• Soul Lanterns - Ingram
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Yearling Books, 2022-15-03

Soul Lanterns

Soul Lanterns

Shaw Kuzki, Author

Paperback

9780593174371

$8.99 USD
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Twelve-year-old Nozomi's understanding of the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 is transformed when she learns how those she knows and loves were affected by the event.
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A moving blend of remembrance and discovery. As students seek the stories behind Hiroshima’s lanterns, they uncover forgotten truths and deepen their understanding of loss, peace, and generational memory.

Keywords and Themes: Asia • Awareness • Discovery • Empathy • Family • Heritage • Historical • Identity • Juvenile Fiction • Military & Wars • Mourning • Multigenerational • Peace • Places • Reconciliation • Remembrance • Responsibility

Readability • 5.7

Age Range • 10-0

Pages • 176

Subjects • Hiroshima-shi (Japan) • History • Bombardment • 1945 • 1945-1989 • Festivals • Atomic bomb • World War • 1939-1945 • Japan • Hiroshima-shi • Historical fiction

Categories • Juvenile Fiction | Places | Asia • Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational • Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Military & Wars

The haunting and poignant story of a how a young Japanese girl's understanding of the historic and tragic bombing of Hiroshima is transformed by a memorial lantern-floating ceremony.

A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of the Century

Twelve-year-old Nozomi lives in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. She wasn't even born when the bombing of Hiroshima took place. Every year Nozomi joins her family at the lantern-floating ceremony to honor those lost in the bombing. People write the names of their deceased loved ones along with messages of peace, on paper lanterns and set them afloat on the river. This year Nozomi realizes that her mother always releases one lantern with no name. She begins to ask questions, and when complicated stories of loss and loneliness unfold, Nozomi and her friends come up with a creative way to share their loved ones' experiences. By opening people's eyes to the struggles they all keep hidden, the project teaches the entire community new ways to show compassion.

Soul Lanterns is an honest exploration of what happened on August 6, 1945, and offers readers a glimpse not only into the rich cultural history of Japan but also into the intimate lives of those who recognize--better than most--the urgent need for peace.

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