Michael L. Cooper

*A Notable Children Books in Social Studies.

*Books for the Teen Age, New York Public Library.

A stirring account of Japanese Americans in World War II, based mainly on diaries, autobiographies, and the military records of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was known as the Purple Heart Battalion because of its bravery. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, all people on the West Coast of Japanese heritage, whether resident aliens or citizens, were forced to move into internment camps. But 1,200 young men from the camps, along with 10,000 other GIs of Japanese heritage, became some of the most decorated soldiers in the war as part of the 442nd. Author Michel L. Cooper tells of the remarkable bravery of these Nisei soldiers, whose heroism in battles in Europe contrasted with the prejudice that Japanese Americans faced at home. Chronology, end notes, suggestions for further research, index.


Review from School Library Journal
Gr 6-10-This explanation of the unfair circumstances and incredible heroism of first- and second-generation Japanese Americans during World War II is similar in tone and format to Jerry Stanley's I Am an American (Crown, 1994). What distinguishes Cooper's effort is the more extensive, descriptive, and sometimes grisly attention given to these soldiers' contributions to the military conflict in Europe. As an example, the Japanese Americans who served in the 100th/442nd battalion became "the most highly decorated unit in U.S. military history" at a time when most of their families had been forcibly removed from their homes and businesses in Washington, Oregon, and California. Cooper begins with a strong first chapter that establishes the extent of the American prejudice against these citizens and the post-Pearl Harbor hysteria that led to the establishment of the War Relocation Authority. The author then questions why this happened and responds with solid cause and effect examples, utilizing relevant archival photographs of these "barbed wire communities." On the war front, the descriptions of individual acts of bravery in Europe are drawn from first-person accounts and other sources, and while the geography is not introduced well, the battles' objectives, actions, and results are clear.-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Carter Woodson Award for the Best Children’s Book of 2003 on ethnicity in American history; the National Council for the Social Studies.

2003 CCBC Choices List (Cooperative Children's Book Center).

A Notable Children Books in the Field of Social Studies.

Three months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U.S. government ordered a mass evacuation of all people of Japanese ancestry from the three West Coast states. It was the largest forced evacuation in American history. Many of those who had to leave their homes, their schools, and their friends were held at the Manzanar relocation center in eastern California. There they lived in crowded barracks, ate in noisy mess halls, and went without supplies or books for work or schooling. Drawing from the diaries, journals, memoirs, and news accounts of the people who were held behind barbed wire in the high California desert, Michael L. Cooper takes a close look at what life in the camp was like. His thoughtful examination of this shameful chapter in American history reveals the remarkable bravery and resilience of the camp's residents as they tried to lead normal lives -- playing baseball, attending Saturday night dances, and publishing their own newspaper. Archival photographs, including photos by Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange, augment this informative, thoroughly researched book.