Returning the Sword
How a Japanese Sword of War Became a Symbol of Friendship and Peace
$33.37
- Hardcover
32 pages
- Release Date
7 October 2025
Summary
In 1945, just after the end of World War II, Captain Orval Amdahl brought home a Japanese sword as a souvenir of war. Sixty-eight years later, he gave it back.
Orval Amdahl grew up in rural Minnesota and enlisted in the Marines during World War II. In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war. Soon after, Orval’s division was sent to keep the peace in Nagasaki, and the devastation he witnessed …
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9798765611531 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Caren Stelson, Amanda Yoshida |
| Publisher: | Lerner Publishing Group |
| Imprint: | Carolrhoda |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 32 |
| Release Date: | 7 October 2025 |
| Weight: | 485g |
| Dimensions: | 241mm x 286mm |
| Audience Age: | 7-11 |
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Critics Review
“With simple, realistic illustrations, this picture book tells Amdahl’s story soberly and with utmost respect… . A clear-eyed, compelling recollection of one soldier’s story.“—Kirkus Reviews
“Stelson writes with vivid clarity, rendering a story with careful detail while bolstering themes of peace and honor. Working in harmony with Stelson’s text, Yoshida’s vibrant illustrations are wreathed in symbolic imagery and color those themes with gestures of reconciliation.”—Booklist
Caren Stelson
Caren Stelson is an award-winning author of nonfiction books that focus on war and peace themes. She believes young readers want to know the truth about their world and how others find resilience and courage in difficult times. Her work includes Ezra Jack Keats Book Award winner A Bowl Full of Peace and Sachiko: A Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Story, which was longlisted for a National Book Award and received a Sibert Honor Award, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and the Flora Stieglitz Straus Award. Caren and her husband, Kim, live in Minneapolis.
Amanda Yoshida began drawing at a young age. She attended Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Los Angeles and went on to work for several years as a 3D artist and graphic designer. She began illustrating picture books in 2016 after the birth of her son. When she’s not illustrating or playing with her energetic kiddo, she enjoys connecting with her Asian and Irish heritage through art, storytelling, sushi and the occasional Irish Coffee. Amanda lives in Oregon with her family.
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