Eyes of the Emperor facts for kids
Cover, Laurel-Leaf's edition of Eyes of the Emperor
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| Author | Graham Salisbury |
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| Cover artist | Phil Heffernan |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Laurel-Leaf |
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Publication date
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2005 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| ISBN | 978-0-440-22956-8 |
| OCLC | 83279336 |
Eyes of the Emperor is an exciting historical novel by Graham Salisbury. It tells a story from the time of World War II. The book was first published in 2005. It is now available in paperback from Laurel-Leaf, a part of Random House Children's Books. In 2006, the book won an important prize, the Leslie Bradshaw Award for Young Adult Literature. This award is for great books written for young adults.
What the Story is About
The story begins in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1941. We meet Eddy, a 16-year-old Japanese American boy. He lives with his family and has a younger brother named Herbie. Eddy's friends are joining the army. Eddy wants to join too, even though he is too young. He changes his birth certificate to make it look like he is 18.
Eddy then joins the US Army with his friends. They go to Camp McCoy for training. At first, Eddy's father, Koji, is very upset. He feels Eddy is betraying Japan. But everything changes on December 7, 1941. Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, a US naval base in Hawaii. After this attack, Eddy's father changes his mind. He now supports Eddy's decision to join the army.
A Secret Mission
Because Eddy and his friends are Japanese American, they face unfair treatment. While other soldiers get regular army training, Eddy's company must do hard manual labor. They dig trenches and do other difficult tasks. Later, Lieutenant Sweet sends Eddy and his comrades to Cat Island, Mississippi. Here, they start a very secret mission. President Franklin D. Roosevelt himself ordered this project.
The mission involves training dogs. These dogs are taught to smell Japanese American soldiers. The idea is that these dogs will track and attack Japanese soldiers in the Pacific theater. This project makes Eddy and his fellow soldiers feel very sad and discouraged. They are forced to treat the dogs harshly, even though they don't want to.
Facing Danger
One day, while traveling from the island to the mainland, their boat's engine stops. They call for help. The US Coast Guard arrives, but they mistake Eddy's group for the enemy. The Coast Guard shoots at their boat. This is just one example of the accidental attacks they face. As World War II gets worse, the treatment of Japanese American soldiers also gets worse.
Eddy almost dies when his dog's trainer, Smith, calls the dog back a little too late. The soldiers are forced to be cruel to the dogs, which goes against their feelings.
The Project Ends
After a few weeks, the government watches the project closely. They see that a dog tracks and finds a soldier who is not Japanese. This shows that the project is not working as planned. The dog training program is stopped. Eddy and his friends are then sent to fight in the European theater instead.
Main Characters
Here are some of the important characters in the book:
- Eddy Okubo: He is the main character of the story. Eddy is a 16-year-old Japanese American boy living in Hawaii. He feels more loyal to the United States than to Japan, his parents' home country.
- Pop (Koji Okubo): Eddy's father. At first, he did not want Eddy to join the army. But after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he changed his mind. Pop is a boat-builder. He even turned himself in to the immigration office because he felt ashamed of Japan's actions.
- Major Parrish: A smart, high-ranking officer. He knows Eddy and his friends from high school, where he used to be their mechanical drawing teacher.
- Chik: One of Eddy's friends. He is fun-loving and enjoys partying.
- Cobra: Another one of Eddy's friends. He is very strong and muscular, but also serious and moody.
- Herbie Okubo: Eddy's younger brother.
