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Enemy Child: The Story of Norman Mineta, a Boy Imprisoned in a Japanese American Internment Camp During World War II
It's 1941 and ten-year-old Norman Mineta is a carefree fourth grader in San Jose, California, who loves baseball, hot dogs, and Cub Scouts. But when Japanese forces attack Pearl Harbor, Norm's world is turned upside down.
Corecipient of The Flora Stieglitz Straus Award
A Horn Book Best Book of the Year
One by one, things that he and his Japanese American family took for granted are taken away. In a matter of months they, along with everyone else of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, are forced by the government to move to internment camps, leaving everything they have known behind.
At the Heart Mountain internment camp in Wyoming, Norm and his family live in one room in a tar paper barracks with no running water. There are lines for the communal bathroom, lines for the mess hall, and they live behind barbed wire and under the scrutiny of armed guards in watchtowers.
Meticulously researched and informed by extensive interviews with Mineta himself, Enemy Child sheds light on a little-known subject of American history. Andrea Warren covers the history of early Asian immigration to the United States and provides historical context on the U.S. government's decision to imprison Japanese Americans alongside a deeply personal account of the sobering effects of that policy.
Warren takes readers from sunny California to an isolated wartime prison camp and finally to the halls of Congress to tell the true story of a boy who rose from "enemy child" to a distinguished American statesman. Mineta was the first Asian mayor of a major city (San Jose) and was elected ten times to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he worked tirelessly to pass legislation, including the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. He also served as Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Transportation. He has had requests by other authors to write his biography, but this is the first time he has said yes because he wanted young readers to know the story of America's internment camps.
Enemy Child includes more than ninety photos, many provided by Norm himself, chronicling his family history and his life. Extensive backmatter includes an Afterword, bibliography, research notes, and multimedia recommendations for further information on this important topic.
A California Reading Association Eureka! Nonfiction Gold Award Winner
Winner of the Society of Midland Authors Award’s Children’s Reading Round Table Award for Children’s Nonfiction A Capitol Choices Noteworthy Title
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Bank Street Best Book of the Year - Outstanding Merit
Corecipient of The Flora Stieglitz Straus Award
A Horn Book Best Book of the Year
One by one, things that he and his Japanese American family took for granted are taken away. In a matter of months they, along with everyone else of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, are forced by the government to move to internment camps, leaving everything they have known behind.
At the Heart Mountain internment camp in Wyoming, Norm and his family live in one room in a tar paper barracks with no running water. There are lines for the communal bathroom, lines for the mess hall, and they live behind barbed wire and under the scrutiny of armed guards in watchtowers.
Meticulously researched and informed by extensive interviews with Mineta himself, Enemy Child sheds light on a little-known subject of American history. Andrea Warren covers the history of early Asian immigration to the United States and provides historical context on the U.S. government's decision to imprison Japanese Americans alongside a deeply personal account of the sobering effects of that policy.
Warren takes readers from sunny California to an isolated wartime prison camp and finally to the halls of Congress to tell the true story of a boy who rose from "enemy child" to a distinguished American statesman. Mineta was the first Asian mayor of a major city (San Jose) and was elected ten times to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he worked tirelessly to pass legislation, including the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. He also served as Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Transportation. He has had requests by other authors to write his biography, but this is the first time he has said yes because he wanted young readers to know the story of America's internment camps.
Enemy Child includes more than ninety photos, many provided by Norm himself, chronicling his family history and his life. Extensive backmatter includes an Afterword, bibliography, research notes, and multimedia recommendations for further information on this important topic.
A California Reading Association Eureka! Nonfiction Gold Award Winner
Winner of the Society of Midland Authors Award’s Children’s Reading Round Table Award for Children’s Nonfiction A Capitol Choices Noteworthy Title
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Bank Street Best Book of the Year - Outstanding Merit
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2019
1 person is currently reading
352 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
October 24, 2020
I have been reading about the Japanese internment camps of WW2 since I was ten, beginning with the book “Journey to Topaz”. Since then I have read and enjoyed many others; “Enemy Child” stands out as one of the best!
A few years ago my family and I visited the museums at the Topaz camp and the Heart Mountain camp. The information and artifacts at both were outstanding, but what I remember best was touring the barracks and the areas around them, like the baseball field at Topaz. Very barren and desolate; if you were really quiet and still, you could almost imagine that you could hear those long-ago voices in the desert wind...
I think this book, written for an audience of middle-grade and older, needs to be in every classroom. It could be such a wonderful teaching tool, to show the younger generation about a period of history that must never, ever be allowed to be repeated, and why.
Memorable Quotes:
(Pg.33)-“Time Magazine ran an article titled, “How to Tell Your Friends From the Japs”, and the Los Angeles Times proclaimed, “A viper is nonetheless a viper wherever the egg is hatched, so a Japanese-American, born of Japanese parents, grows up to be Japanese, not an American.”
(Pg.27)-“In those early days after Pearl Harbor, for the first time in my life, I saw my father cry. He loved America and could not understand why the land of his birth had attacked the land of his heart.”
A few years ago my family and I visited the museums at the Topaz camp and the Heart Mountain camp. The information and artifacts at both were outstanding, but what I remember best was touring the barracks and the areas around them, like the baseball field at Topaz. Very barren and desolate; if you were really quiet and still, you could almost imagine that you could hear those long-ago voices in the desert wind...
