So Far From the Bamboo Grove

So Far From the Bamboo Grove, written by Yoko Kawashima Watkins, is about a Japanese family escaping North Korea, during the time of the Japanese surrender of World War II. Okay, so this was the saddest book ever, and I am not sure if I would have been able to handle it as a child or even how I felt reading it now as an adult. I believe that with testimonies and stories like these, it's best for kids to simply hear the truth from someone who lived it first hand. Kids are just as capable as adults when dealing with topics such as civilian casualties; the fact is there is not any age where one is mentally prepared for stories likes the ones remembered by Watkins. I felt a real connection to the character Ko; I am an the eldest sister too, and there have been times where I have felt the pressures of taking care of my little sister, but I could never imagine the kinds of pressure Ko was under, not even when my father died, and my mom was emotionally spent. I think that it would be a really powerful thing for kids to hear the kinds of things that Yoko and Ko did to stay alive and stay in school, I can imagine lots of conversation coming from this book. I just remember that after I would finish a chapter, how deeply I would think about the kinds of resources and technologies were at my fingertips. I think I would do this story with my class as a read aloud, stopping periodically to have a group discussion and or journaling. This is defiantly something to explore and discuss as a large group, this topic and the multiple perspectives are just too big for one person to comprehend.