Reading Level: 760L
Interest Level: Grades 5 - 7
This book follows the lives of two girls during World War II who are outsiders in their communities. In post-Pearl Harbol California, Aki must leave her family’s farm to stay in an internment camp, because politicians declare Japanese-Americans a threat. A family leases the furnished farm, and daughter Sylvia longs to attend the gleaming public school instead of the rundown school the district has designated for all Mexicans or students of Mexican descent. Both girls struggle to find their place in a country that punishes them just for their country of ancestry. I read “Sylvia & Aki” alongside companion texts “The Japanese American Internment” and “Hiroshima No Pika.” I recommend using these girls’ story as a research jumping off point for Japanese interment camps and/or school integration.
Interactive "Choose Your Own Adventure" Activity for School Segregation
