About Me
Up from the Sea
by Leza Lowitz
Book Study:
Historical Fiction
2011. Japan.
On the day the tsunami strikes, Kai loses nearly everyone and everything he cares about. But a trip to New York to meet kids whose lives were changed by 9/11 gives him new hope and the chance to look for his estranged American father. Visiting Ground Zero on its tenth anniversary, Kai learns that the only way to make something good come out of disaster is to return and rebuild.
Heartrending yet hopeful, this is a story about loss, survival, and starting anew.
As we read this beautiful verse novel looking at the tragedies of the 2011 Tōhoku Tsunami and September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, we will also discuss the Joplin Tornado (which happened only a few months after the events of the book's opening chapters) and the pandemic we currently face as we look for an answer to the question written on the book's cover:
Can hope be found when everything is lost?
RESOURCES
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Double-Entry Journal - Google Doc (make a copy)
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"Seedling from 9/11 Survivor Tree planted in Joplin on anniversary of tornado" - news article
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"Joplin's Spirit Tree falls, but can it have second life as public art memorial?" - news article
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"Destruction of Joplin, Missouri, Seen Through Its Trees" - New York Times article
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"The New Survivors" by Pamela Weintraub - Psychology Today article about cancer survivors and fighters
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"How Resilience Works" by Diane Coutu - Harvard Business Review article
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"At a Window" by Carl Sandburg - a poem about hope, longing, and love
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"The Bright Side of Sadness" by Bruce Bower - Science News article about the benefits of negative emotions
VIDEOS
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ESPN Outside the Lines: Joplin - documentary about the Joplin High School Football
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Japan's Tsunami: Caught on Camera - National Geographic documentary
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Joplin Tornado Victims Memorial Service - featuring speeches by the President and Governor
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President Obama speaks at Joplin High School Graduation - 2012 commencement, year after tornado
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"The Survivor Tree" - children's poem from 9/11 Memorial and Museum
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"9/11 Survivor Tree returns to Ground Zero" - National Geographic short film
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Footprint: Where the Towers Stood - short film from The Atlantic about 9/11 Memorial and Museum
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9/11 Memorial Service 2020 - most recent ceremonies on the 19th anniversary of the attacks
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Joplin Tornado: Moment of Impact - ABC News