in reverse to tell different stories with the accompanying pictures. I really like this method to show the circular nature of history repeating it's self, always victimizing those who come seeking a better life than the one they had in their home countries.
I also want to mention the author's note about her family who emigrated from Japan during WWII from Hiroshima. They had family in a remote part of Utah and so they were spared living in the camps, but as they were working as farm laborers and living in tents, they often joked that they might have been better off in the concentration camps.
I hope more people will read this book and become aware to the injustice happening right in front of our eyes. So many people can try and justify in the times what is right and what is wrong, but just as the FBI proved the Japanese Americans were not a security threat and did nothing to remedy the situation with any expediency, the detained immigrants are still unjustly locked up though they offer no threat to daily life. I just hope by being mixed into the regular picture books means it is more widely available and gets more eyes on it than it might have being a nonfiction book.
Review of advance copy
History has a habit of repeating itself, often echoing its darkest moments across the expanses of time and space. Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma has been the site of several internments spanning more than a century and several generations of people. From Native people in the 1800s to Japanese Americans during World War II to global immigrants in contemporary times, the ripple effects of these injustices spread far and wide. And as time passes, these shared moments of turmoil unite people in solidarity for the challenges they have faced both apart and together. This resonant picture book utilizes a reverso poem to explore the parallel experiences faced by two youth separated by time. Very few words are used inside the narrative as a whole, but each one is specifically chosen to be poignant and impactful for the reader. Most of the story is recounted within the illustrations, where powerful moments of loss and struggle are depicted in heart wrenching clarity. The expressions on faces, the movement of the individuals, and the dire surroundings in their midst transport readers to times and places that dehumanized all present there. Though written as a picture book, this story is important for readers of all ages, offering opportunities for reflection and consideration with each turn of the page. Back matter provides additional context for caregivers to better understand the design of this book and the lasting impact Fort Sill has had on generations of people. Powerful and important, this picture book is elegantly designed to capture the intensity and magnitude of historical moments and will resonate with readers of all ages.
May 22, 2026
First sentence: IN this land of promise,
we hoped to find a place to belong.
To our surprise, we were unjustly imprisoned.
We came with only what we could carry.
Our family was separated.
Premise/plot: Barbed Wire Between Us uses the poetic format of a reverso poem. It is a picture book for older readers. It tells two stories--same words, different order. One story is set in the 1940s in Japanese internment camps. The other story is set in contemporary times--give or take a couple of years.
My thoughts: This is a picture book that some adults will absolutely love, love, love. Will children be drawn into this story? Perhaps. But I have a hard time imagining it without a lot of pushing from adults (teachers, librarians, etc.).
Is it political? As much as I want to say it is not...it decidedly is. Two different timelines. The Japanese internment was taking Japanese-American families that were living in America--some for multiple generations--and putting them behind barbed wire because they feared they were still loyal to a country that the United States was at war with. There was no proof, no reason beyond fear for this action. The contemporary story is of a family newly entering the United States--illegally--and being put in a immigrant detention center. I will say that the book simplifies or oversimplifies the modern day situation.
I have read fiction and nonfiction for all ages about the Japanese internment. Including a fabulous book about a librarian who sent books to children in these camps.
I like the idea of a reverso poem, but, the modern story just doesn't give enough details to ground it, in my opinion. There are more questions than answers.
May 25, 2026
Spare, honest, and beautiful, Barbed Wire Between Us uses a unique format --a reverso poem-- to support young readers to understand a cyclical experience of many immigrants to the United States during difficult times. I found the vivid illustrations gorgeous and moving; they used bright yellow and turquoise as beacons, despite the otherwise dismal environment that engulfs each unnamed immigrant girl. A minimal critique is that I thought the poem worked less-well with some of the illustrations featuring the Latina girl's experience crossing the border.
Two daughters of immigrants, author and illustrator, have stewarded a thoughtful addition to the rare, important canon of published works that teach young people that what's hard and seemingly hopeless can be overcome, again and again. The paper crane, symbol of peace from Japan, is a lovely touch to this somber story.
Among other reviews, I was curious (but not surprised) to read occasional discomfort with the political circumstances of the book, but more I wanted to voice my opinion about what young children can and cannot process when learning about difficult circumstances.
