The attack on Pearl Harbor changed Mitsi Kashino’s life forever. Though she was born in America, her Japanese heritage forces her and her family to leave their home, their jobs, their friends and move into an internment camp. The worst part for Misti is leaving behind her dog, Dash, with a friendly neighbor. Mitsi doesn’t want to do anything, not even leave the cramped living quarters of her family’s apartment, but then a letter from Dash arrives telling her all about his life with his caretaker. Hope blossoms for Mitsi, and that hope infects the entire camp despite all the trouble and heartache the interred face every day.
Kirby Larson uses compelling characters, vibrant details of Japanese culture and language, and a family struggling to highlight the awful realities the citizens faced during World War II. One of the most emotional pictures Larson presents is the diminishing light of Mitsi. As an artist, Mitsi would draw and craft amazing pictures and tokens for her friends and family but in the camp without her friends or Dash, Mitsi doesn’t want to draw at all. In the first pages of the book, we see her love for Dash and art. “She couldn’t wait to tell them what she’d found under her tree: a brand new sketch pad and a box of chalk pastels. The kind real artists use. Mitsi had spent hours on the pictures tucked in her sketchpad. There were several of Dash – one of him curled up on her bed. One of him watching Mom cook, waiting for some bit of food to drop. And one of him dancing in a circle, begging for a treat” (Larson, 2-3). Not even when she meets Eddie Sato, a real artist from Camp Harmony where the fictional Misti is first sent. You can check out his work here: http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/collections/exhibits/harmony/exhibit/photo/sato
And like Sato’s sketches, Larson sketches a picture of how vibrant the Japanese culture can be, even in hard times, and how stark the reality in the internment camps were. Seeing the difficulties through the eyes of a child who so desperately misses her dog will keep readers enthralled. A reviewer for Kirkus stated, “Larson makes this terrible event in American history personal with the story of one girl and her beloved pet. Spot-on dialogue, careful cultural details and the inclusion of specific historical characters such as artist Eddie Sato make this an educational read as well as a heartwarming one. An author’s note adds further authenticity. . . This emotionally satisfying and thought-provoking book will have readers pulling for Mitsi and Dash” (2014).
- Awards for Dash: Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award
- Capitol Choices Nomination
- NAPPA Gold Award
- CBC Hot off the Press Featured Book
- BEA Galleys to Grab
- State Young Readers Choice Award Nominations:
- Mississippi Magnolia Award
- New Hampshire Book Award
- Tennessee Volunteer State Award
- Virginia Reader’s Choice Award (Larson)
Larson, Kirby. Dash. New York: Scholastic. 2014.
Larson, Kirby. “Dash”. Website. http://www.kirbylarson.com/dash/ Accessed 8 November, 2017.
Kirkus. “Dash – Book Review”. (2014) Website. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kirby-larson-2/dash-larson/ Accessed 8 November, 2017.
Image. “Dash”. https://www.google.com/search?q=dash+by+kirby+larson&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZhf2K3q_XAhUkwFQKHXOeCyoQ_AUICigB&biw=1777&bih=882#imgrc=z9TljHRbKDZ3NM: Accessed 8 November, 2017.
Ramblings of Jhenry 