her father moves the family to a berry farm in San Jose she decides to make another attempt at school life. Her homeroom nominates her queen of the school's annual spring carnival, and for the election assembly, she leaves her hair loose and wears an exotic sarong. Although the teachers try to prevent her from winning, her friend Leonard Rodriguez exposes the teachers’ plot and ensures her victory. Jeanne's father, however, is furious that she won the election by flaunting her sexuality before American boys. He forces her to take Japanese dance lessons, but she soon quits. As a compromise, Jeanne wears a conservative dress to the coronation ceremony; however, the crowd's muttering makes her realize that neither the exotic sarong nor the conservative dress represents her true self. In April 1972, Jeanne revisits Manzanar with her husband and three children. She needs to remind herself that the camp actually existed; over the years, she began to think she imagined the whole thing. Walking through the ruins, the sounds and sights of the camp come back to her. Seeing her eleven-year-old daughter, Jeanne realizes that her life began at the camp (as her father's life ended there). She remembers him driving crazily through camp before leaving with his family, and finally understands his stubborn pride. Distribution The non-fiction book has become a curriculum staple in schools and universities across the United States. In an effort to educate Californians about the experiences of Japanese Americans who were confined in American internment camps during World War II, the book and the movie were distributed in 2002 as a part of a kit to approximately 8,500 public elementary and secondary schools and 1,500 public libraries in the state. The kit included study guides tailored to the book and a video teaching guide. On October 7, 2011, the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) announced that it had negotiated the rights for the 1976 NBC-produced film directed by John Korty; it was made available for purchase from JANM. References Further reading (from the MLA database, March 2008) External links Patricia Wakida. Farewell to Manzanar Densho Encyclopedia Manzanar Committee Manzanar Committee - Official blog Manzanar National Historic Site 1973 non-fiction books Films about the internment of Japanese Americans Books about the internment of Japanese Americans Literature by Asian-American women Books about California