The Lucky Baseball is a highly entertaining and educational novel about a young Japanese-American boy whose dream is to turn out to be a well-known baseball player. Set for the duration of the time of the war between the US and Japan, the book teaches about that dark era of our time whilst supplying young readers with a fast-paced, exciting plot and a strong and sympathetic protagonist.

This middle-grade historical novel begins on the eve of the war. Our young hero, 12-year old Harry Yakamoto, lives in Seven Cedars, California with his father and grandparents in an apartment above their restaurant. In spite of the regular prejudice he encounters as a Japanese-American, he lives a reasonably content life performing what he enjoys most: playing baseball and spending time with his family members and pals. His greatest dream is to become a expert baseball player a single day, but he has a series of obstacles. For a single, his father expects him to run the household restaurant 1 day, and is not pleased when he sees Harry practicing ball too significantly. To add to that, he’s not able to join the teams in town due to the fact a lot of the children – especially a bully named Tony Rossi – are prejudiced against his background. In spite of all this, Harry tries to make the greatest of life.

Then his life turns upside down when the US declares war on Japan, and he and his family are forced to relocate to a camp 200 miles away in the middle of the desert. There, his living quarters are lowered to a cold and dusty, modest room he has to share with his family members. Dirty latrines, poor food, rude guards, and an additional bully are some of his other new troubles. But the fire of baseball eternally blazes in his heart, and he soon types a team and becomes the captain. Will Harry reside his dream? Will he go back to Seven Cedars and reside like a standard American without having the evils of prejudice?

I’m not a fan of baseball, but I have to say I loved reading this book. The story and particularly the protagonist drew me in from the starting. Harry is a unique character with a distinct voice and personality. He has his flaws, but is brave and pure at heart. He’s the sort of young hero readers like to root for. The plot moves fairly rapidly with out a lot of exposition or description. I felt transported back in time and learned a lot about the camps. The Lucky Baseball delivers a glimpse into the evils of war and the injustice of prejudice. What I especially like is that the author doesn’t lecture or preach the message comes by means of from the action.

The Lucky Baseball is 160 pages and is geared at grades 5 to seven. If you have a middle grader who loves baseball, this is a story he or she will certainly appreciate. It is also outstanding reading material for classrooms, as it offers a lot of subjects for discussion. Hugely proposed.

The book is available from brick and mortar bookstores and on the internet retailers.