I think this book, written for an audience of middle-grade and older, needs to be in every classroom. It could be such a wonderful teaching tool, to show the younger generation about a period of history that must never, ever be allowed to be repeated, and why.
Memorable Quotes:
(Pg.33)-“Time Magazine ran an article titled, “How to Tell Your Friends From the Japs”, and the Los Angeles Times proclaimed, “A viper is nonetheless a viper wherever the egg is hatched, so a Japanese-American, born of Japanese parents, grows up to be Japanese, not an American.”
(Pg.27)-“In those early days after Pearl Harbor, for the first time in my life, I saw my father cry. He loved America and could not understand why the land of his birth had attacked the land of his heart.”
July 4, 2020
Well written, well researched narrative nonfiction about Japanese internment camps in the United States during World War II.
Middle schooles looking for nonfiction or those of any age who are looking for anything related to World War II will want to give this one a try.
Middle schooles looking for nonfiction or those of any age who are looking for anything related to World War II will want to give this one a try.
November 22, 2019
This book is a great example of "thinking you know all about the subject" and then reading a book that provides new compelling information. In this case one of the most shocking "new" information for me about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII was the fact that even babies in orphanages in the west coast who were of Japanese ancestry were "rounded up" and put into camps. There are "light" moments in this biography. Norman hopes there first assignment will be the stables where Seabiscuit was housed. He reflects on the losses of those around him, the father who is taken away mysteriously, the family struggling with depression. This is not a book about bitterness or retribution, but instead a look at a dark period in American history and how one family survived and helped others to do so too.
August 18, 2025
Children's non-fiction is such a straightforward and wonderful genre. This is the story of a kid for kids, so its simple and uncomplicated in its telling of one of the least simple, most complicated, and completely unjustifiable and monstrous things that ever sprang from the mind of someone close to Franklin D. Roosevelt, and may he live in shame and infamy for allowing this.
Norman Mineta likes baseball and comic books because it's 1941 and he is a very American Japanese-American kid. His father learned fluent English and sold insurance, so he had white friends and business contacts, and was a leader in the Japanese-American community. Mineta even supposes that his father wasn't arrested immediately after Pearl Harbor because he had white people advocating for him. Of course, the family does end up being relocated because the law knows no exceptions for the underclasses, and Norman's family ends up in a repurposed racetrack, which he thinks is the coolest thing ever because Seabiscuit could have slept in the horse stall where he and his family are now forced to live. Of course it's actually terrible, but he's a little kid who gets to run around with his friends all day.
Eventually, Norman and his family are relocated to a camp. His married sister is kept in a different camp but they're allowed to write letters, and the adults try to build up a civil society, with school, a newspaper, civic organizations, a massive gardening operation, and Scout troops. Norman is back to being a Boy Scout, and his troop gets to spend a day with a white troop from the Montana town near the camp. He's paired up for Scouting activities with a jovial white boy and, incredibly, they meet up later in life when they're both US congressmen.
People are slowly moved away from the camps as the US government realizes that, after you incarcerate 800,000 people, you have to rehome them somehow. Norman's sister is able to leave because there's a secretary shortage, and his dad leaves to be a translator. Norman and his mother are finally able to reunite with them in Chicago, and they stay there until they can move back into the California house that they rented out during the war. Norman grows up, struggles with dyslexia, goes to college, gets interested in public policy, runs for office, and ends up as George W. Bush's transportation secretary, much later on. This was just a great story of a kid and a family surviving under horrific circumstances, and it would be a reminder that NEVER AGAIN, except we are doing this again, for fuck's sake. Definitely worth the read and the print version probably has some great pictures, because it's that kind of kid's non-fiction. The audiobook was excellent too.
Norman Mineta likes baseball and comic books because it's 1941 and he is a very American Japanese-American kid. His father learned fluent English and sold insurance, so he had white friends and business contacts, and was a leader in the Japanese-American community. Mineta even supposes that his father wasn't arrested immediately after Pearl Harbor because he had white people advocating for him. Of course, the family does end up being relocated because the law knows no exceptions for the underclasses, and Norman's family ends up in a repurposed racetrack, which he thinks is the coolest thing ever because Seabiscuit could have slept in the horse stall where he and his family are now forced to live. Of course it's actually terrible, but he's a little kid who gets to run around with his friends all day.
Eventually, Norman and his family are relocated to a camp. His married sister is kept in a different camp but they're allowed to write letters, and the adults try to build up a civil society, with school, a newspaper, civic organizations, a massive gardening operation, and Scout troops. Norman is back to being a Boy Scout, and his troop gets to spend a day with a white troop from the Montana town near the camp. He's paired up for Scouting activities with a jovial white boy and, incredibly, they meet up later in life when they're both US congressmen.
People are slowly moved away from the camps as the US government realizes that, after you incarcerate 800,000 people, you have to rehome them somehow. Norman's sister is able to leave because there's a secretary shortage, and his dad leaves to be a translator. Norman and his mother are finally able to reunite with them in Chicago, and they stay there until they can move back into the California house that they rented out during the war. Norman grows up, struggles with dyslexia, goes to college, gets interested in public policy, runs for office, and ends up as George W. Bush's transportation secretary, much later on. This was just a great story of a kid and a family surviving under horrific circumstances, and it would be a reminder that NEVER AGAIN, except we are doing this again, for fuck's sake. Definitely worth the read and the print version probably has some great pictures, because it's that kind of kid's non-fiction. The audiobook was excellent too.
