{"product_id":"soul-lanterns-isbn-9780593174371","title":"Soul Lanterns","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe haunting and poignant story of a how a young Japanese girl's understanding of the historic and tragic bombing of Hiroshima is transformed by a memorial lantern-floating ceremony.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e Best Middle Grade Book of the Century\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwelve-year-old Nozomi lives in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. She wasn't even born when the bombing of Hiroshima took place. Every year Nozomi joins her family at the lantern-floating ceremony to honor those lost in the bombing. People write the names of their deceased loved ones along with messages of peace, on paper lanterns and set them afloat on the river. This year Nozomi realizes that her mother always releases one lantern with no name. She begins to ask questions, and when complicated stories of loss and loneliness unfold, Nozomi and her friends come up with a creative way to share their loved ones' experiences. By opening people's eyes to the struggles they all keep hidden, the project teaches the entire community new ways to show compassion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSoul Lanterns \u003c\/i\u003eis an honest exploration of what happened on August 6, 1945, and offers readers a glimpse not only into the rich cultural history of Japan but also into the intimate lives of those who recognize--better than most--the urgent need for peace.\"Kuzki and translator Balistrieri create a \u003cb\u003ecompelling and age-appropriate\u003c\/b\u003e account of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and its aftermath.\" —\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eThis gut-wrenching tale of the Hiroshima bombing from a Japanese perspective is a \u003cb\u003etender and honest exploration of empathy\u003c\/b\u003e in the aftermath of unimaginable pain and grief.\" —\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Kuzki, a the child of [Hiroshima] bombing survivors herself, presents \u003cb\u003ean intimate look at the effects of the [Hiroshima] bomb a generation later\u003c\/b\u003e, and how such an event has long-lasting impact on the community to which it happened.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe Bulletin \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Even though they are fictional, the stories of loss, regret, loneliness, and grief are \u003cb\u003epowerful and emotional\u003c\/b\u003e.\" —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003cb\u003eA tale about wartime trauma and how art and story can channel empathy, memory, and remembrance\u003c\/b\u003e.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe Horn Book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSELECTION - 2021 Freeman Book Awards for Children’s and Young Adult’s Literature on East and South Asia.\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBorn in Hiroshima, SHAW KUZKI is a second generation A-bomb survivor. She received her MA from Sophia University and is the author of a number of books in Japan. Shaw Kuzki lives in Kamakura, Japan. \u003ci\u003eSoul Lanterns\u003c\/i\u003e is her first novel translated for U.S. readers.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Translator:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEmily Balistrieri was born in Wisconsin, currently lives in Tokyo, and has translated several works including graphic novels as well as general fiction for young readers.\u003cp\u003e1\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Strange Question \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe way the old woman asked so pointedly, Nozomi didn’t even hesitate before answering.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m twelve.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe old woman shook her head and murmured something under her breath.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt sounded like “That can’t be. . . .”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNozomi felt shy for no real reason and lowered her eyes. When she saw the woman’s worn-out shoes, she somehow felt like she had said something wrong. She looked away from her feet and added, “But I only just turned.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter remaining silent for a moment, the woman asked, her face tense, “Do you have an elder sister?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Nozomi shook her head and answered that she only had a younger brother, the woman looked disappointed. Then she started to walk away, but turned on her heel and came back.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe clinging look in the old woman’s eyes frightened Nozomi, but she was rooted to the spot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“How old is your mother?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“She’s forty-two.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUpon hearing her reply, the woman took a hard look at Nozomi’s face. Suddenly, there were tears forming in her eyes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNozomi was startled, and the old woman apologized repeatedly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” as she fairly fled into the darkness. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDumbfounded, Nozomi watched her go.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn their way home, Nozomi’s grandma was walking with some friends from the neighborhood. Her mother, walking a few paces behind them, seemed to be pondering something. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNozomi’s mother had a more or less sunny personality, but when she was alone, she tended to read books and lose herself in thought. When Nozomi was little, she often felt, Mommy’s not here right now. She would get impatient and whine. Now that she was older, she was capable of giving her mother some space when her mind was elsewhere, but this time she couldn’t help but start a conversation. The shock of her interaction with the old woman still hadn’t worn off.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ah, that was freaky.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What happened?” her mother inquired absentmindedly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Nozomi told her about the strange old woman, she stopped in her tracks. Nozomi stopped, too.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“And then she asked me, ‘Do you have an elder sister? How old is your mother?’ ”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“How old is your mother?” her mother simply repeated, but she set off walking again at a quick clip.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHurrying to catch up to her, Nozomi commented jokingly, “I must look like someone she knows. Or maybe you do?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEveryone said she looked just like her mother, but Nozomi wondered if that was really true. Her mother’s face was slender, while hers was round.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhenever she mentioned that, though, her mother would reply, “I had chubby cheeks when I was your age,” and smile.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut now, instead of smiling, she said in a quiet voice, “There are still so many people looking for someone in Hiroshima.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat was true. Nozomi sometimes saw a man catching up to someone and grabbing their arm or a woman peering into the face of every person who passed by.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe morning of the atomic bomb, more than seventy thousand people were lost in an instant. Nozomi and her friends learned in their peace studies class that those people truly just “vanished.” The temperature at ground zero rose to over seven thousand degrees, boiling blood and melting flesh. One person’s shadow was even burned into stone steps.