The non-fiction book has become a curriculum staple in schools and universities across the United States.[5] 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.[6] The kit included study guides tailored to the book and a video teaching guide.[7]
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;[3][8] it was made available for purchase from JANM.[8][9]