Paper Wishes

Sepahban, Lois. Paper Wishes. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2016.

Manami and her family are sent to an internment camp during World War 2. Manami is sad because she tried to sneak her grandfather's dog into the camp and was not able to. She is hoping she can find the dog again, or that the dog can find her.

The writing in this book is very simplistic. A 2nd or 3rd grade student could easily read and understand what was going on. Manami's feelings were real, her mutism was frustrating both to her and those around her, and she experienced a serious amount of guilt over the loss of her grandfather's dog. Woven around this simple plot is the story of the internment camps, again told in a way that is simple enough for even young children to understand.

Recommended for: lower elementary as a read-aloud, middle grade
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Red Pencil, Rain Reign, The War that Saved My Life

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley for the purposes of review.