Star Trek actor and activist George Takei will make his picture book debut next April with My Lost Freedom, to be published by Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the incarceration of Americans and non-citizens of Japanese descent. Takei was one of 125,000 people impacted by this decision. His autobiographical picture book, illustrated by Michelle Lee, will focus on the early years of Takei’s life, including his time in three incarceration camps with his family.
“It was clear that the story about the injustices Japanese Americans faced should also be told in a way that young children and their caregivers could understand,” Takei said in a statement. “Especially in today’s political climate, my mission is to convey this chapter of American history to children so that we can all grow up knowing both the fragility and the importance of democracy and our participation in it.”
“George is a born storyteller,” said Phoebe Yeh, v-p and co-publisher of Crown Books for Young Readers, and the book’s editor. “His book is a timely reminder that there can still be bravery and defiance, humanity, and community under adverse circumstances.”
