The Kappa Child is about Japanese Canadian sisters who struggle to escape the bonds of a family and land. The father decides to migrate from the green fields and bountiful rain of British Columbia to Alberta, not knowing they would encounter shortage of water. There, despite the sweltering prairie heat and dearth of water, the father is determined to grow rice. There is lack of love in the family as well, but the protagonist discovers the Kappa Child, a mythical creature, and this creature enables even the drought stricken to feel the rain of forgiveness and love.

As noted in the lecture, the readers truly learn to appreciate the dialogues between different communities (Indigenous, Immigrant, and settlers) through contemporary writings (especially from those written by outside immigrants), like that of The Kappa Child. The narrative of the book helps us to shape us as whom we are now, and to acknowledge where we belong to (e.g., community, nation). It is important that we respect and recognize the diversity of groups in our community (especially when we are living in one of the most “multi-cultural” country, Canada). Through a novel like The Kappa Child, we are being told and informed about history working as a social construction; we as audiences build history as a story. As history is malleable and has potential to change, contemporary writings truly shape our understanding of history of the land and its settlers.