Peace Crane

by Sheila Hamanaka

On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. Out of the ashes grew the legacy of Sadako, the girl who folded a thousand paper cranes. Now Sheila Hamanaka, author and illustrator of the acclaimed All the Color of the Earth , uses majestic oil paintings and heartfelt verse to express the dreams of another child, trapped in the violence of today's world, who wonders