Barbed Wire Baseball: How One Man Brought Hope to the Japanese Internment Camps of WWII in Mock Newbery 2026

Jan 21, 2014 Mary Ann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2nd, history, 4th, picture-books, biography, picture-book-for-older-readers, parents-press-2016, nonfiction, 3rd, baseball

Kenichi Zenimura fell in love with baseball as a boy, moving to Fresno in 1920 to pursue his dreams of playing with the pros. But after Pearl Harbor, Zeni and his family were sent to an internment camp, imprisoned without trial. Moss tells the story of how Zeni organized baseball teams in the camps, bringing his fierce sense of hope and justice to the hardships Japanese Americans faced during WW2.

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Jul 04, 2013 Richie Partington rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction

Richie's Picks: BARBED WIRE BASEBALL by Marissa Moss and Yuko Shimizu, ill., Abrams, April 2013, 48p., ISBN: 978-1-4197-0521-2

Dateline: July 4, 2013
"Despite their widespread national pride, Americans evince a much more negative response when asked if the signers of the Declaration of Independence would be pleased or disappointed by the way the United States has turned out. Seventy-one percent of Americans say the signers would be disappointed, while 27% say they would be pleased."
-- from Gallu ...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Barbara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biography, community, baseball, picture-book, sports, cultural-identity, war, civil-rights, families, ncbla2014

This inspiring story of bravery and perseverance highlights the determination of one man to find a way to endure being sent to an internment camp during WWII. As in the case for 100,000 American citizens of Japanese descent, Kenichi (Zeni) Zenimura and his family are imprisoned because the United States government feared that they would spy for Japan. Zeni loved baseball, and chose baseball as a career. This book describes how he made the best of an impossible situation, and built a baseball fie ...more

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Apr 05, 2014 Amy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kids-books, asian-american, war

Zeni finds himself behind barbed wire in the Gila River War Relocation Center with his family and other Japanese-Americans during World War II. He decides to build a baseball field in the Arizona desert. The ingenuity this took to "do it right" is inspiring. The book, a true story about a dark point in American history, is actually fun and hopeful. The illustrations capture the feeling of each point in the story. You don't have to love baseball to be a fan of this book. ...more

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Jun 25, 2013 Julie Williams rated it really liked it

This was a really good story of how a Japanese man made the best of a bad situation. Kenichi Zenimura loved baseball and before World War II played in Fresno, California and had even met Babe Ruth and Lou Gherig. But, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he and other Japanese Americans were suspected of being spies and sent to internment camps.

For the average child in 4th or 5th grade the Japanese internment camps during World War II will be new information. This book approaches the topic honestl ...more

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Nov 30, 2013 June rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, cap-choices-2014, picture-book

Really the story of Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura and his love of baseball. Despite being barely 5 feet tall he became a star player. However, he was interred in the Gila River camp after Pearl Harbor. There he convinces his sons and other internees, plus the camp commander, to help make a professional baseball field.

Powerful testament to the human spirit. ...more

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Jan 17, 2019 The Reading Countess rated it really liked it

Shelves: picture-books, historical-fiction, ebook

A Japanese internment camp becomes a beacon of hope when a baseball field, players in crisp uniforms, and a stand full of cheering fans mimic normalcy. In a world spinning out of control then, as now, we look for the helpers.

Hopeful, yet still punching you in the gut for what should have never been.

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Oct 19, 2013 Karen Arendt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sports, history, nonfiction, picture-books

An excellent nonfiction book about baseball, Japanese internment camps during WWII, and a little known man who made a difference. I enjoy reading nonfiction books about lesser known people; so much time is spent on the typical well known. An excellent choice for CCSS.

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