In a library, there are countless books. All with countless stories. Both good and bad help more and more people become interested in reading and learning about different things. So Far From the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins teaches the story of WWII from a side that you rarely hear about. And while So Far From the Bamboo Grove by Mrs. Watkins a good book, it is incredibly detailed in the pain she went through, and shouldn’t be read in any middle or elementary school.
So Far From the Bamboo Grove starts off with an eleven year old Japanese girl, her sister, and her mother leaving their home in Korea during WWII. Her brother and her father are off working elsewhere but plan to meet them shortly. Yoko Kawashima, her sister, and mother …show more content…
I don’t believe, however, that it should be taught in certain schools. It is a very compelling story of an amazing person, but it was still extremely graphic. The things that were in the book happen mostly in war. Reading about those things in a world where there are inappropriate jokes and things like rapes and thefts happening daily, this isn’t a book to read in school. One part that especially paints a bad image is close to the beginning of the book. Yoko Kawashima states that, “In the weeds was a Korean man on top of a girl. She was kicking wildly and screaming. My knees begin to shake, and, holding my sack on my head with both hands, I walked is fast as I could to Koand Mother.” Some children might not know what this was referring to, yet it gets more graphic a few pages on. “ I saw several Korean men dragging girls to the thicket and I saw one man raping a young girl.” These things are super inappropriate for children in any school, and paint a bad image of Koreans; which is why it shouldn’t be exposed to children that don’t know much about the Koreans of that time. Contrary to this belief, though, it is an amazing, very inspirational book. It makes you feel humble for people who are less fortunate than you. Because of these things, that is why I believe that So Far From the Bamboo Grove is an excellent book, but shouldn’t be read in places like middle or elementary
So Far From the Bamboo Grove starts off with an eleven year old Japanese girl, her sister, and her mother leaving their home in Korea during WWII. Her brother and her father are off working elsewhere but plan to meet them shortly. Yoko Kawashima, her sister, and mother …show more content…
I don’t believe, however, that it should be taught in certain schools. It is a very compelling story of an amazing person, but it was still extremely graphic. The things that were in the book happen mostly in war. Reading about those things in a world where there are inappropriate jokes and things like rapes and thefts happening daily, this isn’t a book to read in school. One part that especially paints a bad image is close to the beginning of the book. Yoko Kawashima states that, “In the weeds was a Korean man on top of a girl. She was kicking wildly and screaming. My knees begin to shake, and, holding my sack on my head with both hands, I walked is fast as I could to Koand Mother.” Some children might not know what this was referring to, yet it gets more graphic a few pages on. “ I saw several Korean men dragging girls to the thicket and I saw one man raping a young girl.” These things are super inappropriate for children in any school, and paint a bad image of Koreans; which is why it shouldn’t be exposed to children that don’t know much about the Koreans of that time. Contrary to this belief, though, it is an amazing, very inspirational book. It makes you feel humble for people who are less fortunate than you. Because of these things, that is why I believe that So Far From the Bamboo Grove is an excellent book, but shouldn’t be read in places like middle or elementary