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStill, listening to her teacher, reading testimonies, seeing pictures, and visiting the Peace Memorial Museum, Nozomi had a hard time believing that something like that had really happened. Could people really vanish in an instant? Leaving behind only a shadow? It was difficult to imagine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSurely everyone felt that way. Which was why so many people couldn’t believe their loved ones were gone and continued looking for them to this day. They clung to the idea that their family members, sweethearts, and friends had survived and were still out there somewhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“That old lady must have been looking for someone, too,” said Nozomi.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Someone who looks a lot like you.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“But it happened twenty-five years ago, ri--” Mid-question, Nozomi noticed her mother’s face. She looked awfully pale, even though it was the kind of summer night that made you sweaty standing still.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCould it be that that lady was looking for her missing daughter, and it’s my mom? She grew up, got married, and had a kid who looks just like Mom. Maybe that’s why she asked how old she was. . . . And now my mom realized that and is wondering what to do . . . ?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNozomi pictured Gramma, her grandmother on her mother’s side.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaybe Gramma adopted Mom, and Mom’s real mom is this lady?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNozomi loved stories, so when she read Alone in the World or The Prince and the Pauper, she often amused herself by imagining that she was really a kidnapped princess or the daughter of a rich family with no obnoxious little brother. She had never imagined her mother in any of those scenarios, but once she started daydreaming, she felt like it almost sort of made sense.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo way. It can’t be.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m going ahead,” she told her mother, and raced on as fast as she could to clear the old woman’s tense expression--and the daydream, which was strange even for her--out of her head. Akiyuki took off right after her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was after Nozomi and Akiyuki arrived home that their mother and grandma got back. They went straight to the family altar, made an offering of incense, and prayed. Nozomi and Akiyuki sat quietly in a respectful posture behind them. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen it was Akiyuki’s turn to offer incense, Nozomi was relieved to hear their mother chide him, “Don’t blow it out. Use your hand to fan it.” Maybe her pale face earlier had only been in Nozomi’s head.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince the beginning of August, a flame had burned continuously at the altar. It was a sign to guide the returning spirits.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe altar contained the spirit tablets of all the people who were supposed to come back: their grandpa, their dad’s two younger sisters, and one more--their dad’s previous wife.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir dad had made it back from a concentration camp years after the war ended and married again, this time to their mother, and then Nozomi and Akiyuki were born.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe lanterns their grandma had released bore the names of her two daughters: Yoshiko and Kyoko. They had both still been just students. They’d fallen victim to the bomb while they were out demolishing buildings as part of the student mobilization. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe green lantern their mother had released bore the name of their dad’s former wife, Kumiko.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe house was about a mile and a half from the blast, but both Kumiko and their grandma had been thrown off their feet as they were working out in the fields. They both got burned from the waist down. Later they learned that it was because the black parts of their work pants absorbed the light. Some people even got burns in the shapes of the patterns on their clothes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn acquaintance brought Yoshiko and Kyoko, who were badly burned, home in his truck. Though Nozomi’s grandma and Kumiko weren’t feeling well themselves, they went without sleep to care for the girls. When both daughters drew their last breaths one after the other, Nozomi’s grandma became bedridden.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKumiko pulled the dead sisters’ bodies on an old cart to the place where people were being cremated.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter that, Kumiko continued looking after her mother-in-law and managing the household, but she grew weaker and weaker, and one morning at the end of the summer, she was found cold.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe must have thought she could still work. Nozomi had heard that her apron was folded neatly near her pillow, and in its pocket was a little scrap of paper. She had written a list of all the things she needed to do around the house, and of the five, only the first was crossed off.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe had been raised to be sophisticated and was talented in the flower-arranging art of ikebana, but she promised her husband, Satoru, when he went to war that she would “look after the home front,” and she bravely faced any challenges that came her way. She hadn’t even turned twenty yet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the picture of Kumiko on display in the altar room, she looked like a slender, delicate child. Nozomi had a hard time imagining her pulling a cart laden with two dead people.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKumiko’s name had been written on the green lantern. But the other lantern Nozomi’s mother released, the white one, didn’t have a name.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI wonder who that lantern was for. . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs Nozomi offered incense at the altar, the white lantern came to mind. She thought maybe it was for someone who wasn’t represented on the family altar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt happened later that day. The night was breezeless and muggy. When Nozomi woke up to go to the bathroom, she noticed a ray of light spilling from the door to the altar room.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe thought maybe the votive lights had just been left on, but when she peeked through the gap in the sliding screen door, her mother was sitting alone before the altar. Nozomi was about to call out to her when she realized with a start that her mother was softly crying. There was a small paper package in her hands, but by the votive lights alone, Nozomi couldn’t tell what it was.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe looked at her mother’s face again. She was still looking down at the package and crying when she abruptly turned to face a different direction. There was an ornate rosewood cabinet to the left of the altar, and she opened one of its drawers, put the package in there, and quietly closed it again. Then she turned back to the altar and brought her hands together.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNozomi tiptoed away and went back to her room.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yearling","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304077414629,"sku":"NP9780593174371","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593174371.jpg?v=1767736998","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/soul-lanterns-isbn-9780593174371","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}