In Conversation: Mia Wenjen and Jolene Gutiérrez.

This article focuses on two picture books, *Barbed Wire Between Us* by Mia Wenjen and *Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp* by Minoru Tonai and Jolene Gutiérrez, which address the internment and family separation of Japanese Americans during World War II. Both authors discuss the challenges of presenting this painful history to young readers, including Wenjen’s use of a reverso poem to connect past and present injustices at Fort Sill, and Gutiérrez’s collaboration with Tonai to preserve his family’s story and the symbolic use of rocks as a metaphor for resilience. The books also highlight the importance of remembering these overlooked histories and the ongoing impact of family separations, drawing parallels between historical internment camps and contemporary detention centers. [Extracted from the article]