Passage to Freedom

The Sugihara Story
By Ken Mochizuki, Dom Lee
Paperback: $11.95

The true story of Chiune Sugihara, the “Japanese Schindler,” who, with his family’s encouragement, saved thousands of Jews in Lithuania during World War II.

Front cover for Pasaje a la libertad by Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee
This book is also available in Spanish
Pasaje a la libertad
By Ken Mochizuki, Dom Lee

Description

As a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania in the 1940s, Chiune Sugihara had a chance to help thousands of Jews escape the Holocaust through Japan, but it was against his government’s orders. When his five-year-old son Hiroki asked, “If we don’t help them, won’t they die?” Sugihara decided to assist the refugees.

Based on Hiroki Sugihara’s own words, Passage to Freedom is the first fully illustrated children’s book to tell Sugihara’s heroic story, highlighting his courageous humanity, and the importance of a child’s opinion in his father’s decision.

About the Creators

Ken Mochizuki

Ken Mochizuki is a writer, journalist, and former actor who made his picture-book debut with Baseball Saved Us. He is also the author of several other award-winning picture books published by Lee & Low, including Passage to Freedom and Heroes. Mochizuki lives in Maple Valley, Washington. His website is kenmochizuki.com.

Dom Lee

Dom Lee made his picture-book debut with Baseball Saved Us. He grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and went on to illustrate books in both the United States and Korea. His titles for Lee & Low include Ken Mochizuki's Passage to Freedom and Heroes, as well as the award-winning Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds. Lee's unique illustration style involves applying encaustic beeswax on paper, then scratching out images, and finally coloring the images with oil paint. Lee and his wife live in Hollis, New York.

Awards

  • Texas Bluebonnet Award Shortlist

    Texas Library Association (TLA)

  • Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honor

    Jane Addams Peace Association

  • Teachers' Choices

    International Literacy Association (ILA)

  • California Young Reader Medal Nominee

    California Young Reader Medal

  • CCBC Choices

    Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

  • National Jewish Book Award Finalist

    Jewish Book Council

  • Notable Books for a Global Society

    International Literacy Association (ILA)

  • Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People

    National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)

  • Blue Ribbon List

    Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

  • Bluestem Award

    Association of Illinois School Library Educators

  • Notable Books in the Language Arts

    National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

Reviews

  • * "Mochizuki and Lee's inspired treatment brings out the import of Sugihara's brave and compassionate decision. . . A stirring story."

    - Publishers Weekly
  • "Lee's stirring mixed-media illustrations in sepia shades are humane and beautiful; they capture the intensity of those days-when the crowds were at the gate and one man wrote and wrote the visas by hand-from the child's viewpoint. The immediacy of the narrative will grab kids' interest."

    - Booklist
  • "This simple but stirring tale of courage and compassion seen through the eyes of a child is a unique contribution to holocaust literature for young readers."

    - The Horn Book
  • "This is the kind of hard-hitting book that demands to be read-aloud and discussed, as it initiates powerful feelings about prejudice, humanness and integrity that need to be part of every child's learning. In this third collaboration of author and illustrator, Mochizuki and Lee have proven themselves to be a powerful team."

    - The Children's Book Review

Paperback

  • ISBN 9781584301578
  • Price $11.95
  • Publication Date May 01, 1997
  • Trim Size 8 × 10 in
  • Weight 0.3125 lbs
  • Page Count 32
  • Word Count 1862
  • Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781880000496
  • Price $17.95
  • Publication Date May 01, 1997
  • Trim Size 8 × 10 × 1 in
  • Weight 0.4375 lbs
  • Page Count 32
  • Word Count 1862
  • Cd

  • ISBN 9781591123330
  • Price $12.95
  • Publication Date May 01, 1997
  • Trim Size N/A
  • Weight 0.4375 lbs
  • Page Count 32
  • Interests

  • Imprint Lee & Low Books
  • Audience Children
  • BISAC Category 1 JNF / History / Europe
  • BISAC Category 2 JNF / History / Military & Wars
  • BISAC Category 3 JNF / People & Places / Asia
  • Themes Asian / Asian American / AAPI, Biography / Memoir, Collaboration, Courage, Discrimination, Empathy / Compassion, Families, Fathers, Gratitude, Heroism, History & Civics, Immigration, Informational / Expository Nonfiction, Integrity / Honesty, Jewish, Leadership, Multiple Ethnicities Represented, Nonfiction, Overcoming Obstacles, People In Motion, Persistence / Grit, Pride, Protest, Respect / Citizenship, Responsibility, Social Justice & Activism, Tolerance / Acceptance, War, World War II
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 6 - 11
  • Grade Range Grades 1 - 6
  • Guided Reading U
  • ATOS Book Level 4.1
  • DRA 44
  • Interest Level Grades 1 - 6
  • Lexile Code AD
  • Lexile Level 610
  • Reading Level Grades 2 - 3
  • SRC 4.2
  • Bebop Reading Fluent
  • This Book is Included in These Collections:

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