Yukie's Island: My Family's World War II Story

by Yukie Kimura, Kodo Kimura, Steve Sheinkin, Kodo Kimura (Illustrator)

Overview

A moving picture book autobiography about a family’s resilience and path to healing after the devastation of war.

It's 1945, the final year of World War II. Yukie Kimura is eight years old. She lives on a tiny island with a lighthouse in the north of Japan with her family, and she knows that the fighting that once felt so far away is getting closer.

Mornings spent helping her father tend to the lighthouse and adventuring with her brother are replaced by weeks spent inside, waiting. At some point, Yukie knows, they may be bombed.

Then, it happens. One Sunday, bombs are dropped. The war ends soon after that. Everyone tells Yukie there's nothing to be scared of anymore, but she's not so sure. So she watches and she waits—until a miraculous sight finally allows her to be a kid again.

This is the true story of Yukie Kimura told in her own words, co-created with her son, illustrator Kodo Kimura, and co-written with bestselling Newbery Honor author Steve Sheinkin. Yukie's Island is an honest, thoughtful, and stirring picture book about being a child living through wartime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250206503
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	07/18/2023
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD530L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Steve Sheinkin is the acclaimed author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories, including Fallout, Undefeated, Born to Fly, The Port Chicago 50, and Bomb. His accolades include a Newbery Honor, three Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards, a Sibert Medal and Honor, and three National Book Award finalist honors. He lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife and two children.

Kodo Kimura is a painter whose work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in the U.S. and internationally. Born in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, he studied art in Tokyo and now lives in New York. Yukie’s Island is his debut picture book.

Yukie Kimura was born in 1937 on a tiny remote island in south Hokkaido called Matsumae Kojima. In 1943, her family moved to Bentenjima, where the events of this picture book take place. Since then, Yukie has become a skilled craftsman and dye artist, raised two boys, and started an herbal garden business with her late husband, Haruo Kimura. She currently lives in Date, Hokkaido, Japan.

Editorial Reviews

07/24/2023

A lighthouse keeper’s family leads a magical life on a beautiful island until the interruption of war in this luminously illustrated collaboration from the Kimuras, a parent/child team, and Sheinkin. Eight-year-old narrator Yukie enjoys helping in the garden and in the lighthouse. And alongside brother Yoshio, “We were explorers and scientists” combing the island’s coastline; “We were sailors too.... It was the only way to get to school.” But when a military presence arrives, threats unsettle the family. American planes bomb the island, and though the war ends soon after, it takes a surprising natural event for the children to reconnect with the the natural world. Photorealistic oil paintings from Ko¯do Kimura visualize personal beats throughout this story of wartime endurance. Creators’ notes contextualize the story’s WWII-era beginnings. Ages 4–8. (July)

Publishers Weekly

A 2024 Notable Social Studies Trade Book
A Freeman Book Award Notable Book
2024 Bank Street Best Book of the Year

"In simple text and pastoral illustrations, this book offers a look at how war affects children... An accessible and compelling book on a tough topic. Purchase for a unique perspective on World War II. " —School Library Journal, starred review

"Insightful and compassionate, this lightly fictionalized recounting brings welcome insight about children in conflicts and lends humanity to the ravages of war." —Booklist

"The first-person narrative is simple and direct, with the childlike tone giving particular poignancy to a callous act of war and making Yukie’s experience urgent and immediate." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"[A] story of wartime endurance." — Publisher's Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 05/01/2023

Gr 3–5—In simple text and pastoral illustrations, this book offers a look at how war affects children. Yukie lives an idyllic life helping her dad maintain the lighthouse and playing with her brother on a tiny island off the coast of Japan. It is 1945 and World War II feels very far away, until the day the bombs start to fall. When Yukie and her family emerge from the bomb shelter, Yukie no longer feels safe or lighthearted. The world around her begins to heal, but it takes a unique miracle for Yukie to feel like the explorer she once was. The text is minimal, with only one or two sentences per page. Oil on canvas filled with bright blues and greens create serene scenes that highlight the carefree and happy life that Yukie has before the bombings. These turn gray and dismal after the bombings to show the main character's inner turmoil—a jumping-off point for discussion in the classroom. Sheinkin's author's note describes how the idea for the book came to be. Kimura's note provides more detail about his mother, Yukie, and her life in Japan. VERDICT An accessible and compelling book on a tough topic. Purchase for a unique perspective on World War II.—V. Lynn Christiansen

School Library Journal

2023-04-12
A picture book based on Yukie Kimura’s experiences growing up in World War II–era Japan.

Yukie lives with her family on an island where her father is the lighthouse keeper. She and her brother have adventures around the island as they look for sea gull eggs; her sister prefers to read. One day, Yukie sees a giant ship with military personnel onboard. Up to that point, the war had felt far away. Suddenly, her world shifts as the military takes over the town, planes fly overhead, and bombs drop. Yukie notices that some children do not return to school after the war, but as the book closes, her adventures with her brother resume as they jump across ice floes that have floated south from Russia. References to her father’s flute playing and the hidden meanings behind his intonation imply there is much that Yukie doesn’t understand, though she perceives the underlying threats and tension. Disappointingly sparse text is paired with equally oblique illustrations. Kōdo Kimura’s stiff and impersonal style portrays flat landscapes and children with adult, even elderly faces. Repetitive, unoriginal perspectives lack dramatic emotion, creating distance between readers and the story. Older children can read the in-depth backmatter for historical context; younger readers will need guidance from well-informed grown-ups. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A thin tale with far richer backmatter. (notes from Sheinkin and Kōdo Kimura) (Picture-book memoir. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews