This book will break your heart. After I read it, I had to look at it again, examining the pictures and words, amazed that this really did happen. The authors note in the back tells how this story came to be written. The author was having an art show about Hiroshima in Japan, I think it was, and a very angry woman, walking among the crowd of people, could not evade her attention. Finally the woman came and spoke directly to the artist that she wanted her to tell her story. She then proceeded to grab one of the microphones at the opening and tell her story to the surprised audience. A few people ended up weeping after hearing her speak. She survived the bomb on Hiroshima along with her daughter and her husband, whom she carried on her back for a very long distance, including across multiple rivers. The fires were ranging everywhere in the city and spreading fast and they had to escape but her husband had been badly burned in the fire and couldn't walk. It is an amazing story and yet devastating to read. I don't know how it would affect young children.
I also read this book and thought it was pretty graphic for young children. The story line needed to be told about what happened in Hiroshima and how it affected the lives of people in Japan. But I do believe this book would be more effective for young readers if the pictures were not so alarming.
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