The Girl with the White Flag - Softcover

Higa, Tomiko; Britton, Dorothy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 4770029314 ISBN 13: 9784770029317

Publisher: Kodansha USA, 2003

Synopsis

New York Newsday called this memoir of a warhood childhood in Japan "one of the saddest and yet most uplifting books about childhood you will ever encounter."

Separated from her family in the confusion and horror of World War II, seven-year-old Tomiko Higa struggles to survive on the battlefield of Okinawa, Japan. There, as some of the fiercest fighting of the war rages around her, she must live alone, with nothing to fall back on but her own wits and daring. Fleeing from encroaching enemy forces, searching desperately for her lost sisters, taking scraps of food from the knapsacks of dead soldiers, risking death at every turn, Tomiko somehow finds the strength and courage to survive.

Many years later she decided to tell this story. Originally intended for juvenile readers, it is sure to move adults as well, because it is such a vivid portrait of the unintended civilian casualties of any war.

About this title

About the Author:

Born in Okinawa, TOMOKO HIGA worked for twenty-seven years at the Okinawa branch of the American Express Company while completing her high school and undergraduate education. She graduated in law from the University of Okinawa in 1991. In 1984, when film footage of a little girl carrying a white flag drew public attention, Higa finally decided to come forward. Her gripping narrative achieved popular and critical acclaim in her native country, and the now-famous photo of the author has become a symbol calling for world peace.

From School Library Journal:

YA-- Higa tells of her experiences as a seven year old wandering for seven weeks in battle-torn Okinawa in 1945. Her nine-year-old brother was killed beside her as they slept. Separated from her sisters, she survived on her own and then with an elderly, handicapped couple. Although bloody corpses are a common sight, the book is not depressing. Aspects of Oriental culture and religion, such as the importance of family and the relationship of man to nature, can be seen. Sentences are usually short, but they don't detract from the effectiveness of this moving, autobiographical memoir. Recent immigrants from countries ravaged by war will find it particularly meaningful. All will be touched by Higa's tenacity under impossible circumstances and will be reminded that children continue to be the worst victims of war. --Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kodansha USA
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 4770029314
• ISBN 13: 9784770029317
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 130