To this, I'd like to point to a few of what I consider to be this book's comp titles: They Call Me Teach: Lessons in Freedom by Lesa Cline-Ransome, about learning to read during US slavery; This Is Not My Home by Vivienne Chang, about resisting relocation to a parent's mother-country; and Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford. ALL of these books deal with hard aspects of history or modern life, and they're all developmentally appropriate, similar to Barbed Wire Between Us.
Two daughters of immigrants, author and illustrator, have stewarded a thoughtful addition to the rare, important canon of published works that teach young people that what's hard and seemingly hopeless can be overcome, again and again. The paper crane, symbol of peace from Japan, is a lovely touch to this somber story.
Among other reviews, I was curious (but not surprised) to read occasional discomfort with the political circumstances of the book, but more I wanted to voice my opinion about what young children can and cannot process when learning about difficult circumstances.
To this, I'd like to point to a few of what I consider to be this book's comp titles: They Call Me Teach: Lessons in Freedom by Lesa Cline-Ransome, about learning to read during US slavery; This Is Not My Home by Vivienne Chang, about resisting relocation to a parent's mother-country; and Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford. ALL of these books deal with hard aspects of history or modern life, and they're all developmentally appropriate, similar to Barbed Wire Between Us.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Perhaps the most important picture book of the upcoming year as we, as a nation, struggle with our government's cruel and murderous actions of capturing and caging our most vulnerable populations. These two girls' stories, 80 years apart, show that we have not become any more a civilized nation, than in past similar historic episodes.
With minimal carefully chosen narration in the form of a reverso poem, the incarceration center for children at the army base in Fort Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma, is the setting for this narrative of a young Japanese American girl sent to exile in WWII and, in reverse, the experiences of a Latinx girl's similar story today. Guilty only of being a person of color, they are incarcerated, endure freezing nights and hot sun-drenched days and other cruelties, both girls find ways to "create beauty with what [they] had", including the ironic and poignant symbol of hope: a paper crane.
Beautiful color-drenched graphic illustrations in appropriately black, grey, brown and light maize, by Cuban-American artist Violeta Encarnación portray poignant scenes within the walls and behind the barbed wire of the incarceration center. While stark statement, "Our family was separated" is more deeply felt through powerful illustrations, as a child held by one prison guard reaches out toward her father, held by another guard. The book ends where it began, “From behind barbed wire, new life will begin.” leaving readers with some sense of hope, even if today's headlines do not.
Author's notes reveal more details.
With minimal carefully chosen narration in the form of a reverso poem, the incarceration center for children at the army base in Fort Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma, is the setting for this narrative of a young Japanese American girl sent to exile in WWII and, in reverse, the experiences of a Latinx girl's similar story today. Guilty only of being a person of color, they are incarcerated, endure freezing nights and hot sun-drenched days and other cruelties, both girls find ways to "create beauty with what [they] had", including the ironic and poignant symbol of hope: a paper crane.
Beautiful color-drenched graphic illustrations in appropriately black, grey, brown and light maize, by Cuban-American artist Violeta Encarnación portray poignant scenes within the walls and behind the barbed wire of the incarceration center. While stark statement, "Our family was separated" is more deeply felt through powerful illustrations, as a child held by one prison guard reaches out toward her father, held by another guard. The book ends where it began, “From behind barbed wire, new life will begin.” leaving readers with some sense of hope, even if today's headlines do not.
Author's notes reveal more details.
December 11, 2025
Barbed Wire Between Us is one of those books that exists as sort of a wakeup call.
History, you see, repeats.
I'd like to think that we, as a people, will always have a future in which progress is measured by the protection of the oppressed. Only when oppression fades will society exist as it should. In the meantime, it's incredibly important that books like this exist to remind us not only of our world's past, but also of the duty we have in ensuring that we fight for a better world today. The fact that Fort Sill, OK is a place that has been used to lock up Native Americans and Japanese immigrants from the past as well as present day immigrants is a dark shadow on the behavior of people we share this world with. And it is a glaring sign of the importance of taking strides toward a world in which such atrocities no longer take place.
