Review of KIRA-KIRA by Cynthia Kadohata

Bibliography
Kadohata, Cynthia. 2004. Kira-Kira. New York, NY: Atheneum Books. ISBN 9780689856396

Plot Summary
Lying on their backs and gazing into an endless star-studded sky, Katie and Lynn dream of their brightly lit futures. Lynn envisions herself and Katie attending college, living by the sea, and buying their parents big houses. Katie just wants everything to stay kira-kira, which is Japanese for “glittering.” Soon, sisters Katie and Lynn find themselves moving from rural Iowa to a sleepy southern town in 1950’s Georgia. As their parents put in copious amounts of time at a poultry plant, Lynn becomes the glue that holds this young Japanese-American family together. Katie idolizes her older sister and settles on the fact that Lynn is smarter, wiser, and bound for greatness. But, when Lynn becomes fatally ill, the family is torn at the seams. It is only after Lynn’s death that Katie finally understands the biggest lesson in life; no matter what fate may befall you, savor each day and sprinkle it with plenty of kira-kira.

Critical Analysis
Cynthia Kadohata sets her historical fiction novel in Chesterfield, Georgia during the 1950’s. Told from the perspective of Katie, the younger sister in a Japanese-American family, Kira-Kira explores racism, civil-rights, and the unshakable strength of family bonds. Katie adores her older sister, Lynn. In fact, it is Lynn who teaches Katie her very first word, kira-kira, which means "glittering" in Japanese. Katie becomes utterly mesmerized by the word and calls everything she sees, from midnight stars to colored Kleenex, kira-kira. Her fragile mother becomes exasperated by Katie’s fanciful disposition and depends on Lynn to lead Katie through life’s many trials and disappointments; Katie is a willing follower: “Lynn was the bravest girl in the world. She was also a genius. I knew this because one day I asked her, ‘Are you a genius?’ And she said, ‘Yes.’ I believed her because the day my father taught her how to play chess, she won her first game. She said she would teach me how to play if I wanted. She always said she would teach me everything in the world I needed to know.”

Kadohata manages to show the warmth of Katie and Lynn’s bond while letting the reader feel the effects of a story laced with the poison of racism. Before Katie’s first day of school, Lynn sits down with her to prepare Katie for the bigotry that will inevitably find her:
          “Have you noticed that sometimes people won’t say hello to Mom when we’re out shopping?”
           “Uh-huh.”
           “Well, some of the kids at school may not say hello to you, either.”
           "You mean because they don’t know me?”
           “No, I mean because they don’t want to know you.”

The book accurately rewrites disturbing accounts from a pre-unionized workforce, scenes that shake us from the lull of historical amnesia. One such account takes place after Katie and her baby brother spend the entire day in the hot car outside of her mother’s place of work. Riding home from the poultry processing plant, Katie remembers, “My mother smelled funny. The factory workers weren’t allowed to take unscheduled breaks, so they all wore pads in case they needed to use the bathroom. It smelled like my mother had used her pad.”

Kadohata moves the plot along with the help of Lynn’s diary. In fact, her diary is such an integral part of the story that it nearly becomes a character itself. Kadohata introduces the diary in the first chapter as Katie tells us, “I know a lot about when I was a little girl, because my sister used to keep a diary. Today I keep her diary in a drawer next to my bed.” Throughout the book, excerpts of the diary are revealed, but we see its ultimate significance in Lynn’s final entry: “To Katie I leave my diary, my dictionary, and my encyclopedia, which she had better use.” Katie proceeds to read every page of the diary and discovers that she is “the only person mentioned every single day.” Kadohata allows the words of the diary to strengthen Katie and to remind her how to paint the world with kira-kira.

Review Excerpts
Newbery Medal Winner
A New York Times Bestseller
An ALA Notable Children’s Book
Starred Review in Publisher’s Weekly: “The family’s devotion to one another, and one sister’s ability to teach the younger sister to appreciate the ‘kira-kira’, or glittering, in everyday life makes this novel shine.”

Connections
*After explaining the term kira-kira, teachers could ask students to write about something that is kira-kira to them.
*Could be used to discuss racism, discrimination, and poor working conditions in the context of the 1950’s and how it relates to today's society.
*Would make an excellent required reading for ages 10 to 14.
*Would be an ideal addition to a multicultural library within a classroom.