Twenty-five years ago, Baseball Saved Us changed the picture-book landscape with its honest story of a Japanese American boy in an internment camp during World War II. This anniversary edition will introduce new readers to this modern-day classic. One day my dad looked out at the endless desert and decided then and there to build a baseball field. "Shorty" and his family, along with thousands of other Japanese Americans, have been forced to relocate from their homes to a "camp" after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Fighting the heat, dust, and freezing cold nights of the desert, Shorty and the others at the camp need something to look forward to, even if only for nine innings. So they build a playing field, and in this unlikely place, a baseball league is formed. Surrounded by barbed-wire fences and guards in towers, Shorty soon finds that he is playing not only to win, but to gain dignity and self-respect as well. Inspired by actual events, this moving story of hope and courage in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II reveals a long-hidden and ugly part of the American past. This 25th Anniversary Edition features a revised cover and a new introduction from the author and illustrator. Grade 2-4-- After briefly describing the way his family was removed from their home and sent to an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II, the narrator, "Shorty," tells how baseball was used as a diversion from the dire situation in which the camp's inhabitants found themselves. After improvising a baseball diamond, uniforms, and equipment, they played games. In one of these contests, the usually weak-hitting Shorty catches a glimpse of one of the ever-present guards and channels his anger toward the man into his swing, resulting in a winning home run. After the war and his return home, he continues to play ball while at the same time being subjected to racial taunts, again refocusing his anger to produce positive results on the diamond. The sport plays a secondary role to the blatant racism depicted in this somber book. The paintings, scratchboard overlaid with oils, effectively reflect the tone of the story. Pair this powerful title with Hamanaka's The Journey (Orchard, 1990). --Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. Drawing on his Japanese-American parents' experiences, a new author uses his narrator's struggle to become a better, and more accepted, ballplayer to portray a WW II internment camp. Quietly, ``Shorty'' describes his family's sudden removal to the camp in 1942, the grim surroundings, the restiveness his dad hopes to counter by building a baseball diamond. Materials are improvised (uniforms are made from mattress ticking), but the game soon thrives. Still, Shorty is usually an ``easy out'' until anger at the perpetually watching guard inspires him to hit a homer-- whereupon he sees the guard give him thumbs-up and a grin. But the real focus here is the camp and the prejudice that caused it. Back home after the war, Shorty finds friendly teammates but still hears racist taunts when he plays--and still uses the anger he feels to strengthen his resolve and do his best. Using scratchboard overlaid with oils, Lee (who grew up in Korea) provides splendidly evocative art whose somber tones are enriched with luminous color; he's a keen observer of baseball and the camp milieu. Fine debuts for author, illustrator, and publisher. (Picture book. 6-10) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. "Author Ken Mochizuki and artist Dom Lee tell a terrific children's story. They tell a modern one - tender and tough and most of all: true." -- The Asian Reporter "Prepossessing debut...stirring illustrations." -- Publishers Weekly "Splendidly evocative.... Fine debuts for author, illustrator." -- Kirkus Reviews "Powerful." -- School Library Journal Ken Mochizuki is a writer, journalist, and former actor who made his picture-book debut with Baseball Saved Us . He is also the author of several other award-winning picture books published by Lee & Low, including Passage to Freedom and Heroes . Mochizuki lives in Maple Valley, Washington. His website is kenmochizuki.com. Dom Lee made his picture-book debut with Baseball Saved Us . He grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and went on to illustrate books in both the United States and Korea. His titles for Lee & Low include Ken Mochizuki's Passage to Freedom and Heroes , as well as the award-winning Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds . Lee's unique illustration style involves applying encaustic beeswax on paper, then scratching out images, and finally coloring the images with oil paint. Lee and his wife live in Hollis, New York.