Q&A with Cynthia Kadohata
Q: How did you become a writer?
A: It was a progression. I majored in journalism in college. I wanted to be a reporter but feared I would be hampered by the fact that I almost never drive. How would I get to a crime scene to report on it? Then in an American Studies class in college, we had to write a type of creative nonfiction that I'd never written before. The teacher encouraged me a lot. I started to truly understand how a writer could develop a way of thinking about and using words which were that writer's alone. But I didn't know what I wanted to write about.
A couple of years after I finished college, I bought a month-long Greyhound pass and traveled the country. Something about traveling and seeing the American landscape really developed in me an intense, aching hunger to write. After my trip, I moved to Boston to be near my older sister. I started reading a lot of contemporary fiction and realized I wanted to be a fiction writer. At that stage I felt like a starving animal. The hunger to write and to publish was incredibly intense, so intense that it propelled me through the years of rejection. I published my first story in The New Yorker after several years of trying.
Q: What was the first story you ever wrote?
A: Actually, the first story I ever wrote was called The One-Legged Ducks. It was a ridiculous story about ducks from another planet. I used the ducks as a metaphor for humans. I sent the story to The Atlantic and got an immediate form rejection. I used a pen name, which I thought was quite glamorous. I remember the name, but I won't tell you because I don't want to humiliate myself. All this would be cute if I had been eleven years old. Unfortunately, I was seventeen.
Q: What do you like to do when you are not writing?
A: Play with my son or walk my dog. And now that I have Sammy, who doesn't sleep well, I have to say my absolutely favorite thing to do is take a nap!
Q: You won the Newbery for Kira-Kira, your first children's novel. Where were you when you first heard the news?
A: When the phone rang, I was in bed sleeping. If I'd known I might win, I wouldn't have been able to sleep. It was 4:26 a.m. in the morning. My boyfriend answered the phone, and I heard him say rather curtly, "Who is this?" He loves to argue with telemarketers, by the way. Even though we have caller ID, he answers the phone when telemarketers call, and he gets into bellicose discussions with them. But that morning, his whole tone changed and he said, "Oh, hold on." He told me urgently that I should take this call. I screamed when Susan Faust, the chair of the Newbery committee, told me I'd won. I also jumped up and down and flapped my free hand. My son and dog woke up and stared sleepily at me. I didn't get to sleep again until about twenty hours later, but the adrenaline rush kept me going.
Q: How has your life changed since winning the Newbery?
A: I was in an airport the other day leafing through a magazine, and I saw a story about how your brain knows you're you. The story also mentioned that your sense of self is fragile because the human mind by its very nature is continually trying to get inside the minds of other people. Trying to get into other people's minds is particularly true of writers, I think. We try to get inside other people's minds by profession. This is a very roundabout way of saying that sometimes I still think, Was that me who won? A weird sense of unreality permeates my life. I think the Newbery temporarily messes with your sense that you're you!
Q: Cracker! gives young people some insight into the Vietnam War. What inspired you to write about this period in history?
A: It was really the period of history when I was coming of age. My eighth-grade graduating class was very close and has had two reunions, with a third planned in 2007. We're on a Yahoo list together and e-mail one another all the time. Many of us are going through a similar time now: namely, our parents or stepparents are passing away or getting ill. It's a hard time, but any of us going through it knows he or she has somebody to vent to. It's miraculous how we all kind of click together. I think part of the reason is the vividness of that period of time, with so much going on in the country. In fact, in writing the first section of Cracker!, with the boy Willie, I pictured one of my own apartments from when my family lived in Chicago. I feel like I can picture it almost as clearly as the house I'm living in today.
Q: Cracker! is told in part through the point of view of a German shepherd. Why did you decide to give the dog a voice and how difficult was it for you to write from a dog's perspective?
A: I read articles and books about dogs in general or their senses in particular before I started the novel. The dogs and handlers worked as one. If I wrote only from a human perspective, it would tell only half the story. I read an article that said that some of the handlers became fanatically attached to their dogs. Nearly all of them have stories about how their dog saved human lives. Even today, the handlers I interviewed get choked up talking about the dogs they worked with.
Q: Did you speak with actual Vietnam dog handlers as part of your research for Cracker!?
A: Absolutely. I spoke and/or e-mailed with a number of them. I badgered one of them, Rick Claggett, so much that he now calls Cracker! "our book."
Q: I imagine that serving military duty with a dog in war is a memorable experience. Tell us about some of these real life dog handler/dog relationships?
