Dear Ichiro - Hardcover

Okimoto, Jean Davies

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1570613737 ISBN 13: 9781570613739

Publisher: Sasquatch Books, 2002

Synopsis

Eight-year-old Henry and his friend Oliver are having a fight. When Henry gets a time-out, he wishes Oliver would get one too for life. I hate Oliver,” he says. He’s my enemy. I’ll hate him forever.” The day takes a turn when Grampa Charlie takes Henry to a baseball game. Charlie, a World War II veteran, cheers on the Seattle Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki, and his enthusiasm for the Japanese players paves the way for Henry and Oliver’s reconciliation. In the tradition of Baseball Saved Us, Jean Davies Okimoto’s heartwarming story and Doug Keith’s whimsical illustrations offer a message of hope.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3-When Henry squabbles with his best friend, Oliver is sent home and Henry is absolutely convinced he will never play with him again. That afternoon, Henry's great-grandfather takes him to a Seattle Mariners baseball game. When team members Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki appear on the field, Grampa Charlie cheers along with the crowd. However, he also recalls fighting against the Japanese in World War II and marvels at the positive changes he could never have anticipated all those years ago. Henry applies his grandfather's thoughts about war and reconciliation to his friendship with Oliver and writes a letter to Suzuki sharing his grandfather's ideas. While the message of forgive and forget is the principal point of the story, it is delivered with innocent appeal. Brightly colored illustrations capture the boys' anger as well as the excitement of an afternoon at the ballpark. The introduction of actual baseball players adds authenticity, and notes provide a brief history of the emergence of baseball in Japan and the arrival of Japanese players on the American scene.
Alicia Eames, New York City Public Schools
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

K-Gr. 2. Red-haired Henry and his curly-topped friend Oliver are messing around in Henry's room when Oliver spills grape drink on the stuffie Henry still sleeps with and then compounds the damage by dropping it in the toilet. Now Oliver is Henry's enemy. Then Henry and his great-grandpa, Charlie, head off to a Mariners game where they cheer outfielder Ichiro and the pitcher Kazuhiro Sasaki, and Grampa explains how amazing it is to be rooting for Japanese players. Long ago, when Grampa Charlie was in the army, he thought Americans and Japanese would be enemies forever. Henry and Grampa talk about how enemies can get to be friends, and Henry thinks about how maybe he and Oliver could be friends again, even writing a letter to Ichiro, explaining his hopes for getting along with Oliver just like baseball players from different countries can play together. The story is heavy on the message, but it also lightly conveys a certain amount about history and good behavior. Keith's bright, realistic illustrations capture the boys, their family relationships, and baseball with shining energy. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Sasquatch Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1570613737
• ISBN 13: 9781570613739
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Keith Doug