A Place for Harvest

The son of Japanese immigrants, Kenny Higashi works on his family’s vegetable farm near the town of Spearfish in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Kenny loves his family, their farm, and his hometown. He cheerfully volunteers for extra jobs.

Then Japan attacks Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and everything changes.

Thousands of Japanese American families are forced out of their homes into guarded camps. Kenny’s community comes together in support of his family, but soon two soldiers arrive. Kenny or his brother must join the United States Army or his whole family will be forced to move into a camp. Kenny volunteers for duty.

Kenneth Ray Higashi joins the 100th Infantry Battalion, which becomes part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II. His battalion is made up of Nisei like him, young men born to Japanese American immigrants. The unit’s motto is "Go For Broke.” They are brave and loyal soldiers who volunteer for extra duties.

Author Lauren R. Harris, who knew Kenny Higashi, transforms his memories of his hometown and the war into a story of community, hope, and determination. Illustrator Felicia Hoshino transports readers from the heartland of the United States to European battlefields.

"A breathtakingly tender story of both person and homeland, A Place for Harvest humanizes the incredible diversity of the Japanese American experience. . . . An absolute essential read."— Katie Yamasaki , author of Fish for Jimmy

"Hoshino's lovely, detailed illustrations perfectly complement Harris's text and transport us from the Higashi Farm and Spearfish to the battlegrounds of Europe. . . . A Place for Harvest is a sincere telling of Kenny Higashi's life and is an important addition to the collection of picture books teaching about the Japanese American experience during World War II."— Lisa Tsukamoto , Nichi Bei Weekly

“ A Place for Harvest . . . tells the story of Kenny Higashi, who joined the all-Japanese 100th Infantry Battalion, C Company [during World War II]. It's a tale of loyalty to home, family and country that Higashi held until his death in 2020 at age 98.” — South Dakota Magazine

South Dakota Arts Council support for this audiobook is provided with funds from the State of South Dakota, through the Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

LAUREN R. HARRIS grew up in a military family that moved across the United States. In each new place, she found the nearest library and devoured every book she could get her hands on. As her love of reading grew, Harris sought to share it with others, becoming a teacher and then a writer. She wrote for the Rapid City Journal, Down Country Roads, and Black Hills Pioneer, documenting community life. When writing her first children’s book on the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, titled The Plum Neighbor, she met and interviewed Kenny Higashi for the first time. Today, Lauren lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, two sons, and daughter and continues to record soldiers’ stories and experiences.

FELICIA HOSHINO is the prize-winning illustrator of multiple children’s books, including Jane Addams Peace Award winner A Place Where Sunflowers Grow . She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the California College of the Arts and lives with her family in San Francisco, California. Her parents’ families were forced to move into the Minidoka (Idaho) and Poston (Arizona) incarceration camps. Like Kenny Higashi, two of her great uncles served in the 442nd.