December 30, 2019
Norm Mineta was like any other American kid -- collecting comics, enjoying baseball, hanging out with his friends -- until the Pearl Harbor attack happened and his family was sent to live in an internment camp in Wyoming. Andrea Warren, through her research and interviews with Norm, tells a compelling story of how racist attitudes forced a loyal group of Americans to give up their homes and jobs and move into remote, uncomfortable locations. This subject is particularly pertinent right now as the U.S. government is creating more internment camps for Central American refugees.
Norm's story makes it personal. An important read.
Norm's story makes it personal. An important read.
May 9, 2020
Norman Mineta isn't a household name in any but the most government-nerd households, and he won't have kid appeal on name alone. But for a fresh take on Japanese interment camps, this is a solid read. Especially reading this during the Covid-19 quarantine, when folks are whining about being under house arrest - to compare - the Japanese-Americans who lived on the West Coast during WW2 were literally rounded up, their property businesses and money lost, and they had no ability to leave the barns where they were forcefully repatriated. Turns out, this story can still shock and surprise you anew.
August 26, 2019
Excellent
June 13, 2019
Highly interesting account of one family's internment experience. I noticed a few similarities and differences in the Mineta's experiences compared to other accounts I have read recently. One was that Norm's father stayed with his family and was not taken and imprisoned in a North Dakota camp before being reunited with his family, as so many other husbands and fathers were. Perhaps it was because of his continued presence that the Mineta family remained close throughout their time in the camp, when so many other families were drifting apart due to camp culture (mentioned in this book) by doing things like spending little time at home together and not even eating meals together. Norm's father insisted on family meals, even in the cafeteria setting throughout their time in camp. Additionally, Norm's story was more unusual than most in that his father was able to get a job outside of camp and they ended up moving to Chicago until after the war. In the additional information at the end of the book, I learned that children in foster care and orphanages were scrutinized, and even those with as little as 1/8 Japanese ancestry were sent to internment camps.
Readers will want to consume this book in print instead of audio. The narrator has one of the strangest ways to read certain repetitive parts I have ever heard, with an oddly long pause before the words, "Norm said," or "he said," along with a strange intonation. Her breath-taking at the end of phrases sounds gasping. These two things drove me to distraction from an otherwise good book.
Readers will want to consume this book in print instead of audio. The narrator has one of the strangest ways to read certain repetitive parts I have ever heard, with an oddly long pause before the words, "Norm said," or "he said," along with a strange intonation. Her breath-taking at the end of phrases sounds gasping. These two things drove me to distraction from an otherwise good book.
May 9, 2024
5/8/2024 Surprisingly dense with information, and acutely moving. Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
5/9/2024 Many Americans will know of Norman Mineta as a trailblazing Japanese American politician, a moderate Democrat who served in both Democratic and Republican cabinets. He always resisted having any books written about his life until he was approached by Andrea Warren, an award-winning author of books for children, who wanted to make his story accessible to young readers and beyond. Together, they worked on what would be the only biography of him ever written in his lifetime, focusing primarily on how he along with tens of thousands of other Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated during World War II.
Norman was your average kid growing up in San Jose, California in the 1930s and 1940s. While his parents were immigrants from Japan, they weren't allowed to apply for citizenship based on the discriminatory laws of the era. Norman and his four older siblings were all born in the United States however, making them just as American as any of their neighbors, Asian, white, Black or otherwise. While Japanese culture was a big part of the Minetas' daily lives, they wholeheartedly embraced being American too, and were deeply grateful to be able to live free in ways not possible across the Pacific Ocean.
The outbreak of World War II, alas, made it a bad time to be an American of German, Italian or Japanese descent. While many community leaders from all three backgrounds were detained under suspicion of conspiracy with the enemy, only Japanese Americans were ultimately forced to leave their homes and move to internment camps en masse. Norman was one of the many children shipped off with his family to live in reprehensible conditions, as Ms Warren unflinchingly details in her tightly written, thoroughly documented accounting.
Yet the Japanese spirit of resilience ensured that the vast majority of internees managed to not only survive but thrive. The internees by and large chose to cooperate fully with government directives, in an effort to prove that they were as deeply loyal to America as they always said they were. Which doesn't make what happened to them at all excusable. The Mineta family were lucky in that, when the war ended several years after they were ripped from their homes, they could return to San Jose to find that their neighbors' unwavering faith in them had protected their property and belongings. Many others returned to nothing, or worse. Anti-Japanese sentiment had run high during World War II, and did not abate immediately with the cessation of hostilities.
Norman was well aware of all this, and suitably wary in his own day-to-day dealings. But he was also the beneficiary of a diverse hometown that appreciated his contributions from childhood and beyond, as he eventually became mayor of San Jose before being elected to the House of Representatives. Tho racism did not leave him unscarred, the can-do American spirit that leans almost inevitably to sheer decency ensured that he always had the chance to not only advance politically, but to represent and give back to his community as well. Passing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 -- which provided both an apology to Japanese American internees as well as financial reparations -- with bipartisan support was what he considered the crowning achievement of his career. As Secretary of Transportation when the 9/11 attacks happened, he was also instrumental in fighting any ban against passengers based on appearance or religion.
