"Honestly, you couldn't make it up!" says Amya Miller about her new book for children, "The Extraordinary Voyage of Kamome: a Tsunami Boat Comes Home." Miller and co-author Lori Dengler have based their bilingual picture book on a true story: It recounts events following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami that have led to a forging of bonds and cross-cultural exchange among young people on both sides of the Pacific.
"It isn't just a real story," says Miller of the book. "It's a teaching tool and a testament to the power of kindness."
The Kamome is a fishing boat belonging to Takata High School in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. After it was washed away in the tsunami, the boat drifted for more than two years before finally coming to rest at Crescent City on the northwestern coast of California in April 2013. Dengler, a geology professor from Humboldt State University and an expert on tsunami, was called in to help identify the boat and find out more about its origins. By coincidence, Rikuzentakata had someone perfectly placed to communicate with Dengler in English — fellow American Miller.