Dash

Mitsi tries to spy on her brother, but he and his friends are hard to follow. One night, Pop and Mom are at a meeting, and Obaachan knits socks for the Red Cross with other older women. Ted comes back smelling of cigarettes, but he says it’s from the older men. Ted asks about Thimble Summer, the book she borrowed from Debbie, and Mitsi, twisting the story somewhat, tells Ted it’s about a girl who steals. Ted asks if the girl gets in trouble before he falls asleep.

In the morning, Pop shows Mitsi a desk he and Mr. Suda made for her––they’ll build one for Debbie, too. Debbie and Mitsi go to the post office, and Debbie kisses her letter before mailing it. She tells Mitsi that her dad is also at Fort Missoula. He was the president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, and authorities apprehended him in his pajamas. Her mom has a lawyer, so they’re working to move him. Debbie keeps a photo of him under her pillow.

Debbie and Mitsi babysit Davy again, and they pretend he’s a dog. He barks, rolls over, and lifts his leg to pee on Mr. Hirai’s tumbleweed. The girls can’t stop giggling. They go to the canteen, where the manager shouts at camp security about a robbery. There’s not much cash missing, but the thieves stole around $50 worth of candy, cigarettes, and cards.

With the canteen closed, the girls go back to their spaces and bump into Ted. Mitsi asks him where he’s been, and he says he was playing baseball. Mitsi tries to convince herself that her brother is telling the truth.

The camp superintendent says they’ve made progress on the canteen robbery, and they don’t anticipate further problems. Mitsi looks at Ted, but Ted acts nonchalantly. At the camp store, Mom buys Mitsi some back-to-school clothes before they go to the post office—Mitsi’s locket is here, and there’s a photo of Dash and Mitsi already in it.

A note accompanies the locket—it’s not from Dash or Mrs. Bowker but Mags. She’s sorry for following Patty and being mean to her. Now, Judy and Patty are best friends. Just so Mitsi knows, Mags never put racist notes in her desk: It was Patty, and Mags tried to remove some of the notes. She and Mrs. Bowker picked out the locket together, but Mags understands if Mitsi doesn’t want to be her friend anymore. However, Mags will always be Mitsi’s friend.

Mitsi wants to show Debbie her locket, but Debbie isn’t in the mood. Her letter didn’t work: Her dad isn’t coming. With Debbie too sad to watch Davy with her, Mitsi tries to enlist Ted, but Ted has something involving his presumed crush, Karen Suda. Mitsi manages to occupy Davy by drawing pictures and then letting him draw. Obaachan says her grandpa was a famous painter in Japan. Obaachan’s grandpa believed admirable art derives from “seeing with heart.”

To make Debbie feel better, Mitsi gives her a tiny blue box—the locket is inside. As she’s about to go to bed, Debbie passes Mitsi a thank-you note.

The sixth grade starts, and after two teachers quit, a third teacher, Miss Pellegrino, sticks around. She uses butcher paper for a blackboard and leads a field trip to collect stones, tumbleweed, and greasewood for a “natural sciences” spot. Finding a box of donated books, she starts a library. There are 27 students in her class, and all 27 stay after class—they don’t want to miss anything.

Mitsi writes a report on owls, and she practices drawing one when Ted returns with a black eye. He claims he got it from baseball, and he and Mitsi fight. Mitsi wishes she was a magician and could turn Ted back into her “real” brother. Chuckling, Ted tells her everything will be fine.

In the dining hall, everyone talks about the news: Lefty and the other boys confessed to the thefts. Lefty has a black eye, and Mitsi thinks the black eyes relate to the confession. For punishment, the boys have “latrine detail” for two months.

Miss Pellegrino puts Mitsi’s owl drawing on the wall, and the other students ask her to draw their pictures. Mitsi sends Mags a drawing of their dusty “apartment” and, inspired by Eddie, adds a funny caption about Vitamin D (D is for Dust).

As the sixth graders help the first graders make turkey pinecones for Thanksgiving, Debbie’s dad arrives, and Mitsi meets him. He thanks Mitsi for being such a good friend to Debbie. Mitsi tells Dash the great news in a letter. She also tells him the other wonderful news: General DeWitt now allows pets. December arrives, and Mrs. Bowker brings Dash. Mitsi squeezes him tight and inhales his familiar scent. Alan, Mrs. Bowker’s son, is with her. Mitsi shows them around, and they have tea and cookies.

Kirby Larson details the historical context of her story. Two months after Japan assaulted Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, making it legal for the United States to displace Germans, Italians, and the Japanese. The Japanese became the main focus, and the government forced around 120,000 Japanese people into concentration camps.

Mitsi Kashino comes from a real-life story. Mitsue “Mitsi” Shiraishi adored her dog, Chubby, and wrote to General DeWitt. Her neighbor, Mrs. Charles Bovee, cared for the dog when General DeWitt denied her request. Mrs. Bovee wrote letters to Mitsue from Chubby. Larson also has a dog, Winston, and she can “barely stand” to spend one day away from him. After hearing Mitsue’s story, she wondered about the other Japanese kids forced to leave their pets. The thought became the “heart hook” that inspired her to write the story.