Lost In The Valley Of Clark Field

A foul ball, a red ribbon, and one promise that spans generations. When Kaylee catches a screaming pop fly at Woodland’s Clark Field, the world tilts—and she finds herself in 1942 on the eve of Japanese American incarceration. There she meets Emi, a fearless girl determined to play one last game before the buses arrive. What begins as a reluctant afternoon at the ballpark becomes a race to hold on to home, history, and the friend who teaches Kaylee how courage sounds when you say it out loud.

Perfect for fans of When You Reach Me, Refugee, and Baseball Saved Us, this heartfelt middle-grade novel blends time travel, sports, and true American history into a page-turner kids won’t forget. As Kaylee fights to keep a promise that outlives the game, she discovers that the stories we carry can change who we become—and what we stand up for.

Why readers and educators love it:

• A gripping, kid-friendly doorway into WWII home-front history (Executive Order 9066)

• Center-stage themes: friendship, identity, belonging, and moral courage

• Baseball as resilience—joy and play in the face of injustice

• Rich Author’s Note connects fiction to real events and classroom discussion

Great for ages 9–13 (grades 4–8), independent reading, book clubs, and ELA/social-studies tie-ins. If your reader loves fast-moving stories with heart—and protagonists who learn to speak up—this book will have them turning pages, then asking questions long after the last inning.