Children of Topaz

by Michael O. Tunnell

Based upon the diary of a third-grade class of Japanese-American children being held with their families in an internment camp during World War II, The Children of Topaz gives a detailed portrait of daily life in the camps where Japanese-Americans were taken during the war. There are many primary source documents including the children's drawings, maps of the camp, and photographs depicting the harsh, wartime attitudes toward these families.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, World War II, War, Biography

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1996

Reviews

[Michelle Stimpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good non-fiction for kids. I read this after taking a course on the Japanese Internment, and still learned things I did not know. As a Girl Scout leader and Cub Scout mom, I enjoyed the references to the activities that Brownies and Cub Scouts did in the Topaz Internment Camp. It's a reminder of just how innocent and typical the kids were and how difficult it must have been for their parents to see them in those conditions.

[Quinn Rollins · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Americans, we're used to being the heroes. So when we're confronted with times where we've made mistakes, it can be hard to accept. With the students I teach, it can be a struggle to help them understand the Japanese-American internment camps the U.S. set up during World War II. These ten camps and relocation centers held thousands of Japanese-Americans as prisoners from 1942-1945. One of the best tools I've found to help children (and adults) understand the daily life of these prisoners is The Children of Topaz: The Story of a Japanese-American Internment Camp. The 1996 non-fiction book by Michael O. Tunnell and George W. Chilcoat is only 74 pages long, but provides invaluable insight into what the children of one internment camp were going through.

The first dozen pages of the book are the authors' introduction and background about the internment camps and the people being kept there. Topaz was located in central Utah, in an alkali desert that was harsh then and today, and is some of the most desolate land in the United States. The reaction of the United States government and citizens to the attack on Pearl Harbor is described, and the decision to start the internment camps is examined. The heart of this book is the classroom diary of a third grade teacher, Lillian Yamauchi Hori. She had her students keep a diary that they illustrated and wrote in. The entire diary is 73 pages long; 20 of them are reproduced here.

An example of an entry:

April 14, 1943
On Sunday evening at 7:30 o'clock, an old man, Mr. James H. Wakasa passed away.
This morning some of our boys saw a dog balancing on a car as it drove by on the road.
Yesterday we started to build our "cookie house" for Hansel and Gretel. Edwin, Bobby, Lynn and Kei were chosen to work on it.
Today Kiku's mother and father left Topaz. His father went to Idaho and his mother went to Salt Lake City.
There was a fire at the turkey farm last night.
We went to see the ant hills, scorpions and horned toad at Miss Ito's and Mr. Kusano's class.

From this entry alone, we learn some important things: the students were award of the outside world; they had extracurricular activities like school plays; they had pets of a sort to replace the ones they left behind; and some residents were able to leave the camp. One of the most revealing things for my students is simply the names of the students; about three-fourths of the residents of Topaz had very American-sounding first names like Bobby, Mike, and Betty. The journal page is illustrated with the "cookie house" the third-graders are building as scenery for their school play.

The diary entries only cover from March to August 1943, but even in that time frame a lot happens in the camp. Tunnell and Chilcoat provide enough commentary to explain each entry in the journal, and point out important events that have an impact on the students. Dozens of residents are allowed to leave the camp to go work as migrant farm workers in the area around Provo, Utah. Nineteen young men choose to serve in Nissei battalions as soldiers for the U.S. Army. Many more refuse. The journals give us glimpses of what life is like for the kids of Topaz. With the exception of the barbed wire fences and the guard towers and the deplorable living conditions, this could be any third grade diary from the 1940s. The kids are kids, and even in this conditions, their humor and vibrancy shines through.

The book is illustrated with photographs of what was happening before internment, dozens of photographs of the Topaz camp, and some after internment. By 1945 only half of the population of Topaz was still in the camp--most had moved to other locations.

A short Afterword explains the efforts of Americans to convince the United States government to apologize to the Japanese-Americans and their families, something that didn't happen until the presidency of the first George Bush. This is now recognized as a gross injustice, a black mark on American History, but it took decades for that recognition to be official.

If you're interested in World War II history or the Japanese-American internment, this book doesn't give you a complete picture of what it was like, but it does give you some great insight into the lives of the residents. It's a quick read, but a powerful one.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you would like your upper elementary students to learn about a dark chapter in our American history, have them read The Children of Topaz, by Michael O. Tunnell. This book is a great introduction to the internment of loyal American citizens, in prison camps during WWII, solely because they were Japanese and looked liked the enemy. Based on the diary of a third grade classroom, the book introduces many of the hardships and deprivations endured by Japanese American citizens. It is a great starting point for exploration of other topics related to this episode of our history.

[Jennifer Kepesh]

This is a very readable account suitable for upper elementary children or older, incorporating artifacts from the internment camp, personal recollections from people who were detained there, and historical context. The central document is a third grade class’s daily diary, summarized by the teacher and including a coloured pencil drawing by a student on each page. The book is even-toned,very relatable for children, but does not hold back in the injustice and hardship the detainees suffered.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a story of a Japanese-American internment camp as much as a summary of our history based on each artifact the author discovered (classroom diary, pictures). Maybe there wasn't enough information about any one person to truly have their story told. Instead of nonfiction, what if this important event in our country's history were turned into historical fiction? Fill in the gaps?

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daily journal entries by the teacher and students of a class at a school at the Japanese internment camp at Topaz, Utah during the Second World War, with historical explanations of each entry. Heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time.

