Sylvia & Aki by Winifred Conkling.Tricycle Press, 2011. 150 pages.

A fascinating story based on true life; Aki Munemitsu and Sylvia Mendez were two young girls living in California during World War II. Aki's family, Japanese American farmers, were forceably relocated to internment and prisoner of war camps for virtually the entire war. During that time, while Sylvia's family, Mexican Americans, leased and worked the Munemitsu farm, Sylvia and her siblings were  denied a seat in school because they were not white. While Sylvia's family fought for and eventually won the right for every child to attend every school, ending school segregation in California, Aki's family were the victims of anti Japanese racism. Both two girls showed incredible courage in the face of unfairness and adversity and remain friends even today.  Epilogue gives additonal historical fact and context. Highly recommend.