Kira-Kira

Why did the author not address subjects like World War II and the Japanese American internment camps, despite the fact that these would have been a fact of life for Katie’s parents?

Compare Lynn and Katie’s white friends, Amber and Silly. How are Amber and Silly similar to and different from each other? How are the two friendships distinct and what do they have in common? Why does Amber abandon her friendship with Lynn?

Compare the attitudes of Mother and Silly’s mother to the unionization effort at the plant. Why would Silly’s mom want to unionize the factory if she is an officer worker who doesn’t have to gut or slice chickens? Why is Silly’s mom so unafraid of unionizing while Mother is fearful? Why does Mother overcome her fear and vote for the union?

Considering that Uncle’s family, Katie’s family, and Silly’s family are all working class, why is quality of life so different from family to family? In the novel, are families poor because of their own choices or because of forces beyond their control? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Why do the Takeshimas want to own a house?

Why does Amber call Katie a heathen? Given that everyone at school knows Lynn had died, why do none of the children from her class attend her funeral?

Why does Katie start making better grades after Lynn died? Is she simply responding to Lynn’s demand that she perform better academically? Was Katie really always capable of making better grades?

Why did Mr. Lyndon, who has a huge property, national recognition, and prodigious wealth, work so hard to prohibit better working conditions for his employees?