BASEBALL SAVED US

The camps where Japanese-Americans were interned during WWII are an ugly piece of American history. Mochizuki provides a glimpse into this period as a young boy and his family are whisked away to a desert camp. For the boy and his camp mates, developing baseball prowess brings a modicum of sanity to the experience and provides a means of relating to schoolmates upon return to post-war America. Mochizuki narrates with gentleness and a depth that comes from intimate understanding. The boy's indignation at camp conditions, as well as his resolve to become a better ball player and his pride in his accomplishments, is clear. Mochizuki’s words are made all the more powerful by Dom Lee's scratchboard and ink illustrations. A.R. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 05]