[Rick Reitzug · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book--basically an annotation with accompanying photographs--of a student diary kept during the internment in the U.S. of people of Japanese descent during WWII. Although a short book, it is an interesting artifact of one of the many historical misguided policies of our government.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look into the pages of an illustrated class diary from the one class at Topaz for one school year. It includes their teacher and six of their classmates being sent to Tule Lake.

Some of the commentary is helpful and some is less so, but it is good to let the children have their say.

[Kathy Krieg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrible part of US history due to poor decisions by our government after Pearl Harbor was bombed. This is part of history I hope is taught in schools still today, we should never forget. I write this as Americans and immigrants are being treated terrible, so sad!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A insightful classroom journal of 3rd graders who are housed in Topaz Internment Camp in 1943, made more powerful by my recent visit to the Topaz site.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a powerful introduction to the Japanese internment camp in Topaz, Utah. Based on a diary from a third grade classroom at the camp. I appreciated what I learned.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

True, with 80 years of hind sight it seems terrible that Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps for three years during WWII. But what were those camps like? It’s true that people were housed in barracks that didn’t even have sheetrock until a year into the project, but otherwise, camp life was not really terrible, especially when you compare America with those European countries that gassed and incinerated their lesser citizens. Were our Japanese Americans beaten, tortured, starved, frozen, and shot? Well, no. They held cub scouts and brownies, along with sponsoring boy scouts, who went camping in the nearby mountains for a week. All the children went to school. The high school kids had regular course work, along with athletics, dances and as many regular activities as they could cram in, including traditional graduations with caps and gowns. The inmates of the camp ate well. In fact, local residents complained that the camps didn’t suffer from rationing like the rest of the country did, and they always had plenty of sugar and coffee. If I hadn’t just been reading about a Jewish ghetto and its atrocities, the contrast wouldn’t have been so stark, but it seems to me that the Americans bent over backwards to make things as normal as possible in the camps. Overall, I think the Americans did as well as they possibly could under the circumstances.

[Heather K · Rating 5 out of 5]

One elementary school class in the Japanese internment camp in Topaz, Utah kept a diary. This book contains excerpts of that diary and photographs of the adults and children.

[Emily Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1942, the United States government relocated110,000 Japanese-Americans from the West Coast to internment camps like Topaz where the people were forced to live under strict patrol in demoralizing conditions.

Topaz was located in the Sevier Desert in Utah. The 8,000 residents were crammed into small, rustic barracks; but, even under the terrible living conditions the citizens banded together to make the internment camp as normal as possible especially for the children. Ms. Anne Yamauchi, a third grade teacher at The Mountain View School, had her class keep an illustrated journal to record the everyday events that took place in Topaz. Original pages from the class’ journal are accompanied by detailed glosses and black and white photographs permitting the reader a personal glimpse into life in an internment camp. A Carter G. Woodson Honor Book, this fascinating historical account will open the eyes of young readers and adults who are likely to be amazed by this part of American history which often receives nothing more than a brief mention in textbooks.

A thought provoking and extremely well researched book that sheds light on a shameful part of United States history. (introduction, afterword, reference and reading list, index) (Non Fiction. Grades 5-8).

[Edy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reading challenge that I am doing this year calls for a book I could read in one day. The librarian at the middle school where I work, found this little gem. As an educator, I found it provocative because the stories come from a classroom journal.

Additionally, the location of the Japanese internment camp, Topaz, is only a few hours' drive from my home. As I study the history of World War II, and the subject intrigues me, I'm always dumb founded that Hitler's Third Reich could do the things it did to human beings. Yet, the history of the United States is not lily white in the way we have treated people who are different. At my junior high in the 60s, I remember racial slurs slung at my Japanese classmates. And then there are the Japanese internment camps--what were we thinking? Unfortunately, I think we have a short memory. In my position as a school administrator, I deal with kids who continue to be racially biased. White privilege is certainly real--and yes, I'm grateful for the opportunities it has afforded me, but I must never forget that there are others who need opportunities and kindnesses and privileges.

[TrannWaassHeree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly liked the book "The Children of Topaz" it was short but descriptive about the experience in the Internment Camp in Topaz at the time even though it was not written by someone with a first person point of view. This book isn't what the tittle is all about it describes about the experience or the things that happened around the camp too. What I liked about the book was that it wasn't exactly like a textbook just text and that it wasn't boring (well at least to me) it was a easy read and it provided a special aspect of including pictures of a school diary, people's past before the camp and after the camp. Going into the book was a great experience and the ending wrapped up quite nicely. I would recommend this book to students ages 12+. Btw the authors were not there so they found the book, older photos at the time, and they also found the teacher (Mrs. Hori) and talked to her.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book starts out about the worries the people had on the West Coast just after the war started. It also covers the fact that only one-third of the Japanese Americans were first generation from Japan and the kinds of prejudice they all faced.

Then it goes into how the interment started and what followed the start. A physical description of the camp follows along with a description of the guard towers. The book also covers the loyalty questionnaire that caused so much trouble and has some material on what the young people did in the camp, although not as much as one would expect from the title of the book.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed about the lives of internees in the Topaz camp. The level of patience and strength demonstrated by these people is commendable. It was also interesting to read how the absence of the "intimate family dinner table" led to the rebellion of the Japanese preteens and teens.

[Megengelter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed.

Great view into the internment camps of WWII. Photos, writings of school children, history....

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

not written for children, poor use of primary source material

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Tunnell's research and how he located and reunited these children is so inspiring.

[Lorena]

Our very dear friend wrote this book. We are proud of him.

[Lisa]

This is based on a classroom diary and has actual pages from that diary incorporated. It's a very sad time in our history. I'm always amazed at the people who don't know about the internment camps. There were two in Arkansas, yet most people don't know.