Reference
Julie O’Leary
Talley Middle School 6-8
Visual Arts
Twenty-four eyes is about a woman teacher, Ms. Oishi, and her students from the period of 1928 to post war Japan. The teacher travels daily, 5 miles, to a small village on the Inland Sea where she makes a great impression on her first grade class. She only teaches them on the island for a year, but stays in contact with most of them for the following twenty years. All face many challenges and hard times during the war. Most of the students and the teacher reconnect at a luncheon thrown in honor of the teacher near the end of the book.
I found the beginning of the novel very interesting. The teacher really made an impact on the small town. Many were surprised that she biked to work every day and wore western clothes. The children had never seen a bike before. I also really enjoyed reading the first graders adventure to go visit their teacher (who was home with a hurt Achilles tendon) by foot. The children realized how much they really cared for their teacher.
As I continued reading the book, I really wanted to know more details about what happened to the teacher and her family during the war. The author skimmed over this too briefly.
I would not recommend using the whole book for middle school students. I think it would be too challenging. However, excerpts could be shared in a Social Studies or Language arts class. I think students would enjoy reading about what school was like in a small town in Japan.