Honestly, this is a sad read—but I think its also one that's so important. It's especially powerful in the beautiful artwork and the manner through which the poem brings you through the dual stories. While I will say that the poem, itself, isn't the most musical, it still shines a light on the unfortunate truth of repeating histories. And unless we educate as many as we can about these atrocities and the need to cease their occurrences, we are doomed to repeat it.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
History, you see, repeats.
I'd like to think that we, as a people, will always have a future in which progress is measured by the protection of the oppressed. Only when oppression fades will society exist as it should. In the meantime, it's incredibly important that books like this exist to remind us not only of our world's past, but also of the duty we have in ensuring that we fight for a better world today. The fact that Fort Sill, OK is a place that has been used to lock up Native Americans and Japanese immigrants from the past as well as present day immigrants is a dark shadow on the behavior of people we share this world with. And it is a glaring sign of the importance of taking strides toward a world in which such atrocities no longer take place.
Honestly, this is a sad read—but I think its also one that's so important. It's especially powerful in the beautiful artwork and the manner through which the poem brings you through the dual stories. While I will say that the poem, itself, isn't the most musical, it still shines a light on the unfortunate truth of repeating histories. And unless we educate as many as we can about these atrocities and the need to cease their occurrences, we are doomed to repeat it.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
For many, the comparisons between the Japanese internment camps during WWII and the migrant detention centers of today are obvious. This visually striking and textually intense reverso poem ponders the journeys of two different girls--one Japanese American and one Latina American. The scenes of violence, separation, hope, and small acts of kindness surely represent many of the experiences of individuals both then and now, and the faces of the two girls seem to peer into readers' souls even while lines such as "Where darkness is, light will shine again. From behind barbed wire, new life will begin" (unpaged). Details such as a father being rousted so violently that his glasses slip from his nose, the blue-chipped fingernails of the Latina girl, the barbed wire in different places, a small paper crane fashioned by a girl seeking to brighten up her bleak surroundings, and origami cranes festooned across a fence, all of these attest to the similarity of history as events from the past seem to echo in today's events. It seems impossible to read this picture book and not shake one's head at our nation's inability to learn from past mistakes. The back matter of these two powerful stories reveals the setting as Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Readers will also want to pay attention to the difference in the endpapers as well as the difference between the book jacket and book cover. No story could be more timely or more meaningful. Add this to a collection about immigration.
April 17, 2026
The reverso poem at the heart of Barbed Wire Between us provides a heart-wrenching look at the mistreatment that immigrants have experienced in the United States. The first half of the book looks at a Japanese American girl's experience in the internment camps during World War II. The poem is then reversed and read with the lines in reverse order. The second half of the book looks at the experience of a girl coming in through the U.S. southern border in recent times. It's a bit shocking to realize the parallels between the two girls' experiences. The poem reads beautifully in both directions. The illustrations are gorgeous and powerful in their depictions of both girls and the situations they find themselves enduring. The double page spread in the middle, dividing the two parts of the book shows only barbed wire, making a powerful statement in and of itself. Despite the difficult circumstances both girls face, the book still holds on to hope that life will be better when freedom comes. The back matter includes an author's note about what inspired the book and her own family's experiences with immigrant detention. Additional back matter includes a description of the real life setting for the book (Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma) and a description of the type of poem used in the book. While written for children, the book has much to offer in terms of discussion for any age: child, teen, or adult. Highly recommended.
April 2, 2026
Barbed Wire Between Us is a profoundly moving and structurally innovative picture book that uses the reverso poetry form to explore two interconnected stories separated by time but united by history. Mia Wenjen crafts a narrative that is both poetic and powerful, inviting readers to reflect on cycles of injustice and the enduring impact of historical decisions.
One of the most striking aspects of the book is its dual perspective. By telling the story of a Japanese American girl during World War II alongside that of a Latina girl affected by later immigration policies, the reverso structure creates a mirror-like effect that deepens the emotional resonance of both narratives. This formal choice enhances the book’s central message about repetition and unresolved history.
The illustrations by Violeta Encarnación further intensify the emotional weight of the story. The visual language complements the poetry with clarity and sensitivity, helping to convey the gravity of the subject matter in a way that is accessible to younger readers while still impactful for adults.
