Hello Maggie!: Shig Yabu, Children’s Book Author

As a boy Shig Yabu was taken from his home in San Francisco to the Pomona Assembly Center, California, and the Heart Mountain incarceration camp in Wyoming. While in camp, he saved an injured baby magpie, named it Maggie, and adopted it as a pet. Following the war, Shig became involved with the Heart Mountain Foundation, where members encouraged him to write stories about the talking magpie. The resulting children’s book, Hello, Maggie!, was illustrated by Willie Ito, a former Disney animator. In an excerpt from his recent interview with Densho, Shig tells how the bird became a popular inhabitant of the incarceration camp. View other Densho Archive Spotlights.