Between 2010 and 2015 the author traveled to Nagasaki, Japan to interview Sachiko Yasui, a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing on August 6, 1945. Sachiko is the subject of the book: Sachiko: a Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story. During the interviews, Sachiko spoke of a bowl that had been in her family forever, handed down from mother to daughter. Caren Stelson felt the bowl itself had a story to tell. Sachiko and her family were less than a mile from ground zero the day the bomb fell. though she survived, her youngest brother died and then within days her surviving brothers pass away. When they go back to their home- the only thing that can be found is the green leaf bowl.It becomes the touch point that keeps the family looking forward- her grandmother had touched it, her brothers had touched it . It is a reminder of that fateful August day that must never be forgotten and must never happen again. As the years pass, Sachiko loses her sister, mother and father to radiation sickness- she and the bowl are the only long term survivors. After fifty years have past, Sachiko feels that she must tell the story to children. Sachiko brings her bowl to gatherings of children to tell of her experience.

This story is told quietly,  in simple language with soft muted illustrations. It is told in a peaceful way with a non threatening message. In the back of the book there is an author’s note with photos of Sachiko and her family, speaking to students and the green leaf bowl itself. readers will  also find an illustrator’s note too.

This must be added to units on war and its horrors, units on the atomic bomb and its effects, units on the need to find paths to peace. It can also be used in units about family heirlooms and their importance to family history.

Use in grades 3 and up. consider for Cream.

Submitted by Kathy George, Gray Public Library