My mom sent me this title sight unseen as part of a book care package during quarantine, and I’m excited to share it with you for a few reasons. (Also, if you are separated from loved ones as a result of quarantine and want to say “I love you” without having to use Zoom, a book care package is a fantastic idea).

It Began With A Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way, by Kyo Mclear and Julie Morstad has all the ingredients of a good kids’ book.

An illustrated children’s biography of the life of the artist Gyo Fujikawa, the book’s illustrations are beautiful and evocative. Woven into her story are the history of Japanese Americans and the United States during her lifetime, including internment camps and discrimination.The kids picked the book up on their own and read it to each other, and were willing to listen again when I read it to them. Reading It Began With A Page inspired me to consider Japanese or Asian American History for our secondary theme for homeschool next year. The kids helpfully pointed out that PBS already has a documentary series on this topic.

This year’s secondary theme was Women’s Rights, and the year before was African American History.

I’m interested to see what other themed resources I can find to use for next year, but this was an excellent start.