From Minidoka to Alligator Alcatraz: Picture Books to Help Kids Understand Japanese Internment and Why It Matters Today

Framed as a necessary measure for “national security,” Alligator Alcatraz raises chilling echoes of another dark chapter in our history: the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Over 120,000 people of Japanese descent ~ many of them American citizens ~ were forcibly removed from their homes and placed in remote camps under the same pretense: national security. They were not charged with crimes. They posed no proven threat. But fear, racism, and wartime hysteria overruled their rights.

History is repeating itself.
And if we don’t talk about it ~ especially with our children ~ it will continue.

These picture books about Japanese American internment are powerful, age-appropriate tools for starting those essential conversations. They center the voices of those who were there, highlight the resilience of community and culture, and challenge us to stand up when we see injustice disguised as "protection."

Now more than ever, we must read, remember, and resist.

Picture Books about Japanese Internment

Find the full book list on Amazon / Bookshop, or click on individual titles linked below:

My Lost Freedom by George Takei | When George Takei was just four, his family was forcibly removed from their home and incarcerated in camps for being Japanese American. This powerful true story follows their journey through multiple camps, highlighting resilience, injustice, and the strength of family during one of America’s darkest chapters.

Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall | During WWII, Tama finds herself imprisoned in a desert incarceration camp for being Japanese American. Finding comfort in the camp’s small library, she bonds with George, a fellow reader, and a quiet love begins to grow. This book is inspired by the true story of the author’s grandparents.

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki | In a Japanese American internment camp during WWII, Shorty and others build a baseball field to find hope, dignity, and joy amid injustice.

The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida | In 1942, seven-year-old Emi is sent to an internment camp with her family. Heartbroken to leave her home and best friend behind, she loses her treasured bracelet ~ forcing her to find a new way to hold on to her memories.

It Began with a Page by Kyo Maclear | This inspiring picture book biography tells the story of Gyo Fujikawa, a trailblazing Japanese American artist who fought for diversity in children’s books. While her family was unjustly incarcerated during WWII, Gyo used her art to create a more inclusive world~ insisting all children deserve to be seen in the pages of a book.

Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss | Tells the true story of Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura, a Japanese American ballplayer who brought hope to an internment camp during WWII by building a baseball field and uniting the community through the game he loved.

A Place Where Sunflowers Grow by Amy Lee-Tai | At the Topaz internment camp during WWII, young Mari struggles to find beauty in a barren place~until art, friendship, and hope begin to bloom through the cracks of injustice.

A Line Can Go Anywhere by Caroline McAlister | Artist Ruth Asawa's childhood in WWII incarceration camps deeply shaped her life and work, inspiring the flowing, wire-based sculptures that made her an icon of twentieth-century art.

Seen and Unseen by Elizabeth Partridge | After Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated to harsh incarceration camps; three photographers documented life at Manzanar. Includes powerful images alongside firsthand accounts of life in the incarceration camps.

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Here’s to raising our young readers and future leaders~

Maya