Kira-Kira

Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata

This novel is written by Cynthia Kadohata, who is a Japanese-American author from Chicago, Illinois.  In this novel, the reader tags along in the journey of Katie Takeshima and her family as they battle adversity to achieve their American Dream.  The story begins with the family living within a Japanese community in Iowa, where her father works at a grocery store.  The family then moves into the depths of the Deep South, where both of Katie’s parents work at a chicken factory in Georgia.  This move shocks Katie, as she struggles to understand what she considers an entirely new language and culture.  Katie, as many young sisters do, worships her older sister Lynn, who is extremely wise and motherly while Katie’s mom works late hours at the factory.  Since the Takeshima’s aspire to one day own their own home, both of the parents work arduous hours at the factory to save some money.  

All the while the younger brother Sam suffers a serious injury when he gets stuck in an animal trap and Lynn comes down with an illness.  All in an instant Katie’s optimistic outlook on life is being turned upside-down, and it becomes harder and harder for her to remember Lynn’s message about kira-kira (glitter).  This is a great novel to use for lit. circles in a middle school environment that brings forth the message of perseverance and undying optimism.  While reading the novel, I thought that this novel could be great to use for a creative character project, and also an abstract American Dream from a multicultural standpoint.