The Last Cherry Blossom

About this book

Now a United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs Resource for Teachers and Students!! Yuriko is happy growing up in Hiroshima when its just her and Papa. But her aunt Kimiko and her cousin Genji are living with them now and the family is only getting bigger with talk of a double marriage! And while things are changing at home the world beyond their doors is even more unpredictable. World War II is coming to an end and Japans fate is not entirely clear with any battle losses being hidden from its people. Yuriko is used to the sirens and air raid drills but things start to feel more real when the neighbors who have left to fight stop coming home. When the atomic bomb hits Hiroshima its through Yurikos twelve-year-old eyes that we witness the devastation and horror. This is a story that offers young readers insight into how children lived during the war while also introducing them to Japanese culture. Based on author Kathleen Burkinshaws mothers first-hand experience surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima The Last Cherry Blossom hopes to warn readers of the immense damage nuclear war can bring while reminding readers that the "enemy" in any war is often not so different from ourselves.