About this item
The first book in the Fighting for Justice series Winner, Carter G. Woodson Book AwardWinner, New-York Historical Society Children's Book PrizeHonor Title, Jane Addams Children's Book AwardFinalist, 2017 Cybils AwardsNominee, Georgia Book AwardA Kirkus Best Book of the Year Fred Korematsu liked listening to music on the radio, playing tennis, and hanging around with his friends - just like lots of other Americans. But everything changed when the United States went to war with Japan in 1941 and the government forced all people of Japanese ancestry to leave their homes on the West Coast and move to distant prison camps. This included Fred, whose parents had immigrated to the United States from Japan many years before. But Fred refused to go. He knew that what the government was doing was unfair. And when he got put in jail for resisting, he knew he couldn't give up. Inspired by the award-winning book for adults Wherever There's a Fight, the Fighting for Justice series introduces young readers to real-life heroes and heroines of social progress. The story of Fred Korematsu's fight against discrimination explores the life of one courageous person who made the United States a fairer place for all Americans, and it encourages all of us to speak up for justice.
About the Author
I am a children's book author and editor who has worked in the children's book field for over twenty years. My books include picture book Sled Dog Dachshund (illustrated by An Phan) , and the middle grade biography Fred Korematsu Speaks Up (co-written with Stan Yogi, illustrated by Yutaka Houlette) . This is the first in the Fighting for Justice series. The second book, Biddy Mason Speaks Up, is out in February 2019.I spent seven years in editorial departments in the United States where I helped to produce winners of the Coretta Scott King Award and American Library Association Notable Book selections, among others. I continued to work as a freelance editor and as a Senior Lecturer at the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature (NCRCL) at Roehampton University in London. Now based in Berkeley, California, I work with clients all over the world. I have an MA in Children's Literature from Roehampton University, and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. My website is www.lauraatkins.com.
