Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu, Simon & Schuster, Atheneum, A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, 2016.
Awards & Recognition
A Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of the Year (2017 edition) 9 to 12
Crystal Kite Award 2017 The Society of Children Book Writers & Illustrators
Freeman Book Award 2016 The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA), The Committee on Teaching about Asia (CTA), The Association for Asian Studies (AAS), and Asia for Educators (AFE) at Columbia University
Writers’ League of Texas Book Award 2016
Writers’ League of Texas 2013 middle grade novel manuscript award
Reviews for Somewhere Among
from KIRKUS REVIEWS, starred
During her mother’s difficult pregnancy, Ema and her parents move in with her Japanese grandparents.
Usually, in August, Ema and her white, American mother visit Nana and Grandpa Bob in California. But Mom’s pregnant and weak, so they move in with Papa’s parents on the other side of Tokyo. A new neighborhood’s hard, especially for a biracial kid who’s called “foreigner” by strangers but identifies as Japanese. Ema describes her life and cares in thoughtful, quietly detailed free-verse poems. She worries about the baby (“Other babies have almost come but were lost”), the judgment of her domineering Obaasan (grandmother), and the frailty of sweet Jiichan (grandfather); she misses Papa, who’s almost always at work. Carefully, she refrains from burdening anyone with her concerns. Woven right into this family’s heart are events past and present, local and far-flung. One is Jiichan’s boyhood trauma during World War II, “in the hills / watching / outside Nagasaki,” and how that bombing means that Jiichan’s ancestors have nothing like a grave: “There is nothing / no thing / left of Jiichan’s family.” Another is the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which they watch unfold from Japan and which threaten her fragile mother’s peace of mind. An occasional one-sentence poem, starkly alone on a page, strikes hard. Ema’s profound choice of her baby sister’s name brilliantly touches all the themes, including peace.
A tender piece about connectedness. (Verse historical fiction. 9-12) —Kirkus , starred review
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from The Horn Book Magazine
Somewhere Among
by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu
Intermediate Dlouhy/Atheneum 441 pp.
Japanese fifth-grader Ema and her pregnant mother must move to the other side of Toyko to stay for several months with Obaasan and Jiichan, Papa’s parents: Mom is weak with debilitating morning sickness, and Papa works long hours. No one is happy with the situation — Ema will miss her usual summer visit to Mom’s parents in California; stern Obaasan is overly controlling and critical; and Ema must deal with new schoolmates — and a bully. The one bright spot for Ema is Jiichan, who enjoys spending time with his granddaughter. Ema’s narration in this free-verse novel is quiet and thoughtful. The year is 2001, and the news is filled with heartbreak: the tragedy of the Ehime Maru, the Japanese ship sunk by an American submarine; the commemoration in August of the anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (where Jiichan lost his whole family); and then September 11th, especially traumatic for Ema’s American mother. The word heart appears throughout the poems, leading gradually to the climax, as Jiichan’s heart lands him in the hospital and a stranger gives Ema an origami doll with a heart on it and a message of peace — a message that awakens in Obaasan a change of heart. When the baby arrives, Ema comes up with the perfect name for her new sister — leaving her family and readers feeling full of hope for the future. Though Ema sometimes sounds older than eleven, that’s a small caveat in an otherwise well-crafted, deeply absorbing novel.
— The Horn Book Magazine, May/June 2016
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from School Library Journal, Somewhere Among
Gr 4–7—Ema’s mom is expecting a new baby, and the pregnancy has been a tricky one, so her parents decide that she and her mother will stay in Japan with her paternal grandparents until the baby arrives. Complicating matters is the fact that her grandparents are very traditional and strict, which makes the biracial tween feel like even more of an outsider. She cannot keep herself from missing her old life of spending summers with her American maternal grandparents or relaxing with her father after work. To make matters worse, it seems she can never make her Japanese grandmother happy. Then tragedy after tragedy strike—all set against the backdrop of September 11, 2001. Everything starts to fall apart. After receiving a small gift during a chance meeting on a train, Ema realizes that she must do her best to remain positive and endure. Written as a first-person novel in free verse poetry, this is an engaging, quick read. Readers will relate to Ema’s struggles to grow up and understand how different people react to grief and conflict. Those unfamiliar with Japanese culture will get a glimpse into how other students grow up. Though the topic is heavy, Donwerth-Chikamatsu’s writing style will keep even reluctant readers wanting to know more about Ema’s life long after the novel’s end. This debut is sure to get young students thinking about global connections and how remaining positive through adversity in their own lives may make things a little better. VERDICT An absorbing and affecting story featuring a biracial middle grade protagonist.—DeHanza Kwong, Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, NC
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from Publishers Weekly, Somewhere Among
