Yoko's Diary

Paul Ham, Debbie Edwards

$22.99

Paperback

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English

ABC
01 July 2025

Children's & Educational; History & the past: general interest (Children's&YA)

The discovered diary of Yoko, a 13-year-old Japanese girl who lived near Hiroshima during the war.

1945 was a hard time to be a child in Japan. Many had seen their cities destroyed by US bombers. Food, fuel and materials were in short supply. Yet spirits remained high. In April 1945, Yoko Moriwaki started high school in Hiroshima, excited to be a prestigious 'Kenjo' girl, and full of duty towards her parents, school and country. But the country was falling apart and in four months time her city would become the target for the first atomic bomb ever used as a weapon.

In her diary, Yoko provides an account of that time - when conditions were so poor that children as young as twelve were required to work in industry; when fierce battles raged in the Pacific and children like Yoko believed victory was near.

With additions by Yoko's relatives and fellow students, and an introduction by award-winning author Paul Ham, Yoko's Diary not only shows us the hopes, beliefs and daily life of a young girl in wartime Japan, it is a touching account of the consequences of the first nuclear bombing of a city.

SHORTLISTED in the 2014 CBCA Awards

SHORTLISTED in the 2014 NSW Premier's History Awards

By: Paul Ham
Translated by: Debbie Edwards
Imprint: ABC
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 185mm, Width: 135mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 194g
ISBN: 9780733344091
ISBN 10: 0733344097
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 01 July 2025
Recommended Age: From 8 years
Audience: Children/juvenile , English as a second language
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Paul Ham is the author of many highly acclaimed histories, including KOKODA, VIETNAM, SANDAKAN, 1914 and PASSCHENDAELE. He was born and educated in Australia and lives in Paris, having spent several years working in Britain as a journalist and publisher. Debbie Edwards has a masters of translation and interpreting and has lived and worked in Japan and South Korea. As well as Japanese, she speaks Korean, Indonesian and Mandarin Chinese. She now works as a freelance translator and lives in Sydney with her husband and daughter.