As a boy, Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura dreams of playing professional
baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. Yet he grows up to be
a successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! When the
Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941, Zeni and his family are sent to
one of ten internment camps where more than 110,000 people of Japanese
ancestry are imprisoned without trials. Zeni brings the game of baseball
to the camp, along with a sense of hope.
This true story, set in a Japanese internment camp during World War II,
introduces children to a little-discussed part of American history
through Marissa Moss's rich text and Yuko Shimizu's beautiful
illustrations. The book includes author and illustrator notes, archival
photographs, and a bibliography.
Praise for Barbed Wire Baseball
"In language that captures the underlying sadness and loss, Moss
emphasizes Zeni's fierce spirit as he removes every obstacle in order to
play his beloved baseball and regain a sense of pride. Shimizu's
Japanese calligraphy brush-and-ink illustrations colored in Photoshop
depict the dreary landscape with the ever-present barbed wire, with that
beautiful grassy baseball field the only beacon of hope."
--Kirkus Reviews
"As this expressive picture book makes clear, Zenimura never allowed his
small stature to diminish his dreams."
--Booklist
"Moss is a skilled author of historical narrative nonfiction for young
readers; her tale is both well researched and well told. But it's the
visually stunning, sensitive illustrations by the hugely talented
Shimizu that make the book a standout."
--New York Times Book Review
"Text and illustrations mesh to create an admiring portrait of an
exemplary individual who rose above his challenges and inspired
others."
--School Library Journal
"In her picture book debut, artist Shimizu finely crafts pen-and-ink
illustrations with a calligraphy brush to help portray a true story of
resilience during WWII."
--Publishers Weekly
"Shimizu's Japanese brush and ink illustrations, digitally layered with
dusty colors suggestive of the arid relocation camp, are a visual feast,
from the patterned swirls of battleship steam and desert dust, to the
series of depictions of Zenimura in motion, to the rhythmic composition
of the female detainees stitching the potato-sack uniforms."
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Yuko Shimizu's arresting illustrations, evoking the firm lines,
dramatic curves and color wash of Japanese prints, add drama and
authenticity to this memorable account."
--The Wall Street Journal
"This is a beautifully designed and inspirational sports story about the
power of American dreams, even when such dreams are sometimes
deferred."
--HornBook
Award
2013 California Book Award Winner - Juvenile Category
California Reading Association's Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book
Awards - HONOR
Notable Children's Books from ALSC 2014
