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My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story
A moving, beautifully illustrated true story for children ages 6 to 9 about growing up in Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II—from the iconic Star Trek actor, activist, and author of the New York Times bestselling graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy.
February 19, 1942. George Takei is four years old when his world changes forever. Two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares anyone of Japanese descent an enemy of the United States.
George and his family were American in every way. They had done nothing wrong. But because of their Japanese ancestry, they were removed from their home in California and forced into camps with thousands of other families who looked like theirs .
Over the next three years, George had three different “homes”: the Santa Anita racetrack, swampy Camp Rohwer, and infamous Tule Lake. But even though they were now living behind barbed wire fences and surrounded by armed soldiers, his mother and father did everything they could to keep the family safe.
In My Lost Freedom , George Takei looks back at his own memories to help children today understand what it feels like to be treated as an enemy by your own country. Featuring powerful meticulously researched watercolor paintings, this is a story of a family’s courage, a young boy’s resilience, and the importance of staying true to yourself in the face of injustice.
February 19, 1942. George Takei is four years old when his world changes forever. Two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares anyone of Japanese descent an enemy of the United States.
George and his family were American in every way. They had done nothing wrong. But because of their Japanese ancestry, they were removed from their home in California and forced into camps with thousands of other families who looked like theirs .
Over the next three years, George had three different “homes”: the Santa Anita racetrack, swampy Camp Rohwer, and infamous Tule Lake. But even though they were now living behind barbed wire fences and surrounded by armed soldiers, his mother and father did everything they could to keep the family safe.
In My Lost Freedom , George Takei looks back at his own memories to help children today understand what it feels like to be treated as an enemy by your own country. Featuring powerful meticulously researched watercolor paintings, this is a story of a family’s courage, a young boy’s resilience, and the importance of staying true to yourself in the face of injustice.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published April 16, 2024
About the author
George Takei
31 books480 followersGeorge Hosato Takei is an American actor best known for his role in the TV series Star Trek, in which he played the helmsman Hikaru Sulu on the USS Enterprise. His baritone earned Takei recurring appearances as the announcer for The Howard Stern Show starting on January 9, 2006, after that show's move to satellite radio.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
May 5, 2024
In case any of you are like me and didn’t recognize the author name, George Takei played Zulu on the original Star Trek series. He also does an outstanding job of narrating this book. He tells about his family’s experience of being interred during WWII. This was one of the most candid looks at life as a Japanese American during this time and after interment. A powerful, historical book. Highly recommend.
April 23, 2024
Takei does a great job of making this hard story accessible to young readers. The soft illustrations help make it not too overwhelming, but the book still presents the facts. Some illustrations include depictions of primary sources, which could be a jumping off point to include those primary sources in a lesson. There’s also a lot of great back matter, including real pictures of Takei and his family at the time of their incarceration. Recommended.
March 26, 2024
George mentioned this book during a comic con panel and I immediately downloaded and read it. It tells his story of going to Japanese internment campus during world War 2, but a level for kids. It comes off joyful despite the circumstances and opens the door for conversations between kids and parents. The art is also great!
April 29, 2024
please read the review all thoroughly ... i am reviewing a Kindle FIRE, reading due to a local library leaning program, which goes through my Amazon account, so i don't who is in charge there, whether is it something Amazon related or?? ...so that means the book is in the middle of the kindle FIRE screen ...so that means all illustrations and text are in the middle (normally i would take my 2 fingers and cause the illustrations and text to increase in size, widen the frame but it doesn't happen with this book?) ...so that means super tiny ...unreadable ...some pages are the right color so i can read because of the combination of right background and ability to read ... but most of the pages are not a good coloring to be read ...so you are just seeing the illustrations ...which are great to see and be seen ...so the feature of being enlarged is not available in this book, no clue why some kindle FIRE books have that feature but this is not one. at the end of the book are 2 pages full of Mr. George Takei family history and i would really wish to see it up close but i can not ... do to not having that feature. no clue if is a Amazon thing, publisher or what? please add that feature. for that reason i would recommend that you do buy a real hand held book not a kindle fire copy ...unreadable. i can enjoy pics (illustrations) and that is it.
May 8, 2024
It was very strange to listen to this as an audiobook, but it was nice to hear George's voice. I think maybe I missed something without the pictures? The only reason I'm docking at points is because I wanted more. I want to hear the entire story, the gritty details of what it is like, more on the feelings of your country betraying you and then having to reintegrate into that society.
