Welcome to the Bank Street Children's Book Committee's (CBC) Searchable Best Books List, a tool designed to help educators, families, librarians, and others access developmentally appropriate and engaging books for young readers (ages birth - 18).

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While I Was Away

Waka T. Brown

Ages: 12+

Published: 2021

Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollinsPublishers

ISBN: 978-0-06-301711-5

Keywords: Grandparents, Japanese education, Kansas, Japanese-Americans, Japanese language

Waka, 12, details her difficult school experiences and life with her standoffish grandmother during an extended stay in Japan in 1984.