Sylvia & Aki by Winifred Conkling

 

Sylvia & Aki 

Written by: Winifred Conkling 

Originally Published in: 2011

This book takes place during WWII and covers the lives of two girls, Sylvia and Aki when they are third graders. Aki Munemitsu and her family are forced to leave their home in Westminster, California, and go to a Japanese American internment camp in Arizona, as they are Japanese. Sylvia Mendez and her family moves into the Munemitsu home. Sylvia is very excited to enroll in school in Westminster, only to be told that she cannot because of the color of her skin. However, her cousins, who are lighter-skinned, are allowed to be enrolled in school. She is eventually sent to a "Mexican" school and this racial injustice later begins the Mendez v Westminster desegregation lawsuit, as Sylvia is not allowed to attend the same school Aki was allowed to attend. The chapters shift between Sylvia and Aki as they both struggles through their own injustices based on their ethnicities. 

This book doesn't just highlight the injustices Sylvia endures due to her skin color, but the injustices Aki faces while living in the internment, separated from her father for most of the time. Sylvia & Aki is based on a true story, as it is said the two women have been friends well into adulthood. This book is targeted towards 3rd-6th graders, as it is a chapter book and over 150 pages. This book highlights a huge part of American history that is not often talked about: Japanese internment camps in America during WWII. This is something that some students may not even know about, as it is a shameful part of American history that isn't really talked about. It also highlights a desegregation lawsuit which eventually led to the desegregation in the Westminster school district. This may connect to some of the students in your class, as some of their grandparents or great-grandparents may have been alive during WWII and suffered similar injustices. 

Other information: 

Sylvia & Aki is a Juvenile Nonfiction & Historical novel.

**citation based on reprint version**

Conkling, W. (2013). Sylvia & Aki. Yearling. 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/202882/sylvia-and-aki-by-winifred-conkling/9781582463452