Grade 6 Historical Fiction Research: Nagasaki and Hiroshima

"What happened to me must never happen to you."--Sachiko Yasui August 9, 1945, began like any other day for six-year-old Sachiko. Her country was at war, she didn't have enough to eat. At 11:01 a.m., she was playing outdoors with four other children. Moments later, those children were all dead. An atomic bomb had exploded just half a mile away.

When the atom bomb drops on Nagasaki, Mieko's life is changed forever: She cuts her hand on glass, leaving a terrible scar, and she's convinced that she'll never paint again.

Find out why Japan was the first target for an atomic bomb. This book focuses on the impact of the bomb on Hiroshima, analyzing how it came about, describing it, and discussing its consequences on history. Investigate the timeline to understand crucial dates surrounding the bombing of Hiroshima.

On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on a city. This book, John Hersey's journalistic masterpiece, tells what happened on that day. Told through the memories of survivors, this timeless, powerful and compassionate document has become a classic "that stirs the conscience of humanity" (The New York Times).