April 3, 2024
Add this important picture book to a collection about Japanese incarceration camps along with other titles such as So Far from the Sea and Takei's graphic memoir for older readers, They Called Us Enemy, which is equally as good as this one. Intended for a younger audience, this book's focus is on young George's experiences in those camps--first at the Santa Anita racetracks, next at Camp Rohwer, Arkansas, and finally at Tule Lake, California. Because the perspective is that of a young child, it is all the more relatable for its intended audience. The narrative leans heavily on the roles his parents played in making camp life endurable and as pleasant as possible under the circumstances. His mother was always trying to spruce up their living spaces, making curtains, braiding rugs, and taking care of the children when they became ill while his father, who spoke English and Japanese fluently, took on a leadership role in the camp communities. Somehow, they found ways to laugh and look forward to being free once again. George even describes befriending a small black dog, Blackie, at one of the camps, and having to leave him behind when the family was finally released. Although Takei puts a positive spin on some of the events described here and the story ends on a hopeful note, he also is quick to point out how the family lost its freedom, its business, and its savings. The back matter is worth a read too since it elaborates on what happened to Japanese Americans during WWII and shares Takei's stirring words given during the 1981 hearings on the imprisonment of Japanese Americans. Created with watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, and digital media, the illustrations are soft in tone, effectively depicting life before the incarceration, the train trips to the camps, the camp settings themselves, and the many individuals who took similar journeys. During this time of polarization in our country and a tendency of some folks to demonize certain groups, Takei's story is exceptionally moving, a cautionary tale for today.
April 17, 2024
Five stars for bringing the topic to light for many. This book would be great for parents to use to have a discussion with younger children. Takei's book "They Called Us Enemy" was excellent for upper elementary and middle school students although it would be insightful for some adults as well. Naomi Hirahara's book "Clark and Division" addresses some of the problems with relocation to Chicago after release from an internment camp. It's so hard to believe this happened to American citizens and I hope we don't see it come to pass again. I'm currently reading "Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in WWII" by Daniel James Brown and it's riveting. Despite being a great student and a voracious reader of multicultural literature and history, I had not learned anything about this until I visited the California History Museum in Sacramento, CA in 2017. I was incredulous that I was so ignorant about this devastation but am working to learn more. If you read My Lost Freedom, be sure to read Takei's notes in the beginning and his testimony to the Congressional Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Citizens summary at the end. For more information, go to https://www.archives.gov/research/jap....
April 14, 2024
I received a free ALC from @prhaudio for an honest review.
An illustrated true story about @georgehtakei growing up in a Japanese American incarceration camp during WWII.
🇺🇸
On February 19. 1942 Takei and his family are declared enemies of the United States. He was four years old. Despite being born on American soil, George and his family must uproot their lives over and over. For three years they are sent to different homes and camps across the country, some fun, but most not. When the war ends, they are set free, but the government took everything they had so they must start over.
🇺🇸
Takei talks about what it was like for him and his family through the audiobook narration and writing the book itself. The fact that the U.S. apologized to the Japanese citizens after his father passed away was just heartbreaking. The book ends on a note of hope and is age-appropriate. If you haven’t read the YA graphic novel by Takei They Called Me Enemy, make that your next read. This picture book released today and I can’t wait to hear him speak at #txla24 on Friday!
CW: racism, imprisonment, war (theme)
An illustrated true story about @georgehtakei growing up in a Japanese American incarceration camp during WWII.
🇺🇸
On February 19. 1942 Takei and his family are declared enemies of the United States. He was four years old. Despite being born on American soil, George and his family must uproot their lives over and over. For three years they are sent to different homes and camps across the country, some fun, but most not. When the war ends, they are set free, but the government took everything they had so they must start over.
🇺🇸
Takei talks about what it was like for him and his family through the audiobook narration and writing the book itself. The fact that the U.S. apologized to the Japanese citizens after his father passed away was just heartbreaking. The book ends on a note of hope and is age-appropriate. If you haven’t read the YA graphic novel by Takei They Called Me Enemy, make that your next read. This picture book released today and I can’t wait to hear him speak at #txla24 on Friday!
CW: racism, imprisonment, war (theme)
May 10, 2024
“My Lost Freedom” is a memoir that unfolds the experiences of a Japanese American during World War ll. The book tells the story of the author’s experience as a Japanese American living in the United States during World War ll. It describes how the author and their family were forced to relocate to an internment camo due to the anti-Japanese sentiment and policies by the U.S. government. The memoir provides us with the themes of hardships, and loss of freedom faced by Japanese Americans. I rate this memoir a 5 out of 5 stars for being so powerful and shedding light on a dark chapter in American History. The author’s experiences provide readers with the understanding of trauma and injustice suffered by Japanese Americans during World War ll. The book is an important historical document that serves to educate readers about this shameful time and ensure that it is not forgotten. This book would be a valuable resource for young readers to learn about this dark period of time and the importance of protection and this book deserves to be seen.
