Full Cicada Moon

Mimi’s father is an African American who met his wife in Tokyo during World War II. After the war, he earned his PhD and became a college professor. Papa consistently advises Mimi about the importance of being kind, respectful, and persistent—just like raindrops on granite. Rather than believing in fighting for instant change, he believes that slow and steady persistence can lead to lasting change. He nods and smiles to strangers no matter how they act towards him and doesn’t wish to disrupt people’s ways. When he married Emiko, his entire family except his favorite older sister disowned him. Contrary to the gender norms for men in 1969, Papa loves to bake and cook and teaches Timothy to bake bread when he shows interest. He encourages Mimi to follow her dreams and supports her when she stands for what she believes in by peacefully protesting to take shop class. 

Mimi’s mother, Emiko, was born and raised in Tokyo. James met and married her in Tokyo during World War II. Emiko teaches Mimi Japanese traditions, celebrating New Year’s festivities the way she did in Japan, wearing Japanese clothing and making Japanese food. Though Emiko is proud of her traditions and keeps them a part of their everyday lives, she is hesitant to share herself with the world out of fear of how people will treat her. When Mimi learns that history books don’t mention the way Japanese Americans were placed in concentration camps during the war, Emiko believes that such things should be left behind. With a little pushing from her husband, Emiko eventually attends a wives’ tea at the college, makes friends, teaches a class on the tea ceremony, and even teaches Mimi’s home economics class how to make sushi. She also takes time to “till the soil” with Mr. Dell by sending him food on Thanksgiving. 

Stacey LaVoie is Mimi’s best friend in Vermont. Stacey’s family moved from Georgia to Hillsborough because her father got a job as a professor at the college, just like Mimi’s father. Though she has a southern accent and is quite different from others, Mimi notices that no one treats Stacey differently. Stacey isn’t bothered by Mimi’s ethnicity and even has a crush on Victor, the only African American boy in their school. However, Stacey’s mother is “old fashioned,” and Stacey is at first hesitant to invite Mimi to her house and let her mom know about her crush on Victor for fear of what she might say. She doesn’t treat Mimi the way others do and is often angered by the way people treat Mimi. She supports Mimi’s endeavors by protesting and sitting in the boys’ shop class even when it earns them suspensions. 

Timothy is Mr. Dell’s grandnephew, who stays at his house over breaks. After his parent’s divorce, Timothy’s mother sends him to stay with Mr. Dell so he can have a father figure. Though Mr. Dell doesn’t approve of Timothy’s friendship with Mimi, he immediately becomes Mimi’s closest friend other than Stacey. He doesn’t treat Mimi the way others do, doesn’t ask questions about her ethnicity, and likes her as a person. When Mimi asks to use Mr. Dell’s tools to build her moon box after being denied access to tools in shop class, he gladly teaches her how to use them. He doesn’t think it weird that she is interested in such things—rather, he thinks it is cool. He himself challenges gender norms by showing interest in baking and cooking. He learns how to bake and cook in secret from Mr. Oliver. The two have feelings for each other, and by the end of the novel their relationship develops to a deep friendship where they understand and respect one another. He values Mimi’s interests and aspirations—he buys her a necklace with a crescent pendant and even gives her a limited-edition coin of the Apollo mission after they watch it live together.

Mr. Dell is the Olivers’s neighbor and Timothy’s great-uncle. For their first year in Hillsborough, Mr. Dell is sour with the Olivers and barely interacts with them. Though at first it seems he acts this way because he is racist, the family learns at the end of the story that he flew missions and dropped bombs over Tokyo during World War II. Though he never thought about who he was bombing, seeing the Olivers made him remember. It wasn’t them that he hated, but himself. Mr. Dell apologizes to the Olivers on New Year’s Day in 1970, explaining that he needed to explain himself after Mimi and Emiko saved his dog, Pattress, and after they pardoned the chickens on Thanksgiving. 

Mimi’s science teacher is one of the few people who doesn’t laugh at Mimi’s dream of becoming an astronaut and encourages her to pursue her dreams. She supports Mimi’s moon project for the Science Groove and is so impressed with her hard work that she nominates Mimi for a scholarship to attend a summer camp to learn about the space program. Mrs. Stanton herself dreamed of becoming a scientist but was discouraged by her parents, who believed she would be a disgrace and wouldn’t find a husband.