Place Where Sunflowers Grow

Under the harsh summer sun, Mari’s art class has begun. But it’s hard to think of anything to draw in a place where nothing beautiful grows — especially a place like Topaz, the internment camp where Mari’s family and thousands of other Japanese Americans have been sent to live during World War II. Somehow, glimmers of hope begin to surface — in the eyes of a kindly art teacher, in the tender words of Mari’s parents, and in the smile of a new friend. Amy Lee-Tai’s sensitive prose and Felicia Hoshino’s stunning mixed-media images show that hope can survive alongside even the harshest injustice.

Amy Lee-Tai was born in Queens, New York and is of Japanese and Chinese ancestry. She first learned of the internment from her mother and through her grandmother, Hisako Hibi’s paintings. After earning her Master’s in Education from Harvard, she worked in schools as a Reading Specialist. Amy now lives in Virginia with her husband and children. A Place Where Sunflowers Grow is her first book.

Felicia Hoshino is an award-winning illustrator and graphic designer who also illustrated Lee & Low's Juna's Jar, A Place Where Sunflowers Grow, and Little Sap and Monsieur Rodin. In addition to creating mixed-media images for children's books and magazines, she enjoys painting children's portraits, cooking with her husband, and decorating the walls at home with art created by her son and daughter. Hoshino lives in her native San Francisco, California, with her family. You can visit her online at felishino.com.