A: Ollie Whetstone and his dog, Eric, were known as one of the best dog teams around. Eric was the biggest dog in Vietnam, at 130 pounds. Ollie and Eric had a very close relationship. Eric was trained to respond perfectly to hand signals, and I understand that watching them work or train together was a thrill. Unfortunately, Eric was killed by mortar fire. Ollie had to pause to hold back tears when I interviewed him. And the story of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in the book came from an actual story of a man who gave his dying dog mouth-to-mouth. The story of a handler giving up a helicopter ride to safety because the helicopter was too loaded to take the handler's dog is also true.
Q: Were there any surprising or interesting stories you found in your research with Vietnam veterans?
A: Ollie said that one time during a battle, Eric was alerting, but Ollie didn't see any enemy and couldn't see any booby traps. A handler had to know the topography, weather, and wind direction to accurately read his dog's alert. So if the dog smelled something and looked left, the handler had to figure out the wind direction to know the direction the smell was coming from. He had to understand how the terrain affected a dog's alert. But Ollie just figured that Eric was alerting to the general battle noise. Then he realized that an enemy soldier was in the very tree he was under. He shot and missed, and then his gun jammed. Fortunately, the enemy was tied to the tree and couldn't shoot at Ollie from the angle he was at.
I also interviewed two Special Forces soldiers. I asked, just out of my own curiosity, "Why did you seek out such a dangerous job? From hand-to-hand combat to being chased by the enemy as you run through a jungle, what's the appeal?" I lightheartedly mentioned a picture I'd seen of a Special Forces soldier, and one of them said soberly, "They found him dead." They talked of the camaraderie and of doing what they thought was right but tended to play down the adrenaline rush as a reason for doing what they were doing. One of them was retired but had served in Vietnam. He said, "I wish I could still run with the big dogs!"
Q: Do you have a dog? What kind?
A: I have a Doberman I got from a rescue. She used to be very well trained, but I've untrained her!
Q: Your previous novel, Weedflower, is set during WWII and focuses on a family forced to move to a Japanese internment camp on an Indian reservation in the desert. Why did you choose this topic?
A: Because the camps were the seminal event in Japanese-American history, it's something I always felt I should write about, but I never felt truly compelled to write about it until now.
Q: Weedflower gives insight into the plight of Native Americans during this time in history. What inspired you to write about the real life story of Japanese Americans and Native Americans meeting at internment camps?
A: My boyfriend's father and uncle first mentioned to me that the camp was on a reservation. The more I read about it, the more I saw how the intersection of these two dispossessed people changed both of their lives. I thought that was a fascinating and largely unexplored aspect of Poston. Then I discovered an amazing piece of research by Ruth Okimoto, a former Poston internee, called Sharing a Desert Home: Life on the Colorado River Indian Reservation. Ruth and I have talked and e-mailed, and she read the manuscript a couple of times. She's an amazingly vital and articulate person, and her vitality is a source of great inspiration to me. She is a part of the Poston Restoration Project, which is a joint Japanese-Indian organization that seeks to preserve the memory of that time and place in history.
We in America are joined by sharing a home, not by sharing an ancestry. I wanted to write about one aspect of how two peoples sharing a home can change the world.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: My next novel also opens in Chicago. It's about four girls with the same mother and four different fathers. It's a coming-of-age story where a murder is the catalyst for the main character to grow up.
Contributor: Simon & Schuster
Reviews
Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam
Cynthia Kadohata
Willie, a twelve-year-old boy, moves to an apartment building and must give up his purebred champion German shepherd, Cracker. He tries to pretend that Cracker is going on a vacation and she will return to him but deep down inside he knows he may never see her again. Cracker is taken to the army to be trained as a bomb-sniffing point dog responsible for the lives of the many soldiers who rely on her nose. Rick Hanski, a middle-class high school graduate joins the army to get out of his humdrum life in Minnesota and finds more adventure and danger than he ever expected. What he hadn't expected was to fall in love with Willie's dog, Cracker. He relied on her, trusted her, and put his life on the line for her. When he became wounded and was MedEvac-ed from the field, he felt he abandoned her. He spent days recuperating and writing letters to help find the dog. Cracker had a great memory and instinct for survival. After being separated from Rick, starving and dehydrated, on the verge of dying she believed she would find him once again and made her way across Vietnam back to the original base of deployment where she found Cody, one of Rick's friends. Cody notified Rick that Cracker was returning to the States. Rick wrote to Willie to help him greet Cracker at the airport. Willie understood that Cracker didn't belong to him anymore, but Rick said he could visit Cracker whenever he could. The story was compelling. It definitely brings an understanding of the role our soldiers and dogs played in the Vietnam War to today's children, and to adults who lived through that time, but never fully understood the conditions and dangers our soldiers faced each day. 2007, Atheneum/Simon and Schuster, Ages 10 up, $16.99. Reviewer: Gail Krause (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 978-1-4169-0637-7
ISBN: 1-4169-0637-1
Kira-kira
Cynthia Kadohata.
