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Put Peace in Your Heart…and Yummy in Your Tummy

by Elise McMullen-Ciotti

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It’s no small thing to find peace—whether it’s peace among nations, colleagues, neighbors, friends, family, or even…within our own hearts. Peace takes work to find.

 

In Somewhere Among, a new middle grade novel by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu, 11-year-old Ema and her family are searching for a peaceful home. Told in verse through Ema’s perspective, readers learn that she and her pregnant mother must leave their home in eastern Japan to live with her paternal grandparents, Obaachan and Jiichan, in western Japan until her mother has the baby. Ema’s father has to stay behind to work and can only visit on weekends. This change creates a lot of tension in the home as the family members learn to live together, and Ema finds Obaachan’s strict nature difficult to manage.

 

In addition to this challenge, Ema must attend a new school in the fall. Starting a new school is a challenge for most kids, but it’s especially difficult for Ema. As a biracial girl with a Japanese father and American mother, she lives with continual social scrutiny—always “somewhere among” two cultures.

 

Although the online summaries of the book stress the 9/11 aspect of the story (which is also found in its cover art), dealing with the news of 9/11 as a family is only part of the novel’s themes. What Somewhere Among really, and so deftly, accomplishes is how it takes on deep subjects of change and chaos in the world—all while introducing kids to Japanese culture and traditions. 

 

Since Somewhere Among is a book to share and discuss, classrooms would benefit from reading the book together as part of a unit of multicultural study. Likewise, it would be a special experience for families to read it together at home. The story begets many enlightening conversations about conflict, change, and how to deal with tragedy. It also gives kids a safe place to talk about tragic events, like the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the attacks on 9/11, and even recent events in war-torn areas like Syria.

 

Although the story is somber at times, in the end, the joy of Ema’s family finally establishing a peaceful home is poignantly felt in Somewhere Among. Inspired by a paper doll inscribed with the message to “put peace in your heart” that Ema finds, Ema and her family eventually are able to achieve peace, just in time to welcome home the new baby. When Ema’s baby sister arrives, she realizes she’s no longer alone in the world. Her sister is also like her—part American, part Japanese—and having a partner in that diversity is truly a peace and comfort.

 

Finding and nurturing peace is a daily practice for adults and kids alike—at home or among nations. We may not always succeed, but stories like these light a little candle of tolerance and hope for readers young and old, illustrating that efforts to find peace within ourselves, at home and in between cultures, is a loving foundation—a strength—as we go out to meet the world.

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Since this book is ripe for many family discussions, making a Japanese dish like onigiri (Japanese rice balls) is the perfect accompaniment. Like making cookies or an assortment of sandwiches, making onigiri is hands-on and opens up many creative possibilities.

 

Onigiri has been eaten in Japan for several thousand years. However, the dish we eat today originated between AD 700 and 1200. It didn’t get its occasional seaweed wrapping until the 1600s, but many were glad it did—nicely keeping the sticky rice from getting all over your fingers! Today, onigiri is made for many special occasions like sporting events, picnics, or excursions to the beach—or just for any day, really! The rice balls can be filled with just about anything and are a fun way for families to spend time together and learn more about Japanese culture and foods. Enjoy!

Easy Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls)

