A little Journey to the BookA little Journey to the Book

“Under the Blood Red Sun”“Under the Blood Red Sun”

Under the Blood-Red Sun is a Historical Fiction story by Graham Salisbury. This is a story about how Japanese Americans were treated in Hawaii

during World War II. This book is intended for readers 12 and up.

overviewoverview Tomi was born in Hawaii. His

grandfather and parents were born in Japan, and came to America to escape poverty. World War II seems far away from Tomi and his friends, who are too busy playing ball on their eighth-grade team, the Rats.

But then Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, and the United States declares war on Japan. Japanese men are rounded up, and Tomi’s father and grandfather are arrested. It’s a terrifying time to be Japanese in America. But one thing doesn’t change: the loyalty of Tomi’s buddies, the Rats.

REVIEWSREVIEWS "Salisbury's action-packed novel focuses on the

Japanese American perspective during World War II... It is a tribute to the writer's craft that, while there are no easy answers in this story, there is empathy for both cultures."  --Booklist, starred

“Morally and psychologically complex, historically accurate and unforgettably gripping” -- Kirkus Reviews, starred

"Torn between his love of all things American and the traditional ways of his parents and grandparents, a young Japanese American comes of age during the political upheaval of WWII." --Publishers Weekly Book Review, starred

"Rich in historical detail, the book achieves moments of striking clarity as it explores issues of responsibility, blame, and identity."-- The Horn Book

REVIEWSREVIEWS Under the Blood-Red Sun is a spectacular book told

through the eyes of a young Japanese American in Hawaii during the attack upon Pearl Harbor. The book focuses on his struggle to be accepted in a land where he has lived his entire life, and how things changed after the attack.

The characters are vivid and extremely realistic and the story is so good that I get angry with what is happening, mostly because I know that what we did was wrong. It kind of parallels how we treat Muslim American's today because of 911 and the continuing war in Iraq. This books main message is that just because someone's family heritage is from a country we are at war with, it doesn't mean that that person is the enemy.

Graham Salisbury is an excellent storyteller who must

really read up on his history text to be able to write such a convincing story. The story seams so real and the reader gets totally immersed in the action. Overall, I absolutely loved this story and the characters in it. This book should be read by everybody, not just young readers. Fantastic! Under the Blood-Red Sun is a top-notch book. I rated this book a 10 out of 10.

READ EXCERPTSREAD EXCERPTS Soon the rain slowed to a drizzle, then

stopped. A breeze brought the soft rumble of surf from out on the reef on the other side of Sand Island. It must have been about noon. I rested awhile, then crawled up to the flat land above the beach and into the waist-high weeds.

        They going shoot anybody try go there ….

             Grampa was right. I should just be

dutiful. I should be respectful and obey everything he says. Papa should beat you ….

            But I was so close.            I crawled to a thicket of kiawe trees

and studied what I could see of the white building. The whole island wasn’t that big, maybe a half mile long and a quarter wide. I inched closer, hiding behind the trees.

            The weeds broke onto a sandy field riddled with puddles. And beyond that, the prisoner camp.

Under the Blood Red Sun Book Trailer Under the Blood Red Sun Book Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZiO-ViH6kk 

Billy suddenly fell silent. "What?" I said, following his gaze. "Listen." Far away, you could hear explosions. It sounded like the

time Mr. Davis drove us out to Schofield Barracks and we heard shooting in the hills.

"What is it?" I said. Crummmp. Like thunder, far away. Then a droning of

engines. Crummp . . . thoomp, thoomp . . . thoomp. An ear-shattering roar suddenly thundered down on us, a

plane flying way too low. A dark fighter. It blasted over the trees. I ducked, and covered my head with my baseball glove. "Jeeze!" I said.

Billy just stood there gawking, his hand shading his eyes. The plane passed so close that its wake sent a shiver through the treetops. I covered my ears and watched it bank to the right. The cockpit windows flashed in the sun like mirrors. The fighter dropped lower and headed off toward the west end of the island. The planes droned and whined, farther away. Crummmp . . . thoomp, thoomp.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.

DiscussionsDiscussions What do Billy and Sanki learn about

each other on the fishing trip? What gives Tomi and his mother the

strength to deal with the prejudice that other American people show toward the Japanese Americans?

At what point does he bring honor to his family and earn the right to own the sword?

Do you think his grandfather would have felt that Tomi was worthy of the sword?

What did you know about Pearl Harbor before reading this novel? What did you learn from thsi book?

Is Tomi brave or foolish for swimming to Sand Island? Why did he do it?

Billy says that power is the "freedom to make our own choices." Do you agree? What is power to you? What is freedom to you?

Do you feel hopeful for Tomi at the end of the novel?

DiscussionsDiscussions Spoiler alert! Some of the questions

contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

What do Tomi and his friends have in common?

How are they different? How can people who are so different be

bound like brothers and sisters? How is Keet dangerous to Tomi and his

family? What does the katana, the samurai

sword, represent for Tomi's family? What makes Tomi finally understand the

meaning of the sword? The Nakaji family has to take many

precautions to protect themselves, like observing blackout rules. They hang blankets over

the windows at night in case of an air raid. What other things they do for protection?

frequently used frequently used WORDSWORDS

Anyway army guys asked Azuki Bean ball baseball Billy binoculars birds boat bomb Butcher butsudan Charlie crazy curveball dark dirt eggs eyes fastball fingers fish flag front glanced glove Grampa grass hand haole Ichiro inside Jake Japan Japanese jungle Kaka'ako Boys katana kiawe Kimi Kimi's kitchen laughed loft looked Lucky Lucky's Mama Mama's Maxey Mickey Owen Mose and Rico never nodded Oahu ojii-chan okay Papa Papa's Pearl Harbor peeked pigeons pitch planes porch pretty pulled punks puppies rain Ramos Red Ruffing Rico's sampan Sand Island Sanji screen door shook shoved silent slapped smiled stared started stood stopped street stupid talk tell thing thoomp Tomi Tough Boy trees turned waited walked wanted watched whispered Whit Wyatt worry Yeah yelled

Diversity BenchmarkDiversity Benchmark

Identify Identify cultural values and cultural values and

multiple perspectivesmultiple perspectives in texts in texts