Cherry Blossom Baseball: A Cherry Blossom Book [Paperback]

CCBCs Best Books for Kids & Teens (Spring 2016)  Commended

Is pretending to be someone else the only way Michiko can fit in?

Michiko Minigawas life is nothing but a bad game of baseball. The Canadian government swung the bat once, knocking her family away from a Vancouver home base to an old farmhouse in the Kootenay Mountains. But when they move into town, the government swings the bat again, announcing that all Japanese must now move east of the Rockies or else go to Japan.

Now in Ontario, Michiko once again has to adjust to a whole new kind of life. She is the only Japanese student in her school, and making friends is harder than it was before. When Michiko surprises an older student with her baseball skills and he encourages her to try out for the local team, she gives it a shot. But everyone thinks this new baseball star is a boy. Michiko has to make a decision: quit playing ball (and being harassed), or pitch like shes never pitched before.Jennifer Maruno is a long-time educator. Her debut novel,When the Cherry Blossoms Fell, was shortlisted for the Hackmatack Award and the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Readers Choice Award. She is also the author ofWarbird,Cherry Blossom Winter,Kid Soldier, andTotem. She lives in Burlington, Ontario.A fast-paced, intriguing read. Highly recommended.AUGUST 1944

Michiko had been making tea for her mother and her aunt for so long, she could do it in her sleep. She filled the chipped enamel kettle, placed it on the electric element, and turned the knob. Then she pulled the metal caddy from the shelf, removed the lid, and scooped cha into the blue porcelain pot. Half gone, she thought with a smile as she looked at what was left in the caddy. The lower the level of bits of green leaves and tiny twigs, the closer they were to leaving the apartment above the drugstore.

We already gave this place a spring cleaning, Sadie slC3