Katie Takeshima is the younger sister of imaginative Lynn. They are Japanese-American daughters of hard-working parents who are trying to make a good life for the family in the narrow-minded world of a small 1950's Georgia town. This era of Japanese-American prejudice has not been covered much in young adult novels and will surely enlighten middle-school readers. There are enough problems in the difficult life of the family to keep readers attention and that is before Lynn gets leukemia. Prejudice is handled genuinely with scenes that expose the hurt. Take for instance, the particularly strong scene in which Katie publicly mentions a wrong action her father had hidden--smashing the car window of the most powerful man in town after Lynn's death. When he goes directly to the home of this man and shamefully fesses up in Katie's presence, he receives retribution instead of the forgiveness readers might have expected, a stunning example of how right actions are not rewarded when prejudice reigns. Kira-kira means glittering in Japanese and this title represents the book well for it has many memorable, sparkling scenes. 2004, Atheneum, $15.95. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Susie Wilde (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
Best Children's Books of the Year, 2004 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Booklist Book Review Stars, Jan. 1, 2004 ; United States
Capitol Choices, 2005 ; The Capitol Choices Committee; United States
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, Supplement, 2005 ; H. W. Wilson; United States
The Children's Literature Choice List, 2005 ; Children's Literature; United States
Choices, 2005 ; Cooperative Children's Book Center
Editors' Choice, 2004 ; American Library Association Booklist; United States
Great Middle School Reads, 2004 ; ALSC American Library Association; United States
Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog, Ninth Edition, 2005 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Notable Children's Books, 2005 ; American Library Association ALSC; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, February 9, 2004 ; Cahners; United States
Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth, 2004 ; American Library Association-Booklist; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
Asian Pacific American Award for Literature Winner 2004-2005 Text United States
John Newbery Medal Winner 2005 United States
ISBN: 0-689-85639-3
Kira-kira (Audiobook)
Cynthia Kadohata
Read by Elaina Erika Davis
From KLIATT's review of the book, January 2004: "Kadohata is a successful writer of short stories published in The New Yorker and other magazines, and she has written a highly praised novel, The Floating World. In this book for younger YAs, she turns to the 1950s and the story of a hard-working Japanese family living in the American South. The narrator is the second child, Katie, who adores her older sister Lynn and is happy to help out with their baby brother. The family lives in a community with several other Japanese families--the adults work brutally long hours in chicken hatcheries and processing plants. Others in the small town generally ignore the Japanese, dismissing them because they are foreign and of a different race. The story is about the family's struggle to earn enough money to buy a house. But the real drama comes as Lynn becomes ill and is slowly dying...'Kira-kira' is a word taught by Lynn to Katie; it means 'glitteringly beautiful,' and Katie struggles to keep this joy of life even after Lynn's death." Davis's narration is well done; she voices the variously aged characters capably and includes accents ranging from Japanese to Georgian. Her delivery should prove helpful in drawing listeners to this family story, especially those assigned to read it as a Newbery Award winner who may struggle with this sad, quiet tale in book form. This audiobook is a good example of the power of aural presentations to make a story livelier by jumpstarting the reader's imagination and involvement in the tale. Category: Fiction Audiobooks. KLIATT Codes: JS*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2005 (orig. 2004), Listening Library, 4 cds. 4.5 hrs.; Vinyl; plot, author, reader notes., $40.00. Ages 12 to 18. Reviewer: Carol Reich (KLIATT Review, January 2006 (Vol. 40, No. 1)).
ISBN: 0-307-28189-2
Kira-kira (Audio)
Cynthia Kadohata
Read by Elaina Erika Davis
Elaina Erika Davis displays astonishing range in her seemingly effortless transitions among a variety of languages and accents in her narration of this Newbery winner. The story is told in the first person from the point of view of Katie Takeshima, a Japanese-American girl growing up in Georgia in the 1950s. Listeners will be spellbound as Katie copes with her older sister's leukemia and bears witness to prejudice, a fledgling union movement, and economic hardship. Davis portrays characters as varied as an elderly Japanese-American man and a Southern girl with equal conviction. She gives a flawless, expressive performance that doesn't call attention to itself, allowing listeners to become engrossed in a fascinating and moving story. A.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2005 Newbery Award winner (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine 2005 (Orig. 2004), Listening Library, Four CDs, $28.00. Ages 8 up. Reviewer: Adrienne Furness (Audiofile, December/January 2006)
ISBN: 0-307-28186-8
Weedflower
Cynthia Kadohata.
