Kira-Kira: Seeing the Positive in Everything

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata. Athenium Books for Young Readers; New York, 2004

            Kira-Kira tells the story of a Japanese-American family’s move from the farms of Iowa to the unfamiliar swamps of Southern Georgia after the failure of their Asian grocery store in Iowa. The protagonist is a young girl named Katie who ages as the story progresses. She is the best friend of her older sister, Lynn, and much of the plot focuses on their interactions as they grow and change through maturation. The sisters face unfamiliarity and adversity in Georgia; they are looked down upon because of their ethnicity and because their parents hold lower-class jobs at local poultry plants. While the pressures of adolescence put a strain on Lynn and Katie’s relationship, the most difficult test for the family comes when Lynn is diagnosed with lymphoma, which requires expensive medical treatment. Through financial and emotional hardship associated with her sister’s illness, Katie learns the true meaning of the book’s title, which means “glittering” or “shining.” Even in the worst of times, Katie discovers how to maintain a positive outlook on life.

            The book deals with many important themes and issues. Firstly, the book has a strong racial aspect. There are constant references to Japanese culture, food, and phrases, as well as consistent reminders of the manner in which the Japanese-American characters are outsiders in Georgia. These multicultural components would be very interesting to any students who are Japanese (or possibly of other East Asian descent), but a reader of any ethnicity would find the multicultural elements understandable and enjoyable. A reader unfamiliar with Japanese culture learns quite a bit about it by reading this book. Beyond the racial dimension, the story contains universal themes relating to friendship, coming of age, sisterhood, family issues, and romance. It also contains the terminal illness of Katie’s sibling, a concept that can be difficult to stomach but that is important nonetheless.

            I would recommend this book for any age of middle school readers. There is nothing inappropriate in the book that would make me hesitate to allow students to read it, and it is fairly simple to understand, meaning that even sixth graders could grasp the concepts it presents. I think that it would work better as an individual read than a class read, but it would definitely fit nicely into any multicultural unit that contained an Asian-American component. I think that girls may enjoy this book a bit more than boys because of the heavy emphasis on the relationship between sisters, but I am male and I found this book enjoyable too. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to be included in a middle school classroom’s library!

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.