April 28, 2024
Hollywood Actor George Takei of Star Trek fame has written a picture book capturing his family's experience as an interred Japanese American family during WWII. Takei provides the story through his lens as a small boy not always knowing what was happening around him. He credits his parents with holding the family together as they move from being housed in horse stalls at a racetrack to a camp in Arkansas to a prison in California. His story shows how his family and others like them managed to cope with their circumstances. Takei uses authors notes at the end to provide additional information about his family and their experiences especially after their release. He integrates actual photographs to tell the story. This is a powerful story and would be a great addition to text sets about WWII.
May 5, 2024
This book was both heart-wrenching and informative. This book was definitely written for elementary students which truthfully balances the devastation of the situation with the upbeat way his parents try to protect and shelter them from the reality of the internment camps but all-in-all it ends with a message of hope. As an adult my heart hurt reading through it, so I wonder if our younger students would be able to grasp this or how they would feel about it. The factual information at the end can definitely help upper elementary (and beyond) understand the full gravity of loss and captivity in the internment camps. But again, I wonder if our kids would feel the heartache as I felt it? I'd be curious to hear from other teachers who may have had experience with presenting this to their students. Feel free to comment.
May 17, 2024
A decade ago when I was teaching high school, 2 fellow teachers shared their experiences of their American born Japanese parents who refused to talk about their experiences as children in Internment camps after Pearl Harbor. I had learned very little about how Japanese-American citizens had been treated. Hear the pain my teaching cohorts felt from their parents’ silence was heartbreaking. Family secrets are like poison to a family
Now I am 77, retired and living is a senior residence.
One of the couples here are were children whose American citizen families lost everything when the family was moved to an internment camp.
I saw this book, which looks childish due to the style of the beautiful illustrations, but actually be helpful explaining our country’s horrible treatment of American-Japanese citizens during WWII.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
Now I am 77, retired and living is a senior residence.
One of the couples here are were children whose American citizen families lost everything when the family was moved to an internment camp.
I saw this book, which looks childish due to the style of the beautiful illustrations, but actually be helpful explaining our country’s horrible treatment of American-Japanese citizens during WWII.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
April 25, 2024
While this book is written for children, I would recommend it for adults, particularly if one is not familiar with the horrible history of Japanese-Americans being put in concentration camps during WWII. George Takei (of Star Trek fame) and his family were sent to two of these camps. They were only allowed what they could carry and ended up losing everything. George, his little brother and sister, and his parents spent four years deprived of their freedom, forced to live under terrible conditions. The book is powerfully written with lovely illustrations. It is so honest and heartfelt that I assume it will banned as soon as the MAGA crowd learn about it. So get a copy before the nutjobs get wind of it.
May 12, 2024
I do not usually read or review children's books, but this is not a normal children's book. Basically, it is a shorter version of Takei's graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy, which I really liked, and which would be good for teens and middle-school students. The lovely illustrations by Michelle Lee in this new book are suitable for children, but the text is too sophisticated. Maybe a parent or grandparent could read the book in advance, and then go through and explain briefly to children what is happening in each picture. The main point is that it was hard to be a Japanese-American in the 1940's. This new book also has a lovely introduction, in which Takei explains how much better life was on Star Trek, where people of all races and ethnicities worked together as a team.
May 14, 2024
George Takei is masterful in how he explains to us how life was during this black mark on the face of American history. Most of the book is told with great simplicity and wonderful art to help children to understand what happened and that it should not ever happen again. I especially like the second, more "adult" part that doesn't shy away from the darkness that surrounded this terrible decision. As a Japanese-American whose father immigrated long after these unpleasant events take place, it is a stark reminder of what can happen if we allow ourselves to live in fear rather than love and hope. It inspires me to want to do some form of pilgrimage to the camps. Thank you George Takei for all you have done for this country and especially Japanese-Americans.
April 19, 2024
Actually, I can't review the content of the book as it was unreadable. Why some publishers do this to Kindle books escapes me.
The front and back covers are full size, but the interior pages are doubled and too tiny to read.
Unfortunately, this Kindle book is DRMed such that you can't zoom it to enlarge the pages or the font. It may not be DRMed; it may just be that this is only images of pages and is why you can't adjust them.
If you want to get this, DO NOT GET THE KINDLE VERSION. I returned mine for a refund. As it's ostensibly for 6-9 year olds, and only 20 pages, I won't bother getting a physical version (my children are 42 and 27).
The front and back covers are full size, but the interior pages are doubled and too tiny to read.
