Kira Kira

Title: Kira Kira
ISBN:06898563930
Author:Cynthia Kadohata
Date of publication: 2004
Award won: Newbery Award
Award Age recommendation: ages 9 and up
Group represented: Japanese Americans, citizens of Georgia

Kira Kira is a heartwarming tale about a Japanese family that is trying to survive in America. The family starts out owning an Asian grocery store in Iowa, but when there are not enough customers to support their business they have to close their doors. The two girls in the story are Katie and Lynn and they soon get a younger brother Sam. The story is told through Katie's perspective with diary entries from her sister Lynn's diary. After Katie's parents close their store they have to move to Georgia where they are closer to family and get jobs working in the chicken hatcheries. Katie's parents are working more and more overtime to achieve their dream of owning their own home. Lynn and Katie are best friends and all the siblings look after each other while their parents are away. Lynn becomes sicker and sicker throughout the story and eventually the reader learns that Lynn has lymphoma. The family is finally able to save enough money for a down payment on a home, but shortly after that Lynn dies. After Lynn's death the family takes a vacation to try and cheer themselves up, they go to California because Lynn loved the ocean. As Katie visits the ocean without Lynn she can feel her presence all around her as she looks at the sea and it is kira, kira (glittering). Kira, Kira was a Japanese word the Lynn taught Katie, and Lynn looked at everything and saw it kira, kira.

This would be a good book to use when doing a unit on immigration. It could also be used when talking about families who are dealing with medical conditions. The book also illustrates different roles people play in their families. The roles people play in their families often differ by culture so this could be a good story when studying the practices of different cultures and how the traditions have changed over time.