Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky Paperback – February 15, 2015

I know that to many people calling them a Pollyanna is not a compliment, but I loved the movie and the optimistic little girl who saw good in everything and everyone. So when I discovered Tomi, the twelve-year-old protagonist in this story of the internment camp in Colorado where Americans were sent during WWII simply because they were of Japanese descent, I immediately thought of Pollyanna because despite everything that she encountered Tomi persevered and ultimately brought light to others.This book portrays day-to-day life in the camp and perhaps serves as a reminder that we are always far greater than our circumstances.

Sandra Dallas never messes around. This excellent book lets you fall in love with the Itano family and feel the dust blow into their rooms. A story for women of all ages.

A heartfelt story for anyone to read. Perfect for young readers. Dallas expresses the many feelings of the Japanese Americans during WWII. This book is a great historical fiction story for young readers and will provide insight to them about what happened during WWII in America. Perhaps,also with discussion will encourage young people to make connections with issues on discrimination, racial profiling, and immigration happening in America today.

Excellent book by Sandra Dallas, but then again I am a big fan of hers. It was interesting to read since I had already read Tall Grass by Ms Dallas. In this book we get an inside look from a young Japanese girl as her and her family are uprooted from their home in California to an internment camp (Tall Grass) in Colorado. I enjoyed the book a lot and highly recommend any and all of Sandra Dallas' books.

Twelve-year-old Tomi Itano, daughter of Japanese immigrants, has always thought of herself as a California girl and a true American. Yet after Pearl Harbor is attacked, Tomi discovers that the townspeople no longer view her that way.Before long, the Itanos' entire existence crumbles. Mr. Itano is accused of being a spy and dragged off to a prison camp, while Tomi, her brothers Roy and Hiro, and their mother are forced to relocate to an internment camp in Ellis, Colorado.Despite spending over three years in the camp, struggling to survive in brutal poverty, dirt and cramped quarters, Tomi somehow manages to maintain an optimistic outlook. No matter what, she still loves her country and feels certain things will return to normal after the war.Yet as she grows older, Tomi begins to wonder...how can things ever again be "normal," when her own country and fellow citizens turned on her for no reason other than her nationality?While Dallas writes a good introduction to Japanese internment camps for young readers, some readers may find the ending a bit too happily-ever-after considering the subject at hand. Still, the characters of Tomi, her family and friends, as well as the general time period, are interesting and well-written, and even older readers may enjoy this book which touches upon the same town and camp originally introduced in Dallas' adult novel "Tallgrass."

Very appropriate way to cover this topic with students. The story caught my attention immediately and I thoroughly enjoyed it as did my daughter. The way the author naturally defined potentially new words did not disrupt the story and was very helpful. It opened doors to discuss the war inJapan and how it compared to the War in Europe.

This book was suggested as a possible title for a regional Battle of the Books list, so I bought the book to check it out. Written in an easy to read style, it was interesting to read about the relocation camps but a resident child's point of view.

I'm a Sandra Dallas fan, and this story doesn't disappoint. Bought this book for my 11-year-old grandchild but wanted to read it too. I did and I like the history lesson as well as the characters in the story.