When Baseball Saved Us
By Ken Mochizuki Lee and Low Books, Inc. (1993) ISBN: 1880000016
*Lee and Low Books Award Winner
When Baseball Saved Us takes place during World War II. The narrator, a young Japanese-American boy, and his family are removed from their homes and forced to live in a desert internment camp after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. The narrator shares how Japanese-American citizens were treated as traitors because they looked like the enemy. Despite the chaos the narrator’s family experiences, his father builds a baseball diamond for their camp. There this short, unskilled baseball player matures to earn the respect of his teammates. In camp, the narrator hits a game-winning home run. The narrator, once released from camp, must endure racial slurs, teasing, and prejudice. But, just as he did in camp, he earns the respect of his new teammates by hitting another home run and baseball saved him.
Quantitative: Lexile Level--AD550L; ATOS--3.3
Qualitative: When Baseball Saved Us begins with a flashback. This flashback acts as a link to the narrator’s life prior to being removed from his home. This, coupled with the book ending with an interpretive illustration, could prove a challenge for young readers. It is best if this book is read to a group of lower grade students. Deciphering time in the plot may require some scaffolding. Other than the students having to fill in some plot, the narrative progresses with close attention to motifs as a means to present a strong, powerful theme.
The depth of the book’s symbolism will not be obvious to the students in the lower grades. However, if presented to a more mature audience, students with ample background and cultural knowledge has a better chance of recognizing:
- The power of Mochizuki’s use of the flashback earlier in the book.
- The significance of baseball being the game that earns the narrator respect.
- The gravity of putting American citizens into war camps based on their heritage.
- How it feels to be an outsider.
Curriculum Suggestions: When teaching tolerance or a unit on World War II, this book would serve as a wonderful teaching tool. Teachers could encourage:
- Comparing the Jewish and Japanese-American treatment and oppressors.
- Engaging with World War II survivors.
- Discussing the impacts of prejudice.
- The analysis of war propaganda and determine bias portrayal sways popular opinion.
Literature Connection: Farewell to Manzanar By Jeanne Wakatsuki-Houston
Content Area: English; Health--Tolerance; Social Science--U.S. History; Japanese Americans
Common Core Standards: RL.3.1-5, 7
Addition/Digital Content:
Personal Thoughts: This story resonates deeply with me. My paternal grandparents were both interned during World War II. My grandmother, who passed just this past Saturday, May 10, 2014, was interned at Manzanar, just below Mt. Whitney. Farewell to Manzanar, a staple of an core literature list, was written by my great, great aunt--Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. In an Arizona desert, my grandfather managed to create their own city. My great grandfather was the “mayor” of his camp in Gila River. To me, When Baseball Saves Us speaks to human resilience.
*Meets the “Reading for Pleasure Picture Book” requirement
what a wonderful note in the personal comment section.
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