It's unusual that so public a figure would have no other authorized biographies, but reading Ms Warren's book makes it perfectly clear that Norman Mineta was never looking for acclaim. His fight for justice was very much embedded in the desire to ensure that what happened to him and other innocent Americans never happened to anyone else. What better way to plant the seeds for this than by having his story written in a format targeted towards children, but just as accessible to be read by anyone older? Despite using straightforward language and an even tone throughout, however, Enemy Child is neither a fast nor an easy read. It's heartbreaking to think of what the internees went through, but inspiring to see how they overcame one of the worst violations of their constitutional and human rights in order to reclaim their rightful places as Americans once more.
On a personal note, I'm actually a little surprised that I've never been to the Japanese American Memorial for Patriotism here in DC (tho I would hardly describe it as being close to the White House, as the book does, when landmarks like Union Station and the Capitol are in far closer proximity.) Since it's unlikely that I'll be able to visit one of the internment sites run as a memorial by the National Parks Service in the near future, I'm going to make a point of visiting this memorial, in honor of a boy who survived one of the greatest injustices of American history to become a leader in the ongoing fight to ensure that it never happens again.
Enemy Child by Andrea Warren was published April 30 2019 by Margaret Ferguson Books and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
5/9/2024 Many Americans will know of Norman Mineta as a trailblazing Japanese American politician, a moderate Democrat who served in both Democratic and Republican cabinets. He always resisted having any books written about his life until he was approached by Andrea Warren, an award-winning author of books for children, who wanted to make his story accessible to young readers and beyond. Together, they worked on what would be the only biography of him ever written in his lifetime, focusing primarily on how he along with tens of thousands of other Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated during World War II.
Norman was your average kid growing up in San Jose, California in the 1930s and 1940s. While his parents were immigrants from Japan, they weren't allowed to apply for citizenship based on the discriminatory laws of the era. Norman and his four older siblings were all born in the United States however, making them just as American as any of their neighbors, Asian, white, Black or otherwise. While Japanese culture was a big part of the Minetas' daily lives, they wholeheartedly embraced being American too, and were deeply grateful to be able to live free in ways not possible across the Pacific Ocean.
The outbreak of World War II, alas, made it a bad time to be an American of German, Italian or Japanese descent. While many community leaders from all three backgrounds were detained under suspicion of conspiracy with the enemy, only Japanese Americans were ultimately forced to leave their homes and move to internment camps en masse. Norman was one of the many children shipped off with his family to live in reprehensible conditions, as Ms Warren unflinchingly details in her tightly written, thoroughly documented accounting.
Yet the Japanese spirit of resilience ensured that the vast majority of internees managed to not only survive but thrive. The internees by and large chose to cooperate fully with government directives, in an effort to prove that they were as deeply loyal to America as they always said they were. Which doesn't make what happened to them at all excusable. The Mineta family were lucky in that, when the war ended several years after they were ripped from their homes, they could return to San Jose to find that their neighbors' unwavering faith in them had protected their property and belongings. Many others returned to nothing, or worse. Anti-Japanese sentiment had run high during World War II, and did not abate immediately with the cessation of hostilities.
Norman was well aware of all this, and suitably wary in his own day-to-day dealings. But he was also the beneficiary of a diverse hometown that appreciated his contributions from childhood and beyond, as he eventually became mayor of San Jose before being elected to the House of Representatives. Tho racism did not leave him unscarred, the can-do American spirit that leans almost inevitably to sheer decency ensured that he always had the chance to not only advance politically, but to represent and give back to his community as well. Passing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 -- which provided both an apology to Japanese American internees as well as financial reparations -- with bipartisan support was what he considered the crowning achievement of his career. As Secretary of Transportation when the 9/11 attacks happened, he was also instrumental in fighting any ban against passengers based on appearance or religion.
It's unusual that so public a figure would have no other authorized biographies, but reading Ms Warren's book makes it perfectly clear that Norman Mineta was never looking for acclaim. His fight for justice was very much embedded in the desire to ensure that what happened to him and other innocent Americans never happened to anyone else. What better way to plant the seeds for this than by having his story written in a format targeted towards children, but just as accessible to be read by anyone older? Despite using straightforward language and an even tone throughout, however, Enemy Child is neither a fast nor an easy read. It's heartbreaking to think of what the internees went through, but inspiring to see how they overcame one of the worst violations of their constitutional and human rights in order to reclaim their rightful places as Americans once more.
On a personal note, I'm actually a little surprised that I've never been to the Japanese American Memorial for Patriotism here in DC (tho I would hardly describe it as being close to the White House, as the book does, when landmarks like Union Station and the Capitol are in far closer proximity.) Since it's unlikely that I'll be able to visit one of the internment sites run as a memorial by the National Parks Service in the near future, I'm going to make a point of visiting this memorial, in honor of a boy who survived one of the greatest injustices of American history to become a leader in the ongoing fight to ensure that it never happens again.
