In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, it took more than dust storms, loss of pets, disruption of family life, and other confusion to quell the indomitable spirits of the Japanese-American third-grade students in Lillian ``Anne'' Yamauchi Hori's class when their families were interned at the camp in Topaz, Utah. Approximately one-third of a diary the class kept serves as a basis for Tunnell (Beauty and the Beastly Children, 1993, etc.) and Chilcoat's carefully constructed look at daily life in the camp. The children's innocent comments give way to surprising stories: ``We should not kill spiders because Uncle Sam needs them for the war'' shows the children's patriotism and their knowledge of the use of webbing in bombsights; the calm, deliberately cloaked observation that an elderly man ``passed away'' doesn't include that he was shot, probably in cold blood, by a guard. In their efforts to explain the racial hysteria rampant at the time, the authors occasionally gloss over details that young readers need: e.g., at the relocation of successful Japanese-American farmers, competing farmers are typified simply as ``jealous'' and ``selfish.'' For the most part, Tunnell and Chilcoat provide a valuable, incisive, comprehensive text. (b&w photos, index, unseen, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 9-12)
