Figurative language is used in both literature and poetry to create layers of meaning which the reader accesses through the senses, symbolism, and sound devices. Engage students with premade activities and lessons from Storyboard That!
Kira-Kira is about a Japanese American family living in Georgia in the 1950s. The story is told through the eyes of young Katie, full of wonder and mischief, who adores her older sister Lynn. Their parents work in a poultry processing plant and the reader is given a glimpse into the unjust working conditions of the time as well as the racism Katie and her family faced as one of only a few Japanese American families in town.
Identify, describe and illustrate figurative language found in the book, Kira-Kira.
Storyboard Text
"TISSUES LOOKED LIKE GIANT BUTTERFLIES"
"TREAT HIM LIKE AN ANT"
Katie loves how Lynn has a way of finding magic and wonder in ordinary everyday objects and experiences.
Lynn told Katie that the reason they are teased, ignored, or stared at is because the white people in their town discriminate against Japanese Americans and treat them like "ants". Katie notices that the white nurses coo over her new baby brother while ignoring her mother and wonders if when he's grown, he, too, will be ignored and looked down upon.
BABY BOY TAKESHIMA
"...SKY TURN RED. THE RED SPREAD LIKE BLOOD IN THE SEA."
KIRA KIRA FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: SIMILES
"MOUTHS FULL OF RUBBER BANDS"
"Aah have an aah-lash in mah aah!"(I have an eyelash in my eye.)
As Lynn lies very ill, Katie watches the sunrise outside. The red in the sky spreading like blood is symbolic of the life slowly leaving Lynn's body.
Moving from Iowa, at first Katie has a hard time understanding the southern accent in Georgia.