Cynthia Kadohata's father was held in the Poston internment camp during World War II. His experiences -- and those of the tens of thousands of other Japanese and Japanese Americans -- compelled her to write WEEDFLOWER. Ms. Kadohata is the author of KIRA-KIRA, winner of the 2005 Newbery Medal and a New York Times bestseller. She has written three novels for adults, and her stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Ploughshares, Grand Street, and other publications. She lives with her son in California.