Enemy Child by Andrea Warren was published April 30 2019 by Margaret Ferguson Books and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
February 28, 2022
A story that needs to be told, but terribly written. The author writes it like a news story sometimes and a story story other times. Randomly inserting facts, but not in a natural way
March 1, 2019
This is an excellent account of a baseball-loving boy who went from living the good life in San Jose, California, where his father ran his own insurance agency, to being detained in a Japanese internment camp until Thanksgiving 1945. Norman Mineta and his family were first evacuated in May 1942 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor led to widespread paranoia and xenophobia and President Franklin Delano signed Executive Order 9066. This order allowed civilians such as Norm, who was ten at the time, to be rounded up, stripped of their property, and kept in internment camps for the duration of the war. At first the family lived in barracks at one was a race track in Santa Anita before being moved to Heart Mountain internment Camp in Wyoming. Based on extensive research and interviews with Norm, who grew up to become a ten-term Congressman and the United States Secretary of Commerce, the story is filled with personal anecdotes as Norm describes the shock his family experienced as they were labeled enemies of their country and then lost their civil liberties. While it's clear that he made the best of a horrible situation, including overcrowding, loss of privacy, bad food, and the loss of their liberties, it is also just as clear that the government made a terrible mistake by detaining these Japanese Americans. Andrea Warren describes the experience from the eyes of young Norm, watching as the politics that he knew little about changed his life forever. The story begins before the Minetkas' incarceration, follows them to various camps, and then details their return home. Additionally, the narrative points out his involvement in the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 in which the United States offered an apology for its actions and offered reparations to survivors of the incarceration. The book is filled with several archival photographs and artwork, and has the perfect title since young Norm and others even younger than him at the time were regarded as enemies of this country despite their citizenship. There's so much good to be said about this important book. It is infinitely readable and should be considered an essential purchase for any social studies or history class or a fine addition to a collection of books on civil rights. Norm's story and the reaction of some after Pearl Harbor will certainly bring to mind the attitudes of many after the Twin Towers destruction as well as some of the current rhetoric toward immigrants today. While the book shows how quickly some individuals are moved to hate those that they deem different than themselves, it also shows how others see rights that they want to fix or reach out helping hands when they are needed. I was pleased to see Bainbridge Island in Washington mentioned in this light as well as a college professor friend of Norm's father who rented the family's house so that it would still be theirs after the war. Young readers will be touched at one of Norm's great losses--his dog Skippy who was not allowed to accompany the family to the camps.
July 5, 2024
This detailed and wrenching account focuses on a subject almost never discussed in recent American history: The 3 year period of injustice forced upon Japanese Americans when relocated and imprisoned across much of western America during World War II.
The story is mostly told through the recollections of former United States Secretary of Commerce Norman Mineta who was imprisoned in the relocation camp Heart Mountian in Northern Wyoming with his family from 1942 until late 1943.
Ms. Andrea Warren did thorough research for many weeks in preparation for her interview with Norm and his good friend Alan Shepard who were both boy scouts at the time of Norm's imprisonment. Alan's previous nervous perception of the enemy Japanese was completely shattered by seeing little kids living in terrible conditions within a camp of barbed wire. Over time, these two boys grew to be powerful men within the United States government. They worked tirelessly over many years in order to grant financial compensation and a formal executive apology from the US president to all former interees and their descendants in regards to this shameful chapter of American History. In addition, they also worked to help change the public perception regarding this violation of constitutional rights experienced by an ethnic group.
Norman was also effective in helping to stop widespread Islamic hate-mongering and guilt by association assumptions against Muslim American citizens in its tracks shortly after 9/11 by having former president George W. Bush make a clear distinction of this ethnic group from terrorist radicals.
Though written for younger readers, this book did a tremendous job in humanizing this group of misunderstood citizens and showed the great internal conflict felt between Japanese Americans torn between loyalty to the land of their origin and loyalty, despite terrible persecution, to their new adoptive country.
Beautiful work Ms. Warren!
The story is mostly told through the recollections of former United States Secretary of Commerce Norman Mineta who was imprisoned in the relocation camp Heart Mountian in Northern Wyoming with his family from 1942 until late 1943.
Ms. Andrea Warren did thorough research for many weeks in preparation for her interview with Norm and his good friend Alan Shepard who were both boy scouts at the time of Norm's imprisonment. Alan's previous nervous perception of the enemy Japanese was completely shattered by seeing little kids living in terrible conditions within a camp of barbed wire. Over time, these two boys grew to be powerful men within the United States government. They worked tirelessly over many years in order to grant financial compensation and a formal executive apology from the US president to all former interees and their descendants in regards to this shameful chapter of American History. In addition, they also worked to help change the public perception regarding this violation of constitutional rights experienced by an ethnic group.
Norman was also effective in helping to stop widespread Islamic hate-mongering and guilt by association assumptions against Muslim American citizens in its tracks shortly after 9/11 by having former president George W. Bush make a clear distinction of this ethnic group from terrorist radicals.
Though written for younger readers, this book did a tremendous job in humanizing this group of misunderstood citizens and showed the great internal conflict felt between Japanese Americans torn between loyalty to the land of their origin and loyalty, despite terrible persecution, to their new adoptive country.
Beautiful work Ms. Warren!
August 11, 2019
Enemy Child is a first-rate, gripping account of what life was like inside the Japanese internment camps of World War II. It is a story of injustice and resilience, of faith and fortitude, and is told with the sparse elegance that defines Warren’s style.
