This picture book with reverso poetry and beautiful, timely, illustrations is a must-read for elementary classrooms. The author wisely chose Fort Sill, OK as the setting, as it draws parallels for being a site of Japanese internment camps and for being an immigrant detention center. Further back, it held Native Americans from the Apache tribe.

This is a difficult truth to acknowledge--that we are not really the land of the free. Readers will see themselves in the children who suffer, and will wonder why some children get comfort and freedom, and others do not.

I highly recommend this book for schools and libraries, and hope it wins awards for the poetry and illustration.

⭐ Children’s Book | Poetry | Dual Perspective

Thank you to Publishing Spotlight for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I was immediately drawn to Barbed Wire Between Us because of its striking cover art and the unique promise of a reverse poem, a story that can be read front to back and back to front. The interior artwork is just as beautiful and expressive as the cover, with illustrations that enhance the emotional tone without overwhelming the text.

The typography is well-balanced and thoughtfully placed, allowing the artwork to shine while still keeping the poem easy to follow. The book presents the same story twice, once from each girl’s perspective, with subtle differences in the illustrations that reflect their individual experiences.

Overall, Barbed Wire Between Us is an interesting and visually appealing children’s book, it leaves you with unanswered questions.

I received an electronic ARC from Publisher Spotlight | Red Comet Press through NetGalley.
Powerfully written and illustrated story that shows the circular nature of oppression and retention. The book starts with the Japanese internment camps during WWII and moves forward to 2014 when the camp was again used to hold refugees. The circular nature of the book offers hope at the end. Beautiful artwork captures the desolation and the ways some stepped up to care.

This book made my stomach drop. Barbed Wire Between Us tells a circular story of two young girls: one (of the past) is unjustly detained in a Japanese internment camp and eventually freed, and the other (of the present) is caught while immigrating, her family member unjustly detained at the same army base. Haunting, beautiful illustrations combined with the reverso poem make this a thought-provoking and crucial read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was beautiful and the illustrations were incredible. It’s a mirror poem, and a great way to discuss the parallels of past and current issues. I feel like this would be one to read to/with your kids as it’s probably one they wouldn’t pick up on their own. But great for classroom teachers.

I liked the illustrations and the reverso poem style. I feel this book should be read by adults to anyone 7 to 10 years. That way explanations can be told while reading the story. Someone 7 to 10 years might not understand without explanation.

Barbed Wire Between Us
by Mia Wenjen Illustrated by Violeta Encarnación
Looking at the haunting history that repeats itself in a particular place. In this instance Fort Sill Oklahoma. First the reservation area for Native American tribes. Prison, and unjust restriction of their freedom. Second World War 2 the interment camps of the Japanese Americans. Now it is the placement of camps for illegal immigrants. Each time their freedom is restricted, humanity taken, and their provisions diminished and causing hunger, and health problems.
The book is shown in a reverso poem, both retaining the meaning of the humanity of the situation. The struggles of the people and the loss of freedom.

Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen as Illustrated by Violeta Encarnación is a gorgeous reverso poem that tells the story of Fort Still and its legacy as a place to hold children, men and women. Beginning with the story of Japanese-American internment following Pearl Harbour and ending with the story of current Latin American internment, the poem tells the two tales through the lens of little girls.

It was a heart touching poem and the accompanying illustrations seamlessly dragged the reader into the situation. I felt angry that decades and centuries can go by but people continue to commit such atrocities against each other. The land of the free always comes at a cost.

Thank you for a beautiful book.

Such a cool story told in reverse about two girls experiencing similar things throughout time periods. The messaging was really strong in this book, and even though it's sad, the pictures and words were good for the age group. This would be perfect for immigrant children, or children learning about immigrants (especially what is currently going on). Amazing!

Barbed Wire Between Us is one of those books that exists as sort of a wakeup call.

History, you see, repeats.

I'd like to think that we, as a people, will always have a future in which progress is measured by the protection of the oppressed. Only when oppression fades will society exist as it should. In the meantime, it's incredibly important that books like this exist to remind us not only of our world's past, but also of the duty we have in ensuring that we fight for a better world today. The fact that Fort Sill, OK is a place that has been used to lock up Native Americans and Japanese immigrants from the past as well as present day immigrants is a dark shadow on the behavior of people we share this world with. And it is a glaring sign of the importance of taking strides toward a world in which such atrocities no longer take place.

Honestly, this is a sad read—but I think its also one that's so important. It's especially powerful in the beautiful artwork and the manner through which the poem brings you through the dual stories. While I will say that the poem, itself, isn't the most musical, it still shines a light on the unfortunate truth of repeating histories. And unless we educate as many as we can about these atrocities and the need to cease their occurrences, we are doomed to repeat it.

I've never read a reverso poem before but I could immediately tell this one was going to be impactful. I didn't know about the specific history of Fort Sill being the detainment site of not one, not two, but three internments of different populations throughout American history. The current attack on Latine and Black immigrants perfectly mirrors the imprisonment of the Japanese during WWII. We are doomed to repeat history time and time again until we are willing to face what we allow our country to do to those considered "other".

Mia Wenjen's children's poem is a thought-provoking slap to the face to show readers how history repeats itself. We have two moments in history, decades apart, that has children and families being separated from each other. All they have is the hope of one day having it better, if they can just make it through their detainment. It is heartbreaking to read and watch this story unfold, but I am glad the author is telling this story.

The fact that this is being told through the eyes of children makes this all the more powerful. It requires a moment of pause, of reflection, and time to let this information truly set in. These parallels are horrifying, and it makes it all the more important that it's being told. It will ease young readers into this part of U.S. history and allow for an honest conversation that might otherwise be hard to start.