Newbery Medalist Kadohata (Kira-Kira) presents another story of a Japanese-American family: Sumiko's family are flower farmers in California; too poor to afford a glass greenhouse, they grow kusabana, or weedflowers, flowers grown in the open field, hardy enough to bear changing weather conditions. Sumiko and her family are forced to find a way to survive and flourish during the intolerably harsh conditions of relocation and internment of Japanese-Americans following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Although this painful and shameful chapter of American history is now familiar to many readers, Kadohata excels in accumulating the heart-piercing details that make it all too vividly real: Sumiko's excitement about finally being invited to a classmate's birthday party, from which she is subsequently uninvited because of her race; farewells to a beloved horse and dog; the crushing heat, dust, and boredom of life in the camps, where Sumiko tries to grow flowers again in the barren, sandy soil. Sumiko's emerging friendship with a Native American boy, resentful of the relocation camp's presence on his reservation, adds another dimension to the internment narrative, which builds to an unsettled, but somehow still hopeful, conclusion. 2006, Atheneum, $16.95. Ages 11 up. Reviewer: Claudia Mills, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Best Books:
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, July 2006 ; Cahners; United States
State and Provincial Reading Lists:
Kentucky Bluegrass Award, 2007 ; Nominee; Grades 6-8; Kentucky
ISBN: 0-689-86574-0
Weedflower (Audiobook)
Cynthia Kadohata
Read by Kimberly Faar
From the KLIATT starred review of the book, March 2006: "Kadohata follows up her Newbery Medal for Kira-Kira with another story from Japanese American history. This novel is about the experiences of a California family in the wake of Pearl Harbor, faced with prejudice and the indignity of being relocated to the Arizona desert. The story opens slowly, introducing 12-year-old Sumiko Yamaguchi, who lives with her brother Tak-Tak, her grandfather, her aunt and uncle and their grown sons in California. The family raises flowers, as do many of their Japanese American neighbors. They keep largely to themselves and their traditions, but Sumiko experiences prejudice firsthand when she is invited to a white classmate's birthday party, only to be turned away by her classmate's mother. The date is Saturday, December 6, 1941. The next morning brings about the total disruption in everything that Sumiko has known. Her uncle and grandfather are sent to a relocation camp in North Dakota while the rest of the family are held in California until they can be sent to Arizona. The camp outside of Poston, Arizona, is dusty and hot; there is no school for the children and the lack of supervision allows them to run wild through the camp. Sumiko, however, makes friends with Mr. Moto and, showing him what she knows, they grow a garden together. Through a growing friendship with a Native American boy, Sumiko learns that the camp is located on Indian land, a comparison that is not lost on the characters...We experience the camp as Sumiko does, in a matter-of-fact way that makes the events all the more poignant. In the end, it is a haunting story of dramatic loss and subtle triumphs." Farr's reading is excellent. She uses a great deal of expression in her voice, especially when speaking the dialogue of Sumiko. She does extremely well creating a Japanese dialect for the voices of Sumiko's adult relatives--her grandfather, uncle, and aunt--plus her newfound gardening friend Mr. Moto. Her sensitive reading captures the emotions portrayed in this well-researched, well-written, historically factual tale. Following the endnote the audiobook includes an interview with the author by the director of the recording. It explains the autobiographical aspects of the novel with special emphasis on Kadohata's sentiments about racism, especially as experienced personally when she adopted a boy from Kazakhstan. Category: Audiobooks Fiction. KLIATT Codes: J*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior high school students. 2006, Listening Library, 4 tapes. 6.33.; Vinyl; plot, author, reader notes., $35.00. Ages 12 to 15. Reviewer: Carol Kellerman (KLIATT Review, September 2006 (Vol. 40, No. 5))
ISBN: 0-307-28580-4
Weedflower (Audio)
Cynthia Kadohata
Read by Kimberly Farr
Culling memories from her own family history, Cynthia Kadohata has written a powerful story about a painful chapter in American history. The excitement 12-year-old Sumiko feels when she's invited to her first birthday party is replaced by hurt and confusion when the door is closed in her face. It's a foretaste of the prejudice that spreads like weeds in a garden after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The family is soon removed from their California flower farm and interred on a desert reservation in Arizona, where the Indians resent the intruders. Kimberly Farr relates this dark chapter of American history with authority, allowing listeners to walk in Sumiko's shoes. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine 2006, Listening Library, Five CDs, $30.00. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Nancy McCarty (Audiofile, August/September 2006).
ISBN: 0-307-28413-1
Added 02/27/07
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