This amazingly beautifully illustrated picture book is the true story of how an American soldier during the occupation of Japan, after WWII came to own a ceremonial sword, and how he held onto it for 68 years.

The American army collected all the weapons from the Japanese people, after the war, no matter if they were ceremonial swords, or real ones. Then they gave them to the soldiers as souvenirs to take home.

Orval took one such sword, but to him it was a work of art, so he took care of it, polishing it every day, until the author of the book came to interview him about what it was like in Nagasaki after the war.

And that started the wheels turning, to find the family whose sword it had been, and how Orval returned it to them in peace, during the International Day of Peace.

Sweet story. Wonderful that the author was part of the story about setting up the return of the sword to the family where it came from.
In the aftermath, she explains how it came about, and there is even a statement from the son of the original owner of the sword, and how it has a place of honor in his home.

Highly recommend it as a teaching example of how things can happen in war, and be resolved.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out on the 7th of October 2025.

This was a beautifully illustrated fascinating look at a WWII veteran's experiences abroad and at home, where he returned with a Japanese sword once the US army defeated Japan. For years the man cared for this sword and wondered about its history. Written by the reporter who helped him connect with the family that it belonged to, this is a sentimental story about how old wrongs can be corrected and we are all citizens of the world.

I highly recommend this book for schools and libraries.

This is an interesting bit of history, told in a way that's accessible for kids, I think. I feel a bit weird rating it based on one big issue: when mentioning "the war" and "the bomb" in the main text, there is no indication of who the US Was at war with, or who dropped the bomb. It found it odd that such passive language was used in these instances, when the artist didn't shy away from including (non-graphic) images of war.

The notes in the back address this, and my best guess is that, given the nature of picture books, the author didn't want to spend valuable wordcount trying to explain the context of the events. Perhaps the idea is that parents and/or teachers will already be discussing these things with their kids/students, or that this book will be read in the context of a semester project. Back in my day *waves cane* we had a whole segment of one school year dedicated to learning about Japan, a little bit about WWII, and talking about Sadako, etc. and other related subjects around the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. If the idea is to whip this book out in a similar setting, this would be great. Otherwise, I feel a little weird about the way this part of the story gets glossed over.

All that said, given the West's extensive history of looting and stealing and then making a museum about it, I appreciate the idea of sharing outlier stories with young readers. I just think there needs to be more context, which may vary depending on the ages of any kids involved.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this picture book ARC.