Overall, Barbed Wire Between Us is a powerful and necessary work that blends poetry, history, and visual storytelling. It is a poignant reminder of the human consequences of policy and prejudice, and a compelling invitation to reflect on how the past continues to echo into the present.
One of the most striking aspects of the book is its dual perspective. By telling the story of a Japanese American girl during World War II alongside that of a Latina girl affected by later immigration policies, the reverso structure creates a mirror-like effect that deepens the emotional resonance of both narratives. This formal choice enhances the book’s central message about repetition and unresolved history.
The illustrations by Violeta Encarnación further intensify the emotional weight of the story. The visual language complements the poetry with clarity and sensitivity, helping to convey the gravity of the subject matter in a way that is accessible to younger readers while still impactful for adults.
Overall, Barbed Wire Between Us is a powerful and necessary work that blends poetry, history, and visual storytelling. It is a poignant reminder of the human consequences of policy and prejudice, and a compelling invitation to reflect on how the past continues to echo into the present.
April 28, 2026
This books is written as a reverso poem. The author used the reverso style to represent that fact that history has definite repetitive patterns. The poem focuses on the lives of two young girls. The first part of the poem is about a young Japanese-American girl who is sent to a Japanese internment camp at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma during WW2. Fort Sill was run in strict military fashion. The guard towers were equipped with 30-caliber machine guns, shotguns, and searchlights. The 700 detainees slept in tents.
The second part of the poem shifts to the present where a young migrant girl is being held in the same internement camp, experiencing the same things the young Japanese girl experienced. Starting in 2014, Sill has been used as an immigration detention center for young children.
Origami cranes are presented as a symbol of unity and resistance throughout the book. If you look under the dust jacket the cover of the book is adorned with them.
The author also mentions that Ft. Sill was also used as a detention center for Native Americans.
The second part of the poem shifts to the present where a young migrant girl is being held in the same internement camp, experiencing the same things the young Japanese girl experienced. Starting in 2014, Sill has been used as an immigration detention center for young children.
Origami cranes are presented as a symbol of unity and resistance throughout the book. If you look under the dust jacket the cover of the book is adorned with them.
The author also mentions that Ft. Sill was also used as a detention center for Native Americans.
May 20, 2026
I didn't enjoy this book as a book for children. Picture books are for some of the youngest readers who do not have the context or life experience to be able to conceptualize what is happening in this book. This book is targeted at 7-11-year-old readers, but those are not the ones typically looking to read picture books, and there is not usually a way to differentiate picture books for younger vs. older readers where picture books are available. The content here would have been better served in a graphic novel format to reach the readership who could truly understand and learn from the messages presented here. The images in this book are not for the youngest readers who will only be frightened by them and not understand what they mean, nor should they. Yes, some young children are experiencing these things now, but children who are not experiencing these horrors should not have these facts forced upon them until they are developmentally ready to understand, and those who are experiencing them do not need the horrors of the images within to create more trauma.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Mia Wenjen's children's poem is a thought-provoking slap to the face to show readers how history repeats itself. We have two moments in history, decades apart, that has children and families being separated from each other. All they have is the hope of one day having it better, if they can just make it through their detainment. It is heartbreaking to read and watch this story unfold, but I am glad the author is telling this story.
The fact that this is being told through the eyes of children makes this all the more powerful. It requires a moment of pause, of reflection, and time to let this information truly set in. These parallels are horrifying, and it makes it all the more important that it's being told. It will ease young readers into this part of U.S. history and allow for an honest conversation that might otherwise be hard to start.
Thank You NetGalley and Publisher Spotlight for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The fact that this is being told through the eyes of children makes this all the more powerful. It requires a moment of pause, of reflection, and time to let this information truly set in. These parallels are horrifying, and it makes it all the more important that it's being told. It will ease young readers into this part of U.S. history and allow for an honest conversation that might otherwise be hard to start.
Thank You NetGalley and Publisher Spotlight for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The more things change, the more they stay the same--that seems to be one message of Barbed Wire Between Us. And that message is grim and dark. How then is this a hopeful story? I think it's because the first part of the story ended with greater hope, greater freedom, and better things, with a hope that this country could move beyond racism and fear. And even though the second part of the story returns to more discrimination and fear, the parallel structure leads me to hope. Just like there was an end to the American prison camps of Japanese immigrants, I hope for an end to the current harsh treatment of immigrants. I hope because there's kindness.
