The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941 (Dear America Series)

by Kirby Larson

Overview

Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson brings us the first new Dear America diary in years, taking readers through the attack on Pearl Harbor, the start of World War II, and the Japanese incarceration.With this sweeping tale of life on the World War II homefront, Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson brings her incredible talent to the Dear America series. When Pearl Harbor is attacked, America is finally unable to ignore the wars raging in Europe and Asia any longer. And one girl's entire life is about to change when everything she knows is turned on its head. After the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, where her brother, a navy sailor, is stationed, Piper Davis begins chronicling her compelling journey through one of history's most tragic and unforgettable eras.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545414999
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/2011
Series:	Dear America Series
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	8 - 14 Years

About the Author

A snippet of a family story transformed Kirby Larson from history-phobe to history fanatic; her debut historical novel, Hattie Big Sky, earned a Newbery Honor. She’s pursued her passion for historical fiction with titles such as Hattie Ever After, Duke, Dash, Liberty, and Code Word Courage and combined her love for both history and mystery in Audacity Jones to the Rescue, and Audacity Jones Steals the Show. Ironically, the next two books for this history lover are contemporary fiction, including the second title in the Shermy and Shake series, Shermy and Shake: The Not-So-Nice Neighbor, and Gut Reaction, which is co-written with her daughter Quinn Wyatt. Kirby lives in Kenmore Washington with her husband Neil and very naughty dog Raleigh.

Read an Excerpt

From Dear America: The Fences Between Us

Ten days since the attack. I feel like we are a shadow family. Our bodies are moving around to all the places we're supposed to go—Margie to college, me to school, Pop to church—doing all the things we're supposed to do, saying the usual things like, "Yes, school was good today," "I got an A on that Chem lab," or "Please pass the salt." But our real family is in the shadows, frozen in time and hanging on to every scrap of hope, while we wait, wait, wait to hear about Hank.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Dear America

"More than a supplement to classroom textbooks, this series is an imaginative, solid entre into American history." -Publishers Weekly


"An impressive series that will challenge students to make connections from prominent historical events to relevant life situations.... A wonderful asset to the classroom as well as to home libraries." -Children's Book Review Service


"Engaging, accessible historical fiction." -SLJ


"The Dear America diaries represent the best of historical fiction for any age." -Chicago Tribune

From the Publisher

Gr 5–8—Piper Davis, the 13-year-old daughter of a pastor for a Japanese Baptist church, shares her diary as she goes from worrying about when her father will let her date and wear lipstick to agonzing about her older brother who was stationed at Pearl Harbor on the Arizona when it was attacked on December 7, 1941. With Elaina Erika Davis's poignant pacing and clearly voiced characterizations, listeners will feel the emotional torments and celebrations that Piper experiences in this historical novel by Kirby Larson (Scholastic, 2010). Each event that Piper and her family must face—from her sister needing to find a job and ultimately marrying her boyfriend before he gets deployed to the food and materials rationing they must endure—is clearly conveyed through her diary entries and Davis's narration. Listeners will hold their breath along with Piper as she awaits the fate of her brother and his friends. Among the most powerfully expressed emotions are those that Piper feels as she tries to understand what is happening to her Japanese friends as a result of newly imposed government regulations. The scenes in the Japanese internment camps are heartbreaking, and Piper's confusion, anger, and frustration is palpable. The inclusion of an historical note, web resources, and an audio clip from President Roosevelt's speech about "the day that shall live in infamy" make this powerful audiobook even more robust.—Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

Piper Davis is 13 in the fall of 1941 when she begins her diary. Her older brother has just been stationed in Hawaii—far, his family thought, from the fighting in Europe. Piper's community in Seattle is a seemingly tight-knit one, and her father is minister to the Japanese Baptist congregation. The quick escalation of events after Pearl Harbor, the worries about her brother, the incarceration and relocation of friends and neighbors—all are chronicled with care and detail. Piper's voice is believably that of a young girl in the war years, and though the narrative is somewhat episodic, it has plenty of emotional resonance. The appalling removal of immigrant and American-born Japanese from their homes and the discomfort, sorrow, grit and struggle in Camp Minidoka in Idaho are detailed through Piper's visits with her father, who is appointed to its church. An epilogue brings the story into the present for several of the characters. This auspicious relaunch of the Dear America series includes an historical note, archival images, web resources, a recipe, Roosevelt's "day that will live in infamy" speech—and the author's name on the cover. (Historical fiction. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews