Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky

Set in the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, American author Sandra Dallas’s young adult novel Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky follows Californian teenager Tomi Itano as she and her Japanese-American family are interned by the U.S. government. Dallas, who began her career as a journalist and bureau chief at Business Week, also writes novels for adults, including 2008’s Tallgrass, which tackles the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II from an adult perspective.

The novel begins a few months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. America has entered the war, but so far, it hasn’t touched the Itano family. Osamu “Sam” Itano and his wife, Sumiko are first-generation Americans (“Issei” in their own language), while their children, Roy, Tomi, and Hiro are American-born (“Nisei”). Sam and Sumiko are not allowed to own land in America, but they grow strawberries on the land rented to them by local farmer Mr. Lawrence, whose daughter Martha is Tomi’s closest friend.

One day, Tomi and her younger brother, Hiro are sent to the grocery store. When they arrive, they find a sign taped in the front window: “No Japs.” Tomi ignores the sign and enters the store, where the store owner Mr. Akron tells them to leave.



Tomi is shocked and upset that Mr. Akron considers her Japanese rather than American. She is U.S.-born and a citizen. Her grandparents still live in Japan, but she has never been there. Her father has always told her that she is an American, not only because it is the country of her birth but also because her parents chose to leave Japan in favor of America.

The situation worsens when one day Tomi comes home to find F.B.I. agents interviewing her father and Mr. Lawrence. Sam has been stockpiling fertilizer and gasoline for his farming business, but the agents suspect him of smuggling these materials onto Japanese submarines. Searching the house, the agents find a Japanese newspaper and letters written in Japanese. Sam is arrested and taken away in handcuffs. Outraged, Mr. Lawrence promises to hire a good lawyer to defend Sam. Sumiko explains to Tomi that because America is at war with Japan, some Americans have become suspicious of people with ties to Japan.

With Sam’s arrests, things rapidly get worse for the Itanos. Tomi is asked to leave a Girl Scout meeting because the hostess doesn’t allow “Japs” in her home. Her older brother, Roy, is forced to quit his jazz ensemble.



Sam is sent to a camp in New Mexico. The government asks all Japanese-Americans living in California to move inland, to Colorado, Kansas, and Montana. Sumiko refuses. President Roosevelt orders that all Japanese-Americans remaining in California be rounded up and taken to “relocation” camps. Tomi’s family is given two weeks to pack a single suitcase. The Lawrences agree to look after the Itanos’ valuables. The family is devastated, and Tomi tries to keep everyone’s spirits up.

They are taken first to the Santa Anita racetrack, where they are housed until their camp is built. For four months, Tomi and her family live in a horse stall. When they are told they are going to Colorado, Tomi is excited, imagining a blue sky and mountains on the horizon. However, the “Tallgrass” relocation camp is set in the midst of a dusty prairie. The camp is half-built and hemmed in by guard towers and barbed-wire fences.

Tomi continues to try to make the best of her situation. She becomes the star student at the camp school, and she encourages her brother to start playing jazz again. She helps her mother to become more assertive and confident in her husband’s absence.



In 1944, Sam is sent to rejoin his family at the camp. He is a changed man. His hair has turned grey and he walks with a cane. Once a proud American, he is now deeply embittered by his false imprisonment and inhumane treatment. He is angry with his children for continuing to believe in American ideals. He is angry to find that Sumiko is no longer the shy housewife idealized by Japanese culture. Tomi, too, begins to question her American identity, as she struggles to cope with her father’s bitterness. She starts to fall behind at school.

In turn, each of Tomi’s family members turns to her, believing that only she can pull Sam out of his bitterness and anger. She struggles to think how, until her teacher enters her for a statewide essay contest. She writes an essay testifying to her belief in American ideals, in spite of her experiences, and when it wins, Sam is moved to see that his daughter has been recognized as an American.

Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky explores themes of prejudice and nationalism, as well as introducing younger readers to a dark moment in recent American history. However, reviews were mixed, with Kirkus Reviews concluding that the book is “An only average depiction of a compelling and important topic.”