What a gorgeous book. The illustrations are beautiful in their bleakness.
I admit to worrying that it won't sell, and that library copies won't circulate well. This is a serious book, and that sometimes doesn't lead to wide appeal. I still think it's a worthwhile book, carefully crafted and valuable for the insight it contains.
What a gorgeous book. The illustrations are beautiful in their bleakness.
I admit to worrying that it won't sell, and that library copies won't circulate well. This is a serious book, and that sometimes doesn't lead to wide appeal. I still think it's a worthwhile book, carefully crafted and valuable for the insight it contains.
April 8, 2026
Mia Wenjen relates a poignant story of two young girls telling “their” story of incarceration in Oklahoma at Fort Sill, one, a Japanese-American, when eighty years ago, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese in America were sent to internment camps. The other shows in recent times, when Latina Americans have also been detained “behind barbed wire”. Mia deftly uses a reverso poem as the girls tell the same story, and it reads forward with one, then using the same words, backward with the other. In muted tones, Violeta Encarnación’s illlustrations bring Mia’s story to us in somber tones, showing details like the barbed wire and ever-present dust that cannot be escaped. Mia’s choice of this reverso cements the idea of history repeating itself, a sadness not to be forgotten.
The book’s background, about this poetic form, plus an author’s note is found at the back.
Thanks to the author for my copy!
The book’s background, about this poetic form, plus an author’s note is found at the back.
Thanks to the author for my copy!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia WenJen and Violeta Encarnacion. PICTURE BOOK. Red Comet Press, 2026. $20. 9781636551920
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL; MS, HS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SOME
The stories of two little girls separated by decades, both of whom are incarcerated by barbed wire.
WenJen and Encarnacion share the story of Fort Sill, Oklahoma - site of Japanese imprisonment during WWII and immigrant child imprisonment in 2014 - using reverso poetry and a stark color palette. In communities affected by recent detainments, the book could be helpful for children still processing. I see the most value in secondary schools as a way to foster conversation about immigration - especially as the backmatter talks about the Japanese experience and the lies told by the US government.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL; MS, HS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SOME
The stories of two little girls separated by decades, both of whom are incarcerated by barbed wire.
WenJen and Encarnacion share the story of Fort Sill, Oklahoma - site of Japanese imprisonment during WWII and immigrant child imprisonment in 2014 - using reverso poetry and a stark color palette. In communities affected by recent detainments, the book could be helpful for children still processing. I see the most value in secondary schools as a way to foster conversation about immigration - especially as the backmatter talks about the Japanese experience and the lies told by the US government.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
April 6, 2026
Using a poetic technique to create a compelling reverse story, author Mia Wenjen shines a light on the injustices committed against citizens and immigrants in America. The setting takes place at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. The first half of the book is told by a young Japanese American girl whose family has been separated and ends up in an internment camp during World War II. In the second half of the book, Wenjen flips the story lines, so they are read in reverse order. Told through the eyes of a young Latina girl, this half takes place many years later in the same setting, Fort Sill, which is being used as a detention center for immigrant children. Violeta Encarnación’s dramatic illustrations enhance Wenjen’s spare text, and together they send a powerful message to readers. "Where darkness is, light will shine again." This is an amazing book that calls out to be read.
June 1, 2026
This powerful story depicts the experiences of two young girls detained at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Told in short lyrical lines, the first half of the story shares the experience of a young Japanese girl, imprisoned there during World War 2. In the second half of the story, the text 'reverses' and tells the story of a present-day immigrant child in detention at the same facility. The parallels between the two stories are haunting, and drive home the experience of living in a detention center for a child reader -- the dustiness, the barren quality of the landscape, the meager food, the harsh cold, the interminable waiting -- things no child should have to experience, then or now. The lighting of the illustrations brings drama and a sense of heightened contrast to each scene, perfectly complementing the powerful text.
April 2, 2026
BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US is a simple, powerful, heartful dual immigration story!
