Barbed Wire Baseball
Barbed Wire Baseball tells the awe-inspiring tale of Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura, who never gave up hope or let go of a dream. As a young boy in Hawaii, Zeni knew that he wanted to be a baseball player, even though most people thought he was too
small to play. As he grew older, his parents suggested other careers for him, like medicine or law. But Zeni kept playing baseball and grew up to be a successful player and manager, eventually playing in games with baseball legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
But after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Zeni, his wife, and their two sons, along with more than 100,000 other American citizens of Japanese descent, were sent to internment camps in the American Midwest and West. They were
imprisoned not for any wrongdoing but simply because of their ancestry.
At the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona, Zeni did not allow his situation to overcome him. Instead, with his sons and friends, he built a baseball field that gave all the imprisoned a sense of pride and hope for the future.
The life of Kenichi Zenimura, who was later named the father of Japanese American baseball, offers an inspiring true story from a little discussed segment of American history.
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Barbed Wire Baseball
Barbed Wire Baseball tells the awe-inspiring tale of Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura, who never gave up hope or let go of a dream. As a young boy in Hawaii, Zeni knew that he wanted to be a baseball player, even though most people thought he was too
small to play. As he grew older, his parents suggested other careers for him, like medicine or law. But Zeni kept playing baseball and grew up to be a successful player and manager, eventually playing in games with baseball legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
But after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Zeni, his wife, and their two sons, along with more than 100,000 other American citizens of Japanese descent, were sent to internment camps in the American Midwest and West. They were
imprisoned not for any wrongdoing but simply because of their ancestry.
At the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona, Zeni did not allow his situation to overcome him. Instead, with his sons and friends, he built a baseball field that gave all the imprisoned a sense of pride and hope for the future.
The life of Kenichi Zenimura, who was later named the father of Japanese American baseball, offers an inspiring true story from a little discussed segment of American history.
7.99 In Stock
Barbed Wire Baseball

Barbed Wire Baseball

by Marissa Moss

Narrated by Brian Nishii

Unabridged — 17 minutes

Barbed Wire Baseball

Barbed Wire Baseball

by Marissa Moss

Narrated by Brian Nishii

Unabridged — 17 minutes

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Overview

Barbed Wire Baseball tells the awe-inspiring tale of Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura, who never gave up hope or let go of a dream. As a young boy in Hawaii, Zeni knew that he wanted to be a baseball player, even though most people thought he was too
small to play. As he grew older, his parents suggested other careers for him, like medicine or law. But Zeni kept playing baseball and grew up to be a successful player and manager, eventually playing in games with baseball legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
But after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Zeni, his wife, and their two sons, along with more than 100,000 other American citizens of Japanese descent, were sent to internment camps in the American Midwest and West. They were
imprisoned not for any wrongdoing but simply because of their ancestry.
At the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona, Zeni did not allow his situation to overcome him. Instead, with his sons and friends, he built a baseball field that gave all the imprisoned a sense of pride and hope for the future.
The life of Kenichi Zenimura, who was later named the father of Japanese American baseball, offers an inspiring true story from a little discussed segment of American history.

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review - Pamela Paul

…[Moss's] tale is both well researched and well told. But it's the visually stunning, sensitive illustrations by the hugely talented Shimizu that make the book a standout.

Publishers Weekly

In her picture book debut, artist Shimizu finely crafts pen-and-ink illustrations with a calligraphy brush to help portray a true story of resilience during WWII. Born in Japan, Kenichi Zenimura, nicknamed Zeni, grows up in Hawaii and California loving and playing baseball. When WWII sees him, his wife, and teenage sons sent to an Arizona internment camp, Zeni "felt as if he were shrinking into a tiny hard ball." The bulk of Moss's (Nurse, Soldier, Spy) descriptive narrative centers on Zeni's efforts to build a baseball diamond at the camp. Thick brush lines create heavy textures in the digitally colored pictures, giving some the appearance of woodcut prints. All of the scenes occupy full spreads, echoing the expansive nature of Zeni's plan: unwilling to settle for a dusty dirt field, he irrigates it and grows grass; benches are made from wood scavenged under dark of night, and uniforms sewn from potato sacks. This triumphant story of how the father of Japanese-American baseball brightened the dark days of war concludes with an afterword, b&w photos, and notes from both author and illustrator. Ages 6–10. Author's agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Apr.)

The New York Times Book Review

"Moss is a skilled author of historical narrative nonfiction for young readers; her tale is both well researched and well told. But it’s the visually stunning, sensitive illustrations by the hugely talented Shimizu that make the book a standout."

School Library Journal

Gr 3–5—Focusing on her subject's strength of character and love of baseball, Moss introduces readers to Kenichi Zenimura (1900–'68). At barely five feet tall, Zeni was hardly a natural athlete; nonetheless, he developed great prowess as a player and coach. Before World War II, he played exhibition games alongside Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and toured Japan, where he was born. His family moved to Hawaii when he was a child and later to Fresno, California. When war broke out, Zenimura, his wife, and teenage sons were sent to the Gila River internment camp in Arizona. In the barren desert environment, Zeni determined to build a baseball field and rallied others to his cause. Shimizu's artwork, created with Japanese calligraphy brush and ink on paper and Adobe Photoshop, depicts Zeni hoeing and pulling weeds in the hot sun. He made a field with real grass; a fence of castor beans; and, in an ironic twist, bleachers with wood scrounged from the barbed-wire fence posts surrounding the camp. In an afterword, Moss notes that Zenimura won posthumous induction into Japan's Shrine of the Eternals, the equivalent of baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Text and illustrations mesh to create an admiring portrait of an exemplary individual who rose above his challenges and inspired others. Pair this picture book with Ken Mochizuki's Baseball Saved Us (Lee & Low, 1995) for an excellent read-aloud, or use it to introduce Kathryn Fitzmaurice's chapter book A Diamond in the Desert (Viking, 2012). Together these books offer insightful portrayals of the Japanese American internment experience.—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

Kirkus Reviews

Kenichi Zenimura built a baseball legacy in the Japanese-American internment camps during World War II. Zeni grew up loving everything about the game of baseball and made a career as a successful player and manager in local leagues around California. Small but mighty, he played in exhibition games in Japan with the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. After Pearl Harbor, he and his family were sent, along with thousands of other Japanese Americans, to heavily guarded internment camps to live in barracks behind barbed wire. He was determined to provide a hint of normalcy and pleasure to his people amid the hardships, and what better way than to build a baseball field and organize teams. With hard physical labor and loads of ingenuity, he and his sons and fellow inmates did it all, creating a sense of community along the way. In language that captures the underlying sadness and loss, Moss emphasizes Zeni's fierce spirit as he removes every obstacle in order to play his beloved baseball and regain a sense of pride. Shimizu's Japanese calligraphy brush–and-ink illustrations colored in Photoshop depict the dreary landscape with the ever-present barbed wire, with that beautiful grassy baseball field the only beacon of hope. Much-needed biographical and historical information is provided in an afterword. A worthy companion for Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee's Baseball Saved Us (1993). (author's note, artist's note, bibliography, index) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)

Product Details

BN ID: 2940175492140
Publisher: Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date: 05/10/2022
Edition description: Unabridged
Age Range: 5 - 8 Years
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