Caged Eagles

by Eric Walters

Overview

When Canada went to war with Japan following the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Canadians of Japanese descent were declared "Enemy Aliens." Without recourse of any kind, they were forced to leave their homes along with the British Columbia coast, their possessions were sold, and their rights as citizens denied. Caged Eagles follows fourteen-year-old Tadashi Fukushima and his family as they embark on a tortuous physical and emotional journey. Along with neighbours from their remote village on the northern BC coast, they travel by fishing boat to Vancouver, where they are placed in detention in Hastings Park, the Pacific National Exhibition ground, and forced to live in cattle stalls. For Tadashi detention becomes both an adventure and a dilemma as he struggles to understand the undercurrents of racism and injustice that have overtaken his life and those of his community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554694495
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	01/01/2001
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	260
Lexile:	650L (what's this?)
File size:	594 KB
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Eric Walters is a Member of the Order of Canada and the author of over 125 books that have collectively won more than 100 awards including the Governor General’s Literary Award for The King of Jam Sandwiches. A former teacher, Eric began writing as a way to get his fifth-grade students interested in reading and writing. Eric is a tireless presenter, speaking to over 100,000 students per year in schools across the country. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Read an Excerpt

Desperately I looked around for a way out. We couldn't get over the fence. The strands of barbed wire on top of it would rip us to shreds. Behind it, in the distance, the baseball game was going on. Why couldn't I have been there? The only way was the street...we'd have to dodge the cars. I took a step toward the street, but Sam put a hand on my shoulder.

"Nope," he said, shaking his head. "We're not running any farther."

"But...but...we can't fight them...we can't win," I stammered.

"We can't win, but we're going to fight them. Get rid of this," Sam said as he pulled the "I Am Chinese" button off my shirt and then took off his and stuffed them both in his pocket. "Cover my back and I'll cover yours."

They came forward slowly. They knew there was no place to go.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 6-9-This sequel to War of the Eagles (Orca, 1998) stands on its own. In 1942, all the inhabitants of the fishing village in British Columbia where Tadashi Fukushima was born and raised are evicted and temporarily resettled in a former Vancouver fairgrounds. Courtesy, patience, and a fatalistic attitude seem to help the adults cope with the indignities to which they are subjected. However, 14-year-old Tadashi can't understand why they cooperate when family possessions must be left behind; his father is forced to live separately; and he, his mother, sisters, and elderly grandmother must make an animal's stall their home. Soon he finds a friend with whom he can explore and test the limits of their confinement. Slipping under the fence, they venture outside, only to discover the hostility of Vancouver streets. In the end, though, their willingness to take risks makes it possible for his father and other villagers to decide the fate of their boats, which represent their livelihood. Tadashi is a likable character who struggles to understand how his hardworking father and neighbors could be seen as spies, cares deeply for his family, and even has sympathy for the discomfort of a Canadian bureaucrat. Readers share his bewilderment at the injustice of his situation. In an afterword, the author makes clear the point at which the fiction differs from the historical record and discusses the difficulty of writing from outside the culture. A disturbing and convincing story that needs to be told.-Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

The much-awaited sequel to Walters' award-winning War of the Eagles (1998), this story continues the tale of what happens to fourteen-year-old Tadashi Fukushima and his family after the Canadian government has ordered all Japanese-Canadians to pack up belongings shortly after Japan enters WWII. Surviving the rough trip along the coast of British Columbia in their cramped fishing boat, Tadashi and his family find themselves placed in an internment camp in the center of Vancouver. Here they are assigned separate living quarters; each family's women and young children assigned to live in an old cattle stall in an overcrowded, large barn and the adult men assigned to a large dormitory. It is here that Tadashi cannot understand why the men and women have been separated or why they must live in such cramped conditions, nor why the Canadian government sees fit to set up a school for the younger children if, as he believes, they will not be staying long. He finds some clarity in talking with a friend he meets named Sam, who explains much of what has happened to the Japanese-Canadians and introduces Tadashi to the daily routine of the camp--along with Sam's own personal, not-permitted-by-the-rules way of coping with being trapped inside a perimeter fence. Still, Tadashi cannot fathom the injustice of the racism he and others in the camp are experiencing and he is especially angered and embittered by his grandmother's words of acquiescence to the whole situation: "shikata-ga-nai" (it can't be helped). When others risk their lives to help him when he breaks the rules and goes outside of the fence, Tadashi begins to realize what is at stake for his people. Only later, when his grandmother diesand the camp breaks the rules to give her a proper funeral pyre, does Tadashi fully understand his grandmother's words and learn to cope with what he himself cannot control. Though this book is listed for ages twelve to sixteen, many adults will find the story entertaining as well. Compelling and interesting, it is not just a fictional story, but educates readers about an era--of both Canadian and American History--which has been embarrassingly difficult to write or talk about because of the actions both governments took toward their own citizens during a time of war.

"Walters successfully combines history, adventure, and social criticism in Caged Eagles while providing young readers a glimpse into Canada's past and a chance to consider serious issues inherent in any complex, multicultural society."

"Highly recommended."

CM Magazine

"Earns a place in both history and English classrooms."

Quill & Quire

"Subtle and powerful."

The Globe and Mail

"[Walters's] fast-paced novel avoids heavy-handed moralizing as it portrays the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II."

Booklist

"This novel is a moving account of one family's struggle to understand the injustice that has overtaken their lives and the racism that has imprisoned their community. Walters successfully captures the fear and uncertainty of the time."
"Walters's careful explanation of historical events and sensitive narration of the Fukushima family's story predominate to make Caged Eagles a memorable reading experience."

Resource Links

"What begins with a poignant scene in which a small, seven-year-old child asks her brother which of her dolls to pack...ends with an equally compelling vignette."

VOYA

"An excellent book for a middle grades reader, it is perfect as a companion to a social studies unit to explore a new historical perspective of the second World War."

Alan Review

"[Walters's] fast-paced novel avoids heavy-handed moralizing as it portrays the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II."

Booklist