Written as a "Reverso Poem," one that begins one way and reverses on itself, BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US shares the historically repeated story of how immigrants --now and in the past--rather than being welcomed, first find themselves caged in holding camps. And similarly, how those considered "undesirable" for political reasons aka citizens of Japanese heritage during WWII and Hispanics now, are also incarcerated. When I write "simple" I mean the poetic form and language make it accessible, understandable, and not frightening for even the youngest readers. And the hopeful message of help and understanding given and received is repeated throughout. This is a must have book for every school and public library!
Written as a "Reverso Poem," one that begins one way and reverses on itself, BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US shares the historically repeated story of how immigrants --now and in the past--rather than being welcomed, first find themselves caged in holding camps. And similarly, how those considered "undesirable" for political reasons aka citizens of Japanese heritage during WWII and Hispanics now, are also incarcerated. When I write "simple" I mean the poetic form and language make it accessible, understandable, and not frightening for even the youngest readers. And the hopeful message of help and understanding given and received is repeated throughout. This is a must have book for every school and public library!
April 17, 2026
An absolutely phenomenal picture book that is very very very important right now. The text is a reverso poem, that is, a poem that is told one way, then told in reverse to have a different meaning. The first half of the poem follows a Japanese American family during WWII who are taken to an interment camp in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The second half of the poem tells the story of a presumably Mexican family, or at least a family who travels through Mexico, on their journey to the United States. The family deals with family separation at the exact same camp, Fort Sill, many many decades later, showing the reverberations of oppression over time and the shared struggles of different immigrant groups.
December 1, 2025
Barbed Wire Between Us
by Mia Wenjen Illustrated by Violeta Encarnación
Looking at the haunting history that repeats itself in a particular place. In this instance Fort Sill Oklahoma. First the reservation area for Native American tribes. Prison, and unjust restriction of their freedom. Second World War 2 the interment camps of the Japanese Americans. Now it is the placement of camps for illegal immigrants. Each time their freedom is restricted, humanity taken, and their provisions diminished and causing hunger, and health problems.
The book is shown in a reverso poem, both retaining the meaning of the humanity of the situation. The struggles of the people and the loss of freedom.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
History is repeating itself once again. It breaks my heart that we have not learned our lesson. Hate fills the hearts of those in power, and they are using it to spread their horrible beliefs that just because people are a certain color, they deserve to be treated less than human. Families are being torn apart; innocent people are being taken without cause just for the color of their skin. This book touches on what has happened before to people who have ancestry that is not white. It is a great introduction to history for children. The flow of the poetry was easy to understand, but also evoked emotions.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I enjoyed how this story told many different perspectives of Fort Sill and imprisonment. The illustrations were well done. However, I did not enjoy how it repeated the verses. I understand that the repetition of verses was to portray the repetition of history, but I did not enjoy it.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
For more reviews and discussions, listen to my podcast The Honest Book Reviewers with Nate and Emma.
https://open.spotify.com/show/3H3ugH4...
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
For more reviews and discussions, listen to my podcast The Honest Book Reviewers with Nate and Emma.
https://open.spotify.com/show/3H3ugH4...
April 2, 2026
Exquisite and Powerful.
This book, written as a reverso poem tells the story of family separation with the lens focused on two girls over eighty years apart whose families are taken to and held at the Fort Sill Detention Center in Oklahoma. The Japanese-American family during WWII and the immigrant family current day are poignantly portrayed mirroring each other as history repeats itself.
The book is illustrated beautifully by Violeta Encarnación with a sparse color palette that matches the sparse text of Mia Wenjen's writing.
Excellent back matter makes this book a fantastic classroom resource. Highly recommend for home, libraries, and schools.
This book, written as a reverso poem tells the story of family separation with the lens focused on two girls over eighty years apart whose families are taken to and held at the Fort Sill Detention Center in Oklahoma. The Japanese-American family during WWII and the immigrant family current day are poignantly portrayed mirroring each other as history repeats itself.
The book is illustrated beautifully by Violeta Encarnación with a sparse color palette that matches the sparse text of Mia Wenjen's writing.
Excellent back matter makes this book a fantastic classroom resource. Highly recommend for home, libraries, and schools.
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