Unfortunately, this Kindle book is DRMed such that you can't zoom it to enlarge the pages or the font. It may not be DRMed; it may just be that this is only images of pages and is why you can't adjust them.
If you want to get this, DO NOT GET THE KINDLE VERSION. I returned mine for a refund. As it's ostensibly for 6-9 year olds, and only 20 pages, I won't bother getting a physical version (my children are 42 and 27).
May 4, 2024
a heartbreaking yet hopeful nonfiction book told from the point of view of a child whose family's lives are uprooted because they were sent to japanese internment camps. i didn't know that japanese people were asked a bunch of questions to see their eligibility to be drafted into the war and that if they answered "wrong," they would be branded "disloyal" and sent to even harsher camps. it ended on a sad note but not unfamiliar to immigrant stories of rebuilding their lives from the ground up. only this time, it was due to the ignorance and bigotry of a country they were supposed to call "home."
May 15, 2024
This is a moving true story of George Takei about growing up in Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II. Jailed in prison camp at the age of four, the despair, anger and harsh conditions didn't take away hope from people's heart. Made with a lot of care, this is a candid story of resilience. The art is beautiful, making raw emotions palpable. This nonfiction book is important and powerful! For those who read 'They called us enemy', this is a great companion read for younger readers.
[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Random House Kids . All opinions are my own ]
[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Random House Kids . All opinions are my own ]
April 25, 2024
👧🏻 reviews: Wow! I felt like I was in the story with George Takei while the pages kept going. I was emotional after reading it because this is something we don’t read a lot in any fictional books and I hope there will be more in the future. We just touched the Chinese Exclusion Act in school and I was so saddened with this part of history just as similar to the Japanese-Americans who were sent to the Japanese encampments. This is such a wonderful book, as my mom would say—this is a teachable moment. Great book!
April 26, 2024
This is labeled as a kids book and it is definitely for children to give them an understanding of what Japanese Americans experienced during World War II. However I feel like adults could also appreciate this book. It’s extremely well written and the back has a little bit more information which I feel is geared towards older children. There are also family photos which I thought was a really nice addition.
May 11, 2024
Because my grandparents rarely talked about their experienced being imprisoned simply for having Japanese heritage, I appreciate reading stories from those who are open about that dark time in Japanese American history as it helps me try and better understand what my grandparents' experiences might have been like. Thank you George Takei for continuing to bring awareness to this part of our country's history.
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May 18, 2024What's weird about this is the first page had me convinced it was a foreword of some kind, and then I turned the page and the tone was the same, and then I turned the page and the tone was the same, and then finally I got used to it. I think this is good, but it's no Love in the Library
May 5, 2024
As soon as I found out about this book, I ordered it. It’s a great book, reads quickly, and a perfect children’s book for telling the story of George and his family and the conditions under which they were held during the war. It’s the first account I’ve read by anyone interred in the camps. A must read.
May 8, 2024
I just found out you can double tap on the text to enlarge it, on the kindle app on my ipad and laptop.
The illustrations are wonderful. His parents worked to make this experience more of an adventure than a hardship.I realize it is a book for children, but it doesn't quite "get there" about how difficult this experience would have been.
The illustrations are wonderful. His parents worked to make this experience more of an adventure than a hardship.I realize it is a book for children, but it doesn't quite "get there" about how difficult this experience would have been.
May 14, 2024
George Takei tells his story of unjust internment to younger children so that they can understand his experience and an ugly chapter of American history. The illustrations by Michelle Lee do an excellent job of showing love and warmth and family even amidst horrible living conditions. This is a deeply important story which children need to learn and remember.
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April 27, 2024Facts, not story. A picture book that needs text at front and back maybe should be a chapter book.
The Takeis were allowed a dog in one of the prisons but left it behind when their country freed them. I want more detail about that, because what the fuck. Were they Kristi Noem?
The Takeis were allowed a dog in one of the prisons but left it behind when their country freed them. I want more detail about that, because what the fuck. Were they Kristi Noem?
April 30, 2024
I thought this was a great story for young readers to discover the history of Japanese internment camps. Illustrations are beautiful and the language used isn’t too adult reading level wise. This would have been something I picked out probably around 3rd or 4th grade.
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May 8, 2024They Called Us the Enemy" is George Takei's graphic memoir, depicting his experiences as a Japanese-American during World War II, when he and his family were forced into concentration camps by the U.S. government. It is about loss, injustice, and.. . racial discrimination.
April 19, 2024
Just watched George Takei speak at TLA! Fantastic book. History that needs to be taught.
April 23, 2024
A middle grade book in the form of a picture book. The theme is too advanced for the littlest readers but an important story to be told of a dark period in US history.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews