Best Friends Forever: A World War II Scrapbook

by Beverly Patt, Shula Klinger (Illustrator)

Overview

German-American Louise Kessler, fourteen, starts a scrapbook when her best friend, Dottie Masuoka, leaves for the Japanese internment camps. Louise’s scrapbook includes items from her life “on the home front” as well as Dottie’s letters and drawings from the internment camp. Together, their intertwined stories tell of a friendship that even war cannot tear apart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781477810453
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	01/21/2014
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	770L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Author Beverly Patt writes from her suburban Chicago home, which she shares with her high school sweetheart husband, four wonderful kids and faithful dog, Hally. Before becoming a writer, Bev worked as a Sick-Bird-Catcher, Waitress, Licorice Inspector, Family Counselor, and Special Education teacher. Haven is her first novel. Close on its heels is Best Friends Forever: A WWII Scrapbook. Best Friends Forever: A WWII Scrapbook received a starred review from School Library Journal and has been named to the Great Lakes, Great Books Spring 2010 list.

Editorial Reviews

The girls’ moving stories should inspire readers to learn more about the history of internment.” —Publishers Weekly

“Because this novel is written in the form of letters, artwork, and clippings for a scrapbook, readers will be in for a real treat with what feels like a firsthand perspective.” —VOYA

”This heartwarming tale of steadfast friendship makes a wonderful access point for learning more about World War II and Japanese internment.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

“Their account of wartime terror is made more poignant by their resolution to make their lives beautiful and meaningful. The faux-diary format is sure to appeal.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Patriotism is an underlying theme, and readers will be drawn into the continuing debate about what makes a ‘real’ American.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

This mock scrapbook envisions a WWII correspondence between two 14-year-olds: Dottie, a Japanese-American sent with her family to an internment camp, and her friend, Louise, who vows to document everything that happens in her absence. Louise fills the scrapbook with newspaper clippings, photographs, and diary entries, in addition to the girls’ letters. In one, Dottie describes life in the camp: “Our 'homes’ are all attached in long lines, so we’re like horses in stalls (except horses don’t have to share their stalls)”. Louise visits Dottie, but then she’s relocated and, though they swear to remain friends, Dottie’s future is left open-ended. The girls’ moving stories should inspire readers to learn more about the history of internment. Ages 10-up. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Louise Krueger, 14, is devastated when her beloved best friend, Dottie Masuoka, is suddenly "relocated" with her Japanese American family to an internment camp in Washington State in 1942. Louise keeps a scrapbook with the girls' letters, her own journal entries, small photos, newspaper cuttings, wartime posters, and more. Though the format does look authentic, the handwritten material in different italic scripts can be difficult to read. Still, setting the intense personal story of friends and enemies against the big World War II events is a great way to tell the history. Dottie writes about living in cramped horse stalls with her family, including her grandfather, who is heartbroken that she is behind barbed wire. At school, Louise is attacked as a "Jap-lover" even as her brother enlists in the navy. Patriotism is an underlying theme, and readers will be drawn into the continuing debate about what makes a "real" American. Back matter features notes about true and fictionalized history, along with references and Web sites for suggested research.

Booklist

Gr 5–9—In this appealing and accessible fictional scrapbook, 14-year-old Louise relates the experience of being separated from her best friend, Dottie, whose Japanese-American family has been relocated to an internment camp following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Through Louise's journal entries, Dottie's letters, and a variety of authentic-looking newspaper clippings, ticket stubs, and other artifacts, the girls' story emerges powerfully and believably. Readers sense Dottie's distress at her imposed exile, and her anger at being thought un-American. They observe Louise grappling with the injustice of it all, as she is ridiculed for her friendship with Dottie and her own family is targeted because of their German heritage. If the drama of the girls' separation isn't enough, a romantic subplot and the antics of Dottie's goofy dog (living with Louise in her absence) will surely keep young readers interested. This heartwarming tale of steadfast friendship makes a wonderful access point for learning more about World War II and Japanese internment.—Emma Burkhart, Springside School, Philadelphia, PA

School Library Journal