Fred Korematsu Speaks Up
Written by Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi, Illustrated by Yutaka Houlette

Publisher’s Summary:
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.

Primary Source Pairing:
In this hybrid narrative nonfiction, nonfiction in verse, and primary source collection, we learn about the life, struggles, triumphs, and perseverance of Fred Korematsu. Although the book is less than 100 pages, each page is filled to capacity with information about Fred’s story, discrimination, injustice, civil rights, and hope. Model with students how to fully absorb the primary sources included in the text. Use the bookmark included above as a way to guide the primary source analysis throughout the book.

Questions for Discussion:

• Examine the primary source.
• What do you notice first?
• What is happening in the image?
• What can you learn from this primary source?
• Find something small but interesting.
• How does this primary source help you understand Fred Korematsu’s life?
• What questions do you still have?

Credits:
Book Cover and Summary: Follett
Fred Korematsu Reader’s Bookmark, created by JMarek: FredKorematsu_ReadersBookmark