We follow young Norman Mineta and his family from their days in San Jose as thriving business owners through their years of internment. With her deft pen, Warren makes us feel what Norman feels — his confusion at being yanked from his neighborhood, his uncertainty, his homesickness, his fear, but most of all we feel Norman’s strong spirit — his strong American spirit, which shines ironically, brilliant, brightly, in the setting of this dark American deed. It is not lost on any of us as we read this book that Norm is a Boy Scout interned by his own government.
Warren’s exhaustive research and reporting is evident. And in true journalistic style, she lets the facts tell the story. Today more than ever, we especially need our students to read Enemy Child to better understand the journey of our immigrants, their plight, and the strength they give this nation.
In my middle school and high school history and social studies classes, I had — all told — about a paragraph on the Japanese internment camps. I wish I’d had this book back then.
We follow young Norman Mineta and his family from their days in San Jose as thriving business owners through their years of internment. With her deft pen, Warren makes us feel what Norman feels — his confusion at being yanked from his neighborhood, his uncertainty, his homesickness, his fear, but most of all we feel Norman’s strong spirit — his strong American spirit, which shines ironically, brilliant, brightly, in the setting of this dark American deed. It is not lost on any of us as we read this book that Norm is a Boy Scout interned by his own government.
Warren’s exhaustive research and reporting is evident. And in true journalistic style, she lets the facts tell the story. Today more than ever, we especially need our students to read Enemy Child to better understand the journey of our immigrants, their plight, and the strength they give this nation.
In my middle school and high school history and social studies classes, I had — all told — about a paragraph on the Japanese internment camps. I wish I’d had this book back then.
January 24, 2020
I love Andrea Warren. She is one of my favorite nonfiction narrative writers for middle grade kids. She has a unique ability to turn what could be a boring subject into a full-on story.
The story of the Japanese Americans who were imprisoned by the American government after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor is a story that has taken the spotlight in the last decade or two. There's even a couple of historical fiction books. Weedflower and Paper Wishes come to mind. This is the true story of Norm Mineta. It follows him from his happy life in San Jose, CA to Santa Anita, CA detention center and finally Heart Mountain, WY detention center. Warren does a great job capturing his emotions. His humiliation at being considered a second class citizen. Loss of constitutional rights. The boredom. The meager living conditions. The cold Wyoming winters. His father's resolve to remain faithful to the U.S. I enjoyed this book more than the aforementioned fiction stories.
Can't go wrong with anything written by Andrea Warren.
The story of the Japanese Americans who were imprisoned by the American government after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor is a story that has taken the spotlight in the last decade or two. There's even a couple of historical fiction books. Weedflower and Paper Wishes come to mind. This is the true story of Norm Mineta. It follows him from his happy life in San Jose, CA to Santa Anita, CA detention center and finally Heart Mountain, WY detention center. Warren does a great job capturing his emotions. His humiliation at being considered a second class citizen. Loss of constitutional rights. The boredom. The meager living conditions. The cold Wyoming winters. His father's resolve to remain faithful to the U.S. I enjoyed this book more than the aforementioned fiction stories.
Can't go wrong with anything written by Andrea Warren.
September 2, 2019
Warren's partial biography of ex-Congressman Norman Mineta regarding Mineta and his family's imprisonment during WWII as Japanese Americans at the Heart Mountain Internment Camp in Wyoming. The two take home messages is that at this particular camp are the following: one, most of the prisoners made the best of a bad situation and the injustice done by the U.S. Government to these families, who two-thirds were American citizens, was appalling. In light of the crisis at the U.S./Mexico boarder with the detention camps proves that we have not learned from our mistakes and this injustices will continue unless according Mineta, "But if we will speak out when we see someone's constitutional rights being violated, if we will act together, then we are strong enough to withstand any evil, internal or external, that threatens to unravel this beautiful tapestry that is America." There is an Additional Information and Bibliography section that are very informative for young readers who are interested in exploring more of this blot in American history.
September 23, 2019
Looking for something new to add to units on World War II? Busy trying to find ways to relate historical happenings to current events? Andrea Warren's new book, Enemy Child, follows Norman Mineta from his early childhood in San Jose to his time in the Heart Mountain internment camp and the years afterward. Photos show the cramped quarters at processing centers like the Santa Anita Racetrack, as well as the ramshackle buildings at the permanent camp. Quotes from Mineta and other internees bring the story to life rather than letting it read like a textbook or dry recitation of facts.
The final chapters cover Mineta's later education, as well his time as a U.S. Congressman, Senator, and then the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Parallels are drawn between the hysteria and racism that led to the Japanese internment camps, and the antagonism from some quarters toward Muslim groups after the 9/11 attacks.
Back matter includes additional information, multimedia recommendations, an author's note about researching the book, a bibliography, notes, photo credits, and an index.
Highly recommended for those teaching 5th grade and up who want to put a human face onto history.
The final chapters cover Mineta's later education, as well his time as a U.S. Congressman, Senator, and then the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Parallels are drawn between the hysteria and racism that led to the Japanese internment camps, and the antagonism from some quarters toward Muslim groups after the 9/11 attacks.
Back matter includes additional information, multimedia recommendations, an author's note about researching the book, a bibliography, notes, photo credits, and an index.
