Peace Is a Chain Reaction: How World War II Japanese Balloon Bombs Brought People of Two Nations Together (book)

Narrative non-fiction book for middle grade readers about the aftermath of a tragedy involving World War II Japanese balloon bombs centering on Yuzuru John Takeshita, a Kibei man who had been incarcerated at Tule Lake .

Author Tanya Lee Stone weaves together the story of the Japanese balloon bomb that killed six people in Bly, Oregon, in 1945, the Japanese schoolgirls who were conscripted into making the bombs under harsh conditions, and peace activist Takeshita, who as a young man, had been incarcerated at Tule Lake, just a few miles down the road from Bly. A Kibei born in 1926, Takeshita had been partially raised in Japan from ages eight to fifteen, returning just prior to World War II. Forcibly removed to Tanforan and Topaz , the whole family subsequently was removed to Tule Lake after giving no-no answers to the loyalty questionnaire . Later, as a sociology professor at the University of Michigan, he met a woman who had once built balloon bombs as a schoolgirl while doing research in Japan. Takeshita eventually builds a bridge between groups of Japanese women who had made the bombs, and the Bly community that led eventually led to friendship and forgiveness. Yumeno Furukawa did the illustrations for the book, which was designed by Rachel Wood.

Stone (1965– ) has written over one hundred books for young readers, with many focused on stories of women or people of color including award-winning books on women in the space program ( Almost Astronauts: Thirteen Women Who Dared to Dream , 2009) or on African American paratroopers ( Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers , 2013). After spending eleven years as an editor for various New York publishers, she turned to writing in 1997. In addition to her writing, she also teaches writing at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. ^[1]

Might also like Stanley Hayami, Nisei Son by Joanne Oppenheim; A Fence Away From Freedom: Japanese-Americans and World War II by Ellen Levine; Fred Korematsu Speaks Up by Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi