Title: Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration
Author: Elizabeth Partridge
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Copyright & Publishing Date: 2022
Audience: Ages 10 - 14
Lexile: 990L
Awards: Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal (2023), Golden Dome Book Award nominee (2023 - 2024)
Starred Reviews: Booklist (10/15/22), Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (11/01/22), Kirkus Reviews (08/01/22), Publishers Weekly Annex (10/24/22), School Library Journal Press (10/28/22).
Summary: This nonfiction book is about three photographers who took pictures at the same Japanese internment camp. The first photographer, Dorothea Lange was against the internment of Japanese Americans and wanted to show what was really happening at the camps. However, since she was paid by the federal government to take the photos, the government had final say over which photos would be published and which photos would be filed away. The second photographer, Toyo Miyatake, was a Japanese American who was held at Manzanar. A professional photographer by trade, Miyatake was able to get a friend to build him a camera so he could take pictures of what was really happening at the camp. The third photographer, Ansel Adams, agreed with the internment of Japanese Americans, wanted to show how hard-working and happy the prisoners were at camp.
Categories/Genre: This is a middle grade nonfiction book. It has back matter that helps the reader learn more about the subject, civil liberties, and why the author and illustrator chose to make the book. The book has many of the photographs taken by the three photographers interwoven into the illustrations by Lauren Tamaki. I included this book because the narrative of the story was engaging and I had never heard of Toyo Miyatake. It was interesting to learn about him and see photographs from Manzanar.
Title: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (Adapted for Young Adults)
Author: Isabel Wilkerson
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright & Publishing Date: 2022
Audience: Ages 12 - 18
Lexile: 1330L
Reviews: Booklist (12/01/22), Kirkus Reviews (09/15/22)
Summary: When most people think about a caste system, they tend to think of the system in place in India. In this book, which is the young adult adapted version, Wilkerson argues that America has its own caste system as well which started back in 1619 when the first enslaved Africans were brought to the Virginia colony. She goes on to explain the difference between race, class and caste. Through comparisons to the Nazi Germany caste system and the Indian caste system, she explains the eight pillars that make up a caste system. Wilkerson leaves the reader with ways to challenge the caste system so we can have a more equitable society.
Categories/Genre: Nonfiction YA. I would categorize this book as expository YA nonfiction. It gives information and facts, but it also includes narratives as examples to make the point the author is trying to convey. This book is included because I think it gives a new lens of looking at our society and thinking about systematic racism and how we can make things better in our society.
