Gr 5–8—Stone masterly interweaves the stories of Japanese American teens living in U.S. concentration camps and
Japanese adolescents who were secretly charged with manufacturing balloon bombs that were launched at the U.S.
during WWII. With impeccable research and compelling firsthand accounts, this is an incredible story of a miraculous
reconciliation.

AURA IB Box 3 - 78
Hardcover ‏ ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0763676861 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0763676865
D 792 .J3 S76 2022 AURA

First sentence: From a very young age, we can be taught to hate or fear people who are different from us. Sometimes this racism is buried so deep, it can be hard to see. Sometimes it is clearly visible. War is one of the more obvious ways in which entire nations can be taught to hate--and fear--people of other nations.

Premise/plot: Some books are hard to summarize, Peace Is A Chain Reaction is one of them. It tells primarily of three stories during the second world war: the internment camps of Japanese-Americans, specifically focusing in on one family; a group of young teenage girls [Japanese] whose school closed down to become a factory--a factory where balloon bombs were made; and an American community shaken by the death of six children [or perhaps five children and an adult] due to the resulting explosion of a balloon bomb. Yuzuru John Takeshita, who spent time in several internment/prison camps, brought these two communities together. The book provides context for the second world war and brings to light these events for young readers.

My thoughts: I thought I was relatively well informed on the subject of world war II. I had never heard of the Japanese inventing/using/implementing balloon bombs. I had never heard of balloon bombs successfully reaching the United States and detonating. This was hushed up during the war for various reasons. I'd also never heard or thought about young Japanese women [teenagers] doing factory work, war factory work. So while I'd heard plenty about Japanese-American internment/imprisonment camps, so much of this was new to me. For that reason alone it was a worthwhile read for me.

I liked how these stories were woven together to tell a cohesive story. ( )

Synergy: Paper Balloon Bombs

During World War II, incendiary paper balloon weapons were deployed by Japan against the United States. One of these bombs dropped in Oregon causing the only fatalities from enemy action in the continental U.S. during the war. Teen girls in Japan were conscripted to construct the paper balloons.

Read the recently published nonfiction book, then extend the experience through websites:

PEACE IS A CHAIN REACTION by Tanya Lee Stone tells the story of how World War II Japanese balloon bombs ultimately brought people of two nations together. Within the larger context of the war and its aftermath, Stone skillfully shares the complex challenges facing teens during wartime and the long term implications. The true story explores three intersecting stories of peace and forgiveness.

ARC courtesy of Candlewick Press.

JAPANESE PAPER BALLOON is a video from the National Archives and Records Administration. Published during World War II, it’s available through the Internet Archive.

To video the video, go to https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.13084.

The MITCHELL MONUMENT brochure from the US Forest Service shares the story of the attack and the aftermath.

To read the brochure, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5374039.pdf.

An article in Smithsonian Magazine tells the story of the bombing.

To read the article, go to https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1945-japanese-balloon-bomb-killed-six-ame.... ( )