Highly recommended for those teaching 5th grade and up who want to put a human face onto history.
May 22, 2019
While this book is aimed at the junior high - high school set, I still enjoyed it.
Living as I do in the Silicon Valley, it's hard not to know who Norman Mineta is. Still, this look into his experiences as a child at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center during World War II gave a different perspective. Norm worried about his parents' and older siblings' well-being more than he did his own; he was making friends and making the best of a horrible situation.
The main thing that stuck with me was the idea that little kids who were American citizens were treated as enemy combatants ... as, of course, were their parents and adult siblings. But we're talking about kids who were interested in playing baseball or listening to their radio shows here ... doing normal kid stuff, but still being rounded up and put behind barbed wire for no other reason but racism.
This book contains a lot of lessons that are applicable in today's political situation. Highly recommended.
Living as I do in the Silicon Valley, it's hard not to know who Norman Mineta is. Still, this look into his experiences as a child at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center during World War II gave a different perspective. Norm worried about his parents' and older siblings' well-being more than he did his own; he was making friends and making the best of a horrible situation.
The main thing that stuck with me was the idea that little kids who were American citizens were treated as enemy combatants ... as, of course, were their parents and adult siblings. But we're talking about kids who were interested in playing baseball or listening to their radio shows here ... doing normal kid stuff, but still being rounded up and put behind barbed wire for no other reason but racism.
This book contains a lot of lessons that are applicable in today's political situation. Highly recommended.
July 17, 2019
I was blown away when at age 30 I first heard of the internment of the Japanese during World War II. It had never been mentioned in a high school or college level history class. I've been fascinated by this piece of American history ever since and have done quite a bit of reading on the subject. With each book I read, whether non-fiction or a novel, a little piece of information is added to my store. Did you know that children and infants of Japanese descent were removed from orphanages and interned? Just wow. Some of their care givers volunteered to go with them to the camps to be sure they were cared for.
This juvenile biography of Norman Mineta, sent to Heart Mountain in Wyoming at age six, along with his family, gives a picture of how the experience differed for children from that of adults.
Mineta eventually was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives and had a long and distinguished career.
This juvenile biography of Norman Mineta, sent to Heart Mountain in Wyoming at age six, along with his family, gives a picture of how the experience differed for children from that of adults.
Mineta eventually was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives and had a long and distinguished career.
November 13, 2019
Andrea Warren has written a compelling account of Norman Mineta's childhood experiences in a Japanese Internment camp. After giving some background about Norman's family and life before the camps, the author then follows Norman as he and his family travel to the camps and set up a new life there. Providing background information about the camps while sharing specific experiences of Norman and his family gives the reader a nice combination of external and internal views of the camps. The way Japanese Americans were treated was appalling. What was impressive was how most Japanese Americans worked hard to build as decent a life for themselves as they could within the limitations they were given. Warren presents the reader with a nice overview of camp life while integrating many of Norman Mineta's specific experiences. She looks at everything from building a home in a small space, to meals and laundry, to recreation and education. Norman Mineta's life after the camps is also highlighted at the end of the book allowing the reader to see the man he became and how he didn't let his difficult experiences stop him from becoming a successful person and influential politician. He even played a key role in helping get reparations from the government along with an apology. A powerful and well-told story that provides an important look at the consequences of some of the awful decisions that have been made in the United States history. Highly recommended.
March 9, 2023
A strong (and often disheartening) account of Norman Mineta, distinguished former Congressperson and Secretary of Transportation—and American citizen—who along with his family and thousands of other Japanese-Americans was incarcerated under suspicion of disloyalty to the US during WWII. The book provides lots of historical context and observations from Mineta himself and his family members.
Besides the atrocity of being yanked from their homes, the various encampments scattered across the US were often in bleak areas in harsh weather conditions, with the buildings housing the prisoners bare-bones barracks. Mineta's accounts are both sad and often funny, coming from his 10-year-old comprehension. And he loved baseball, as do I, so I engaged all the more.
The book is written for children, so there can be some flatness in syntax and expression, but it's well worth the reading. May this not happen again.
Besides the atrocity of being yanked from their homes, the various encampments scattered across the US were often in bleak areas in harsh weather conditions, with the buildings housing the prisoners bare-bones barracks. Mineta's accounts are both sad and often funny, coming from his 10-year-old comprehension. And he loved baseball, as do I, so I engaged all the more.
The book is written for children, so there can be some flatness in syntax and expression, but it's well worth the reading. May this not happen again.
March 8, 2020
This title is on the Heartland nomination list for 2020. Andrea Warren hopefully will be a presenter at the fall Heartland and I can't wait to hear her speak about this book. It was so interesting. I had never heard about the Japanese interment camps until I was 22 and began teaching. One of my colleagues was a survivor of the camps. I wish I had asked her more questions when I could. Now I enjoy finding books that will teach me more. It just wasn't in the history books when I was growing up in the sixties and seventies. This book followed the life of Norman and his family as they went from San Jose to the internment camp and after they were released. But it has so much more with lots of interesting information along the way. And don't forget to read the information at the back of the book. Very enjoyable read. I highly recommend it.
