For background information on the Japanese-American experience in American internment camps, please refer to the following PBS link for the documentary, "Children of the Camps:" http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/index.html. This site has many resources for you to explore as you wish.
For author biography and information, here's Julie Otsuka's webpage - http://www.julieotsuka.com/ - as well as The New York Times book review of The Buddha in the Attic: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/books/review/the-buddha-in-the-attic-by-julie-otsuka-book-review.html?_r=0.