Monthly Book Highlight: 'Dash' by Kirby Larson

By Camille Daw, Friends of Minidoka Graduate Fellow

Pets are like family to those who have one. Dogs, cats, even hamsters all make up an important part of our lives. Dash by Kirby Larson explores the heartbreaking stories of the pets left behind when the United States government removed Japanese Americans from their homes. This young adult novel is based on the true story of Mitsue “Mitsi” Shiraishi who loved her dog “Chubby” so much that leaving him was almost unbearable.

Beginning in the January after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mitsi, the protagonist in Dash finds her world changing. Her classmates and friends start treating her differently because she’s Japanese, and she notices her parents growing concerned. Her neighbor, Ms. Bowker does not care about how Mitsi looks and befriends the young girl, who helps her plant tulip bulbs for her garden. Through all of the change, Dash, Mitsi’s dog and best friend keeps giving her unconditional love. As lonely as ever, Mitsi hears that her family has a week to pack their belongings before they are removed from their home. For Mitsi, the worst part about the removal is that General DeWitt wouldn’t allow her to bring Dash. At the last minute, Ms. Bowker agrees to watch over Dash. Mitsi and her family, which consists of her older brother, grandmother, father, and mother, are removed from their home and sent to Camp Harmony. Mitsi struggles to adjust to living at Camp Harmony, though she makes a friend who regularly accompanies her to the camp’s post office, where she receives frequent letters from Dash. As Mitsi begins to get used to Camp Harmony, she learns that her family is being sent to Minidoka in Idaho. The book ends a couple of months after Mitsi arrives in the dusty high desert, incarcerated at Minidoka. 

Dash is recommended for young adult readers, specifically students in 5th-8th grade. Though the book covers difficult topics and emotions, Kirby Larson conveys these in a comprehensible and relatable way. Especially by using pets, an area of life that children can relate to, Larson provides an excellent narrative of how the incarceration of Japanese Americans affected children for young readers.