December 19, 2019
The story of the internment camps told through the story of a future congressman who as a ten year old baseball fan was one of the American citizens rounded up and imprisoned during World War II. His family was lucky -- most of their assets were preserved by friendly neighbors in San Jose, but they still struggled with the harsh conditions and unfairness. Mineta was one of the people who pushed for the government's apology and settlement.
It seems aimed at middle school readers, since Mineta is 10-15 through most of the story and based on the size of the book. There are good sized photographs and illustrations to give the pages room to breath. The author is clearly appalled by America's behavior.
It seems aimed at middle school readers, since Mineta is 10-15 through most of the story and based on the size of the book. There are good sized photographs and illustrations to give the pages room to breath. The author is clearly appalled by America's behavior.
June 5, 2021
Written starting at a dark time in US history. Follow Norman Mineta, a Japanese child living in San Jose, California, as his family is sent to an internment camp following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He later becomes a mayor, US congressman, and US Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton.
Something to think about...
Instead of the US being a melting pot with one identity, he thinks of the US as more of a tapestry.
A quote from this book: "But I think our strength is rooted in our differences. We are all strands of yarn-different textures, different colors-and woven together, we make a strong, integrated whole."
I enjoy Juvenile non-fiction, where I can learn a little history about so many things and people!
Something to think about...
Instead of the US being a melting pot with one identity, he thinks of the US as more of a tapestry.
A quote from this book: "But I think our strength is rooted in our differences. We are all strands of yarn-different textures, different colors-and woven together, we make a strong, integrated whole."
I enjoy Juvenile non-fiction, where I can learn a little history about so many things and people!
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May 7, 2025Synopsis: Enemy Child: The Story of Norman Mineta, a Boy Imprisoned in a Japanese American Internment Camp During World War II by Andrea Warren explores how this family life changed after the Pearl Harbor attack. This Japanese American family lost their way of life and were moved to an internment camp.
Why I selected this book: This book details the horrific account of how many families were stripped of their freedom due to the Pearl Harbor attack and I haven't experienced this part of history from the perspective of Japanese Americans.
Activity: Students should choose questions from one of the chapters in Charlotte Huck's Literature for Children to answer based on their tags in their review.
Why I selected this book: This book details the horrific account of how many families were stripped of their freedom due to the Pearl Harbor attack and I haven't experienced this part of history from the perspective of Japanese Americans.
Activity: Students should choose questions from one of the chapters in Charlotte Huck's Literature for Children to answer based on their tags in their review.
May 17, 2019
Following a specific by, Norman Mineta, is a different experience in reading nonfiction about the Japanese internment because it's a more personal story. What his family structure was, what education and work was like, and then the war happened and all of a sudden the US turns topsy-turvy and decides to build makeshift, crappy camps in remote locations to house the Japanese (and Italians and Germans) after going to war with the Axis Powers.
Many of the information about the basics, I've read before, but as a nonfiction biography about it, with a human face to the story, it's captivating for the middle grade/YA audience-- and what a powerful title.
Many of the information about the basics, I've read before, but as a nonfiction biography about it, with a human face to the story, it's captivating for the middle grade/YA audience-- and what a powerful title.
January 24, 2020
More accessible for a middle school audience than other nonfiction on Japanese internment I've read - but - there were times when I was listening to the book where I thought - hey, internment sounds a little fun - kindof like extended summer camp- and that is a problem if this is the only book you're reading about the imprisonment of American citizens of Japanese heritage and Japanese immigrants who were not allowed to become citizens. But, I'm not sure if this was just a weird one-off thought while I was reading the book, but it's something that I'm going to think about when/if I recommend this book.
August 21, 2019
I'm so ashamed what our country did to our fellow Japanese Americans during World War II but so inspired by Norm Mineta's story. He and his family were sent from San Jose to Heart Mountain in Wyoming. It's amazing how they made the best of the situation and remained extremely loyal to the United States. Norm went on to become the first Asian American elected as mayor of an American city and had a distinguished government career. This is a young adult book but a great read for anyone interested in this part of our history.
August 2, 2019
Once again Andrea Warren has written an excellent book. I live on Bainbridge Island, Washington, where many Japanese Americans were rounded up and sent away during WWII, so I understand the sensitivity required for writing about the internment camps. Ms. Warren handles the topic beautifully and vividly. Through the eyes of Norman Mineta, she brings it to life and makes you feel as if you are in one of the camps yourself. Brava for her intelligence, wisdom, and insight!
August 3, 2019
Excellent biography for upper middle-grade and middle-school students. I learned so much about this interesting and accomplished man and his family from reading this book.
The Mineta family's experiences in the Heart Mountain Japanese Internment Camp during WWII were authentically portrayed by the author from her conversations with Norm Mineta and extensive research.
Highly-recommended!
I borrowed a copy of this book from the local public library.
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The Mineta family's experiences in the Heart Mountain Japanese Internment Camp during WWII were authentically portrayed by the author from her conversations with Norm Mineta and extensive research.
Highly-recommended!
I borrowed a copy of this book from the local public library.
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December 19, 2025
Very informative. The subject matter is serious and complex, but it is presented in a way that is easy to understand. However, the narration style was a little distracting. Sometimes the writing was engaging like a novel, and other times the author inserted interviews with Norman Mineta that made me feel disconnected from the story. I think a consistent storyteller would have been more effective. It was interesting to read a child’s innocent perspective of internment camp.
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