• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

When a boy struggles after moving to a Japanese internment camp during WWII, baseball shows him another way to approach life.

Sandy Saito is a happy boy who reads comic books and is obsessed with baseball --- especially the Asahi team, the pride of his Japanese Canadian community. But when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, his life, like that of every other North American of Japanese descent, changes forever. His family is forced to move to a remote internment camp, and his father must spend months away from them. Sandy, his mother and his brother cope as best they can with the difficulties at the camp. Over time, Sandy comes to realize that life is a lot like baseball. It's about dealing with whatever is thrown at you, however you can. And it's about finding your way home.

In this emotionally gripping graphic novel, J. Torres has artfully woven a fictional story into a historically accurate, thoroughly researched account of the events surrounding the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. Using the approachable graphic novel format, the story of this grave chapter in North American history is gently told with sensitivity and insight, and the theme of baseball runs through the story as a message of hope and renewal. The time and place are evocatively rendered in David Namisato's detailed sepia-toned art. Along with its links to social studies and history lessons, this book offers a perfect lead-in to discussions about differences, inclusion and empathy, and about why this history is relevant today. The book includes extended background information in an afterword by Susan Aihoshi and resources for learning more.

JOSEPH TORRES est un auteur de bandes dessinées philippino-canadien. Il a notamment écrit les livres de la série Alison Dare, mise en nomination pour le prix Eisner, ainsi que ceux de la série Bigfoot Boy. Lauréat du prix Joe Shuster en tant qu’« écrivain exceptionnel », Joseph Torres a travaillé sur une foule de bandes dessinées, dont Avatar, Batman, Les Simpsons, WALL-E, Wonder Woman et X-Men. Joseph Torres est né à Manille et a grandi à Montréal, où il a fréquenté l’Université McGill. Il vit avec sa famille en banlieue de Toronto, en Ontario.

J. TORRES is a Canadian comic book writer. He is perhaps best known for his run on DC Comics' Teen Titans Go, the Eisner-nominated Alison Dare, and the Junior Library Guild/TD Summer Reading Club title Bigfoot Boy. Winner of the Shuster Award for "Outstanding Writer," Torres has worked with characters from A (Archies) to Z (The Mighty Zodiac) and many more in between (Avatar, Batman, Ninja Scroll, Simpsons, WALL-E, Wonder Woman, Yo Gabba Gabba, and X-Men, to name a few).

J. Torres' profile page

David Namisato lives in Toronto, Ontario and has worked on children's magazine illustrations and comics since 2005. When he's not drawing, David enjoys watching game streaming and gadget review videos, eating pastries --- and taking naps!

David Namisato's profile page

• Short-listed, Sakura Medal
• Short-listed, Silver Birch Fiction Award, Ontario Library Association
• Short-listed, Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, The Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC)
• Short-listed, Red Cedar Book Award, The Young Readers' Choice Awards Society of British Columbia

An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.

Kirkus Reviews

Stealing Home provides a moving and poignant portrait of the Second World War's impact on Canada's Japanese community.

CM Magazine

... it provides hope by showing young readers the dangers of enacting public policy based on fear as well as the importance of staying connected to others in our community.

Quill and Quire

A strong companion read to George Takei's They Called Us Enemy from the Canadian perspective, though aimed at a slightly younger audience.

School Library Journal