Review: My Hiroshima by Junko Morimoto

My Hiroshima

Author: Junko Morimoto

Publisher: Hachette Children’s Books

Age group: 8+

Pages: 32 pages

Release date: 23^rd December 2014

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Synopsis. (Goodreads)

On 6 August, 1945, 13-year-old Junko Morimoto's life changed forever. That was the day that an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Japanese city where she lived.First published in Australia, widely praised, and subsequently translated into fourteen languages, the picture book MY HIROSHIMA is Junko's powerful and deeply moving story of a period in history that should never be forgotten.

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

My Hiroshima was certainly a surprise, it was probably a little too graphically detailed for my children but the overall heart-breaking message and the way it is explained from a child’s perspective was done extremely well.

Despite the graphic nature of some of the images, it was a realistic portrayal at what happened in Hiroshima during this war torn time. It was educational and the kids had many questions about it all. The narrator starts off by explaining her happy childhood in Hiroshima which abruptly halted on August 6, 1945 when an atomic bomb was dropped; the images show the extent of the destruction and the heartbreak of loss during the aftermath. The images and details are extremely poignant and powerful.

Overall, this book was very well written and detailed the tragedy in a way that was easy for a child to comprehend. A suggestion to parents would be to read this book yourself to see whether or not it would be suitable for your child, there are images that can be quite upsetting.

Thank you to Hachette Children’s Books for the opportunity to read and review My Hiroshima.

About the author: Junko Morimoto was born in Hiroshima and came to live in Australia in 1982. She has written and illustrated many best-selling picture books including MY HIROSHIMA, THE INCH BOY, KOJURO AND THE BEAR (Winner CBC Best Picture Book 1987), The Two Bullies (Winner CBC Best Picture Book 1998) and RUN DAMON, RUN! (with Anne Ingram).