When Sachiko was six years old, an atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki, killing Sachiko’s little brother and most of her playmates. While her family traveled to a relatively safer place, her brothers suffered and died from the effects of radiation. Radiation also caused many problems for her family (as it did for many others who survived the bomb), notably cancers of the liver, 
blood and thyroid.
Sachiko survived, and drew strength from reading and learning about Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and after seeing Helen Keller, she too, wanted to make a difference. For a long time she kept silent, working and studying. Now, as an adult, she spreads a message of peace.
Caren Stelson intersperses Sachiko’s story with informative pages on historical events, such as the dropping of the atomic bombs, MLK’s march on Washington, and the study of the effects of radiation in Japan. Sachiko is a well-written, well-researched and important book.
An Education in Books Blog 