Barbed Wire Baseball

As a boy, Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura dreams of playing professional baseball, but everyone tells him he is too small. Yet he grows up to be a successful player, playing with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941, Zeni and his family are sent to one of ten internment camps where more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry are imprisoned without trials. Zeni brings the game of baseball to the camp, along with a sense of hope.
This true story, set in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, introduces children to a little-discussed part of American history through Marissa Moss's rich text and Yuko Shimizu's beautiful illustrations. The book includes author and illustrator notes, archival photographs, and a bibliography.

Praise for Barbed Wire Baseball
"In language that captures the underlying sadness and loss, Moss emphasizes Zeni's fierce spirit as he removes every obstacle in order to play his beloved baseball and regain a sense of pride. Shimizu's Japanese calligraphy brush-and-ink illustrations colored in Photoshop depict the dreary landscape with the ever-present barbed wire, with that beautiful grassy baseball field the only beacon of hope."
--Kirkus Reviews

"As this expressive picture book makes clear, Zenimura never allowed his small stature to diminish his dreams."
--Booklist

"Moss is a skilled author of historical narrative nonfiction for young readers; her tale is both well researched and well told. But it's the visually stunning, sensitive illustrations by the hugely talented Shimizu that make the book a standout."
--New York Times Book Review

"Text and illustrations mesh to create an admiring portrait of an exemplary individual who rose above his challenges and inspired others."
--School Library Journal

"In her picture book debut, artist Shimizu finely crafts pen-and-ink illustrations with a calligraphy brush to help portray a true story of resilience during WWII."
--Publishers Weekly

"Shimizu's Japanese brush and ink illustrations, digitally layered with dusty colors suggestive of the arid relocation camp, are a visual feast, from the patterned swirls of battleship steam and desert dust, to the series of depictions of Zenimura in motion, to the rhythmic composition of the female detainees stitching the potato-sack uniforms."
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Yuko Shimizu's arresting illustrations, evoking the firm lines, dramatic curves and color wash of Japanese prints, add drama and authenticity to this memorable account."
--The Wall Street Journal

"This is a beautifully designed and inspirational sports story about the power of American dreams, even when such dreams are sometimes deferred."
--HornBook

Award
2013 California Book Award Winner - Juvenile Category
California Reading Association's Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Awards - HONOR
Notable Children's Books from ALSC 2014

Author: Marissa Moss
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Published: 04/09/2013
Pages: 48
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 11.10h x 9.30w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781419705212
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.5
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 156562 / Barbed Wire Baseball


Award: Cybils - Finalist
Award: South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award - Nominee
Award: Garden State Children's Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Beehive Awards - Nominee
Award: Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2013
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2013 pg. 387
New York Times Book Review 03/10/2013 pg. 18
Booklist 03/15/2013 pg. 74
Publishers Weekly 03/25/2013
School Library Journal 04/01/2013 pg. 151
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2013 pg. 156
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2013 pg. 182 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Marissa Moss is a bestselling author who lives in Berkeley, California. Yuko Shimizu is an award-winning illustrator whose work appears in the New York Times, New York magazine, and Rolling Stone. This is her first children's book. She lives in New York City.