Ema’s life is in flux: her pregnant mother needs rest, so they’ve left Ema’s father in Tokyo while they stay with her grandparents, Obaasan and Jiichan, in the country. Ema misses her home and friends, as well as visiting her maternal grandparents in California in the summer. Meanwhile, her American mother clashes with Obaasan frequently; Ema has trouble getting to know her stern grandmother, too, though she connects with kindhearted Jiichan. As fifth grade begins, sensitive Ema has difficulties at school, including a bully, but her main concern is the health of her mother’s baby. Debut novelist Donwerth-Chikamatsu makes good use of the verse novel format to emphasize that “binational/ bicultural/ bilingual/ biracial” Ema is still learning English while revealing an intimate portrait of her daily struggles in an unfamiliar place. The novel is set over the course of several months in 2001, and while the 9/11 connection feels a bit tenuous, it provides a moving outside perspective on the tragedy and helps shape a universal message of “peace among nations/ peace among peoples/ peace in the heart.” Ages 9–12. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Apr.) —Publisher’s Weekly
More reviews for Somewhere Among
The Blackbird Review April 11, 2016
BooksandBassets Adrienne Gillespie
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Karen Coats
Horn Book Review of the Week June 20-24
International Literacy Association Linda T. Parsons and Lisa D. Patrick
The Jade Sphinx James Abbott
Jenr Ruhl video review December 2017
KidLit Reviews Sue Morris
KidLit Reviews Best Books
Miss Marple’s Musings Joanna Marple
Mrs. Schrock Reads June 25, 2017
OmniLibros Marilyn Ward
The Pied Piper Calls Michaela Betwixt the Books
Rebecca Reads Rebecca Reid
Short & Sweet Reviews Van Pham
Stacked September 11 for Kids Kimberly Francisco May 4, 2016
Through the Looking Glass Children’s Book Reviews Marya Jansen-Gruber
The Universe Disturbed #CBR8 Review #115
Worlds of Words WOW Review: Volume IX Issue 3 Spring 2017https://wowlit.org/wp-content/media/Somewhere-Among-Review.pdf
YA Books Central Kayla King
Other for Somewhere Among
Asian Studies Center Books and Curriculum Materials of the Asian Studies Teaching Resource Library University of Pittsburgh
Author Sarah Tregay List of Middle Grade Novels in Verse
Bookelicious Stories in Verse & Nursery Rhymes Books For 4th and 5th Grade
BookRiot Karina Glaser 30 Books of Poetry for Young Readers for National Poetry Month
Brazos Bookstore Spotlight on Novels in Verse for National Poetry Month Article by liz
Calgary Library National Child Day list November 20, 2016
Carmel Book Recommendations Clay Public Library
Celebri-dots T.J. Shay
Colours of Us 180+ Asian & Asian American Books For Children & Teenagers on May 26, 2021
Colours of Us 50+ Multicultural Middle Grade Novels for Summer Reading on May 22, 2016
The Columbian Check It Out: Understanding how 9/11 changed world Jan Johnston
The Dallas Morning News The Writers’ League of Texas winners August 1, 2017
A Declaration in Support of Children The Brown Bookshelf
Dr. Bickmore’s YA Wednesday, Novels, Memoirs, Graphics, and Picture Books to Commemorate September 11th by Lesley Roessing updated 2021
EarlyWord The Publisher/Librarian Connection 9-11 for Kids
Five College Center for East Asian Studies Featured Resources
From the Mixed-Up Files… of Middle- Grade Authors Katharine Manning
Holly Thompson HatBooks 5 Verse Novels for APA Heritage Month
Indian Trails Middle School recommended book for 6th graders
Judy Newman at Scholastic: A Powerful Poetry-Teaching Tool by Alexie Basil
Judy Newman at Scholastic: Put Peace in your Heart… and your Tummy by Elise McMullen-Ciotti
Kentucky Middle School Poetry vol 1 Selected Books list
KidsCorner.org mentioned with Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story
Kidlitosphere Events Roundup Jama’s Alphabet Soup 2017 National Poetry Month March 31, 2017
Laura Shovan blog NPM 2017: 5 Questions for the Verse Novelist, Featuring Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu
Lipscomb Academy 7th grade recommendations
Newton Free Library Reading List for the Terrorist Attacks Sept. 1, 2021
New York Times mentioned with Towers Falling, The Memory of Things, Nine, Ten: A September 11th Story
Poets House showcase 2016
Poetry Library London added June 2016
Publisher’s Weekly 15 Years After September 11: A Roundup of New Children’s and YA Titles
Reading Middle Grade Best Middle Grade Books About Third-Culture Kids April 9, 2021
Scholastic Blog Expert advice: Reading Club Editors on Building Your Classroom Library Julia Graeper October 27th, 2016
Tips to build a classroom library:
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Books can be a great way to open the lines of communication when it comes to timely topics or sensitive issues. This year marked the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes and Somewhere Among by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu have the potential to personalize and contextualize this tragic event. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely is told in a dual narrative and takes a powerful and unbiased look at the issues of racism. With the 2016 presidential election right around the corner, showcase books about presidents, voting, and all things America.
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Make sure your library is filled with stories and characters as diverse as you find in your classroom and in classrooms nation- and world-wide. All children deserve the opportunity to see themselves reflected in books and to read about the lives and experiences of people who are different from them. In doing so, they build confidence, empathy, and understanding.
School Library Journal The Classroom Bookshelf Towers Falling Mary Ann Cappiello
Staff Pick at County of Los Angeles Library Sept/Oct
Today in Seventh Grade Summer Reading 2017
Washington King County Library System Staff-created list for National Poetry Month
What do we do All Day? Children’s Books to Remember 9/11 September 2, 2021
This year, Ema is not going to spend summer in California, as usual. She and her mother, who is experiencing a difficult pregnancy will be moving in with Ema’s grandparents in Japan. Ema looks forward to meeting her baby sister but she is confused by her grandmother’s strict rules and cold manner. But then, the terrorist attack occurs in her mother’s home country, and illness befalls the family at home. The events help Ema understand her grandmother better and she witnesses her kindness. Donwerth-Chikamatsu uses verse to tell this lovely story of survival and learning
Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu 