Heart of a Samurai

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus

There are events and characters in history that seem so extreme that they could / should be fiction. Heart of a Samurai is based on the true life events of a young japanese boy - Manjiro. I gained a greater understanding of this period of history in Japan and didn't feel like I was having a history lesson.

From the inside cover:
In 1841, fourteen-year-old Manjiro and his four friends find themselves stranded on a deserted island after a storm at sea. Beyond the island is the unknown, filled with monsters, demons, and barbarians. Or so they've been told. They know they cannot return to their homes in Japan - the country's borders are closed both to foreigners and to citizens who have strayed. No one may enter, under penalty of imprisonment and even death!
One day an American ship passes near the island and takes the castaways aboard. Manjiro's curiosity overcomes his fear of the barbarians. He joins in the work of the whaling vessel, eager to learn everything he can about this new culture. Over the next ten years, Manjiro travels the high seas, visiting places he never dreamed existed, including America. It is a time filled with new experiences and adventure, as well as friendship and treachery. Manjiro sustains himself on a dream of returning home and somehow - though he knows it is impossible for a simple fisherman - becoming a samurai.
Will he ever be able to go back to his native land? And if he does, will he be welcomed or condemned?

If you prefer non-fiction here's another option for you.
Shipwrecked! the true adventures of a Japanese boy / by Rhoda Blumberg

Samurai shortstop

Samurai shortstop by Alan Gratz

From the back cover-

From his first day at boarding school, Toyo Shimada sees how upperclassmen make a sport out of terrorizing the first-years. Still, he's taken aback when the seniors keep him from trying out for their baseball team - especially after he sees their current shortstop. Toyo isn't afraid to prove himself; he's more troubled by his uncle's recent suicide. Although Uncle Koji's defiant death was supposedly heroic, it has made Toyo question many things about his family's samurai background. And worse, Toyo fears that his father may be next. It all has something to do with bushido- the way of the warrior- but Toyo doesn't understand even after his father agrees to teach it to him. As the gulf between them grows wider, Toyo searches desperately for a way to prove there is a place for his family's samurai values in modern Japan. Baseball might be the answer, but will his father ever accept a "Western" game that stands for everything he despises?

From the opening sentence I was hooked. The rest of the chapter was just as gripping. And from there I just kept liking the book more and more.

I learned a lot about the time of transition for Japan, how moving from a feudal system to a modern one was more than difficult - as politics, religion and western influences pushed people into finding a new Japanese identity. How for Toyo's uncle (a samurai) this change was impossible.

Toyo is a memorable character. He's a student, he's a friend, he's a leader. He understands the samurai spirit and brings this knowledge to his friends and teammates and also applies it when being bullied, to understanding his relationship with his father, or out on the baseball field and you get the sense it will stay with him for life.

The baseball moments of the story are also worth the read. It's no wonder the Japanese have guys playing in the American League and winning world championship little league tournaments. After reading this book I get the connection and see the long history baseball has in Japan.

I thought it was a great read, and has terrific curriculum tie-ins.