When I started my manuscript on Yuri Kochiyama nearly seven years ago, there weren’t any books on her. I have always vaguely known about her growing up. It could be that she is close to my mother’s age, also a Japanese American forced to leave her home during WWII. Yuri also grew up not too far from where I grew up in Seal Beach, California. I felt compelled to write a book about her because she deserved one!
There are people with social-emotional skills that I deem as “genius” level. She was one of those people. She made deep friendships easily that cut across any perceived boundaries. She had an epic memory (and catalog system) to keep track of friends and acquaintances. She was a journalist who was never allowed to pursue this career due to racism, so she used her writing skills for writing letters. One could say that some of the milestones in her life were marked by letters.
I am giving away 3 signed copies of Postcards from Malcolm X. To enter, please leave a comment.
So far, there are just three books featuring Yuri Kochiyama as the front and center protagonist. Here’s hoping for more. I will keep updating this list as the books come out.
3 Children’s Books Featuring Activist Yuri Kochiyama
The Bridges Yuri Built: How Yuri Kochiyama Marched Across Movements by Kai Naima Williams, illustrated by Anastasia M. Williams
“Yuri’s ability to personally connect with people from all walks of life and to bring communities together, despite differences, to achieve common goals is part of what makes her such a beloved and unique figure.” — Kai Naima Williams
“The legacy I would like to leave is that people try to build bridges and not walls.” — Yuri Kochiyama
Kai Naima Williams, Yuri Kochiyama’s great-granddaughter, has a front row seat to Yuri’s legacy. She shares Yuri’s journey from a young girl in a mostly-white town to an activist in New York City’s Harlem. What is most striking about Yuri’s activism is the consistent amount of work she puts in, day after day, year after year. It’s in the small details, from keeping track of people’s names and situations to hosting people at her home. Yuri is a role model for collaborative activism that bridges and connects all people all over the world. [picture book biography, ages 5 and up]
Postcards From Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Human Rights Activist by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown
My newest picture book features Yuri Kochiyama’s journey into becoming an activist and the role that Malcolm X played as her mentor, teacher, and friend. He invited her to join the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) Liberation School. She said, “One of the greatest lessons Malcolm taught people was to learn their own history. Know your history. Know the world. Be proud of who you are… But don’t stop there. Learn about the histories of other people. And learn about the social movements because this is how you learn to create social change.” Yuri took this to heart. She called him her “guiding light,” the person who had the greatest influence on her activist life. Malcolm also appreciated her friendship. When he sent her postcards from his second trip abroad, he wrote, ” I have read all of your wonderful cards and letters of encouragement and I think you are the most beautiful family in Harlem.” One lesson she learned from Malcolm was how racism was deeply embedded into America society. She said, “Malcolm wanted to make things better for his people, and he saw how racism and imperialism as the cause of these problems and the solution must be international. It was these revolutionary ideas that I was attracted to, though I didn’t know much about them at the time.” Though their relationship lasted just sixteen months, it was a life-changing friendship for Yuri. [picture book biography, ages 7 and up]
Yuri Kochiyama, Leaders Like Us by Karen Su, illustrated by Arlo Li
Political activist Yuri Kochiyama’s life unfolds through concise chapters and straightforward text, making it perfect for newly independent readers. From her “All-American” childhood as a community-oriented leader, Yuri’s life changes dramatically when Pearl Harbor is bombed. Her activism starts in an incarceration camp in Jerome, Arkansas, with a letter writing campaign to Japanese American soldiers. After she marries and moves to New York City, Yuri fights against inequality and injustice, becoming a bridge that connects all people. This leveled text is for Guided Reading Level P. [nonfiction chapter book, ages 6 and up]
3 Signed Book Giveaway of Postcards From Malcolm X
I am giving away 3 signed copies of Postcards from Malcolm X. To enter, please leave a comment. I can only mail to U.S. and A.P.O. addresses.
p.s. Related posts:
86 Children’s Books for Young Activists
10 Picture Books About Women Scientists Who Became Activists
13 Children’s Books with Youth Activists: The Kids Will Save Us!
Activists & Activism: New Multicultural Children’s Book Day Classroom Kit
Geography Game featuring WWII Internment Sites and Children’s Books
40 Japanese Internment Books for Kids & My Family’s Story
UNBREAKABLE and BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US interview in Publishers Weekly
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My books:
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación
- ⭐ Starred review from Kirkus
- ⭐ Starred review from Publishers Weekly
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal
- Kirkus: The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026
Free and downloadable guide:
Barbed Wire Between Us Teacher’s Guide
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Gold Award
- Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
The Traveling Taco:
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Silver Award
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
- Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court
- ALSC Notable Children’s Book
- 2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree
- Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
- 2024 Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
- Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025
- Recommended Reading for the Social Justice Literature Award 2025 (International Literacy Association)
- Pennsylvania Mountain Laurel Book Award Nominee 2026-27
- Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal!
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Nautilus Silver Winner, Nonfiction Children’s Picture Book
- Sunshine State Young Readers Award Orange Blossom List for Nonfiction
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Bookshop.org / Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bank Street College’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
