Keywords: activism, social justice, war, identity, perseverance
Beate Sirota came to Japan as a young girl, learning its language, customs, and traditions. She loved her adopted country. When an extraordinary convergence of circumstances gave her the chance, she dared to do the unthinkable — write a clause for the new national constitution guaranteeing women equal rights.
Summary: This story is about a young Jewish girl named Beate whose family fled Russia to escape antisemitism. As she grew up in Japan, Beate became aware of the lack of women’s rights. The title No Steps Behind refers to the sexism she encountered, reflected in traditional sayings such as “Women walk three steps behind.” After college in the United States, Beate is hired by the U.S. military during the postwar Occupation of Japan. She is able to use her talents as a translator to help write a new constitution for Japan that ensures equal rights for women.
Vocabulary: (definitions from dictionary.com)
dōmo arigatō: Japanese for “thank you” [pronounced: DOUGH-mow ah-REE-gah-toe]
internment camp: a prison camp for the confinement of prisoners of war, enemy aliens, political prisoners, and more.
Universal Theme: The universal theme of this story is determination.
Literary Themes:
Higher Level Questioning
REMEMBER (Level 1): Recognizing and recalling
List the main events in the story from beginning to end.
UNDERSTAND (Level 2): Interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, explaining
APPLY (Level 3): Executing and implementing
ANALYZE (Level 4): Differentiating, organizing, attributing
EVALUATE (Level 5): Checking and critiquing
CREATE (Level 6): Generating, planning, producing
Research Websites:
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/gordon-beate
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/world/asia/beate-gordon-feminist-heroine-in-japan-dies-at-89.html
https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sirota-beate-1923
Standards
Elementary
Middle Grades
High School
Activities:
Author: Meredith Lesney, middle-school librarian and author
2021
Publisher’s Curriculum Guide
Fill out the online form to access the NCTA webinar with author Jeff Gottesfeld
National Jewish Book Award Finalist
Junior Library Guild Selection