The cover design for Dear Gloria: Homesick for America in Wartime Japan went through several drafts. Toneko's diary entries in the book range from when she was around 12 to around 19. We were limited to the few surviving photos of her during that time period, many of which were damaged due to age and wear. We also had scans of a few mementos she kept from her time in America. It was important to the authors that the book cover displayed Toneko's youth and optimism, and did not appear tragic or overly formal. One of the photos shows Toneko posed with a few American GIs in Japan, but her brother, the co-author, did not like her expression in the photo, which he felt conveyed smugness. A solution I proposed was to edit Toneko out of the photo, which also signifies the out-of-place feeling she describes throughout the book.
