Dash

Kirby Larson is the author of Dash, which was published in 2014. A lover of dogs and the author of many books for young readers, Lawson uses a dog, Dash, to tell the story of a Japanese girl, Mitsi, who gets sent to a concentration camp in America after Pearl Harbor. As the story comes from real-life events and real-life people, it’s an example of historical fiction. It’s also a coming-of-age novel, as the terrible concentration camp teaches Mitsi about life and compels her to grow up quickly. The story centers on themes such as Resilience and Hope, Racism and Adversity, and Friendship and Integrity.

The page numbers refer to the 2014 Scholastic e-book edition.

Content Warning: The book features anti-Japanese racism and the countless traumas connected to the concentration camps Americans made for Japanese people.

Plot Summary

Mitsi Kashino is 11 years old, and she lives in Seattle. She’s Japanese, and she lives with Mom, Pop, Obaachan (grandma), and her slightly older brother Ted. On December 7, her family listens to classical music on the radio when an announcer interrupts with breaking news: The Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States naval base in Hawaii, killing many people and destroying several valuable ships and planes.

Because of Pearl Harbor, people think Japanese people are automatically bad and plotting against the United States. At school, students give Mitsi weird looks and leave mean notes in her desk. Beyond school, the FBI arrests Japanese businesspeople, Chinese businesses hang signs so people don’t confuse them with Japanese people, and other businesses put up signs that announce they won’t serve Japanese people.

The holiday break arrives, and Mitsi, who loves art, gets drawing supplies for Christmas. She hopes the holidays have made people stop acting weird and that she and her two best friends, Judy and Mags, can tell each other about their gifts. Judy and Mags don’t meet Mitsi at the bench before school, and during school, they ignore her, hanging out with the racist bully Patty.

While Pearl Harbor changed her best friends and the world, it didn’t change her beloved dog Dash—he adores her as much as he did before the attack. Mitsi considers siccing Dash on Patty, but Dash is too nice. She thinks about leaving a mean note in Mags’s desk—she’s sure Mags is the person putting mean notes in her desk—but Mitsi isn’t a bully.

As Obaachan is from Japan, she must obtain a card identifying her as not American. Mitsi goes with her, and the process is humiliating: They fingerprint Obaachan as if she’s a criminal. There’s more bad news: The Government is moving Japanese people to concentration camps, and they can only bring what they can carry—no pets allowed. Mitsi writes to the person in charge of the forced removals, General John DeWitt, and he writes back: Sorry, but she can’t bring her dog.

The Kashinos sell their sewing machine and car, and Mitsi leaves Dash with a kind neighbor, Mrs. Bowker, who stands up for Mitsi when boys bully her. The government gives Mitsi’s family a number, and Mitsi feels frozen. The concentration camp, Camp Harmony, is harsh and dusty, and the Kashinos’ “apartment” consists of five cots and a stove. She doesn’t want to draw, see a movie, or watch baseball––she wants to go home.

One day, Mitsi gets a letter from DK—Dash Kashino––and hearing from her dog (or Mrs. Bowker pretending to be her dog) cheers her. She gets another letter from Dash and a picture. Excited, she shows the photo of Dash to people at camp. She starts to make friends, and she becomes close with Debbie, a playful ballerina whose dad is in Fort Missoula—a concentration camp in Montana. Ted also makes friends, but Mitsi worries about them, as one of his friends is Lefty, and Lefty steals and bullies people.

Mitsi wants a locket so she can put the photo of Dash in it, and Dash can always be with her. To earn money, she runs messages. People outside the camp gather around the fence and tell her who they want to contact. They then give her some money for her effort.

The government moves the Japanese people from Camp Harmony to Camp Minidoka in Idaho, and the train is hot and smelly, but Debbie and Mitsi play games and have a “sleepover”—that is, they sleep next to one another in the train seats. At Camp Minidoka, Mitsi’s locket arrives. Mrs. Bowker gets it for her, and she puts a photo of Mitsi and Dash inside it. As Debbie starts to miss her dad, Mitsi gives her the locket.

In Camp Minidoka, there’s a robbery, and people steal $50 worth of cigarettes, candy, and cards. Mitsi suspects Lefty and Ted had something to do with it, and she uses a book she’s reading to get him to do the right thing. Ted gets a black eye, and Lefty and his friends confess. Mitsi is glad Ted isn’t hanging out with Lefty anymore.

The government lets Debbie’s dad come to Camp Minidoka, and General DeWitt lets the Japanese people have pets. Mrs. Bowker and her son arrive with Dash, and Mitsi invites them into the camp for tea and chocolate.