  • Ingredients
  • 2 cups short-grain sticky Japanese rice
  • 2 cups water
  • Nori (seaweed) sheets
  • Water for molding onigiri
  • Possible fillings
  • Umeboshi (salted plums)
  • Dried bonito (fish) flakes mixed with soy sauce
  • Tuna or chicken salad
  • Takuwan (pickled daikon)
  • Miso or red bean paste
  • Spam (for a Hawaiian version)
  • Flaked or smoked salmon
  • Ingredients that can be mixed with rice
  • Black sesame seeds
  • Salt
  • Dried bonito (fish) flakes
  • Tools
  • 6- to 8-cup pot with lid
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Large glass or wooden bowl
  • Spatula or flat wooden spoon
  • Clean, damp kitchen towel
  • 2 medium glass bowls
  • Small bowls for individual ingredients
  • Scissors
  • Hole punch
  • Large platter
  • Plastic wrap or small cellophane bags
  • Adult-Only Prep
  • 1. Place 2 cups rice in 6- to 8-cup pot. Cover rice with water and use your hand to move the rice around in the pot. The water will become cloudy with the rice’s excess starch. Pour off the water (taking care not to pour the rice down the drain) and repeat three to four times until the water runs almost clear.
  • 2. Add 2 cups water to the pot, give it a gentle stir, and heat on high on the stove, bringing the water and rice to a boil. Then cover the pot with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer on low for 10 minutes without removing the lid.
  • 3. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and let the pot rest on the stove for 10 more minutes.
  • 4. Scoop out the rice into a large bowl. Use a spatula or flat wooden spoon to slice through the rice, spreading it out to cool. Let sit 4 minutes.
  • 5. Use spatula or spoon to flip sections of the rice over. Once you have flipped all of the rice over, let the rice sit for another 4 minutes.
  • 6. Use spatula or spoon to gently stir the rice, letting more heat escape and cover with a damp towel. Set aside.
  • 7. Place any ingredients you will be using to stuff or mix with the rice in their own separate containers. Set aside.
  • Kid Prep
  • 1. Wash hands well.
  • 2. Have kids cut the sheets of nori into shapes to decorate the onigiri. Use a hole punch to make circles for eyes, then cut strips or triangles for mouths, etc. Cut some sheets into 1-inch strips, then cut the strips in half.
  • Family Onigiri Assembly
  • 1. For stuffed onigiri, wet hands and take about ¼ to ½ cup rice in one hand and press it together, forming a flat ball. Place 1 or 2 teaspoons of a filling of your choice in the center of the flat ball. Place some additional rice over the filling and bring hands together, squeezing the ball and compressing the rice around the filling.
  • 2. Dip hands into the bowl and move on to the next step.
  • 3. For mixed-rice onigiri, take a cup of the cooked rice and place it in a medium-size mixing bowl. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of whatever ingredients you’d like to the rice. Use a spatula or spoon to mix the ingredients together. Wet hands and take about ¼ to ½ cup rice in one hand and press it together, squeezing the ball and compressing the rice into desired shape. Dip hands into the bowl of water and move on to the next step.
  • 4. To decorate: Use the nori, black sesame seeds, bonito, etc., to create faces and designs on the onigiri.
  • 5. To serve: Place the onigiri on a platter to serve right away, or place in disposable or glass containers to take to school or work or a family outing. You can also individually wrap the onigiri in plastic wrap.
  • Note: Nori can become soggy when it’s wrapped around onigiri too long. If packing for an outing or lunch, pack the nori separately, and use it to wrap your onigiri before eating so that it stays crunchy and fresh.

Adult Supervision Recommended

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Photos by Elise McMullen-Ciotti

This Book Is Available from Scholastic Reading Club

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Somewhere Among

by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu

Grades 6–8 | Ages 12–14

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A Note from Judy

Dragons are huge fans of tacos—as long as they don’t have one secret, spicy ingredient! The Book of the Week is the laugh-out-loud, fun-to-read-together picture book Dragons Love Tacos, written by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri!

Dance to an original song with the Book Boys; discover the many ways that one first grade teacher uses Dragons Love Tacos with her students in Book Talks; read an exclusive interview with Adam Rubin in Behind the Scenes; and download a free printable “Dragons Love My Tacos!” recipe activity in Cooked Up from a Book that also helps students practice sequencing.

We hope that your younger readers have a blast with Dragons Love Tacos—and remember: no salsa!

Judy Newman

President and Reader in Chief
Scholastic Book Clubs

Book of the Week

Dragons Love Tacos

by Adam Rubin, illustrated
by Daniel Salmieri
_______________________


To order the Book of the Week, you must be a Scholastic Book Clubs teacher, or the parent/guardian of a student in the classroom of a Scholastic Book Clubs teacher (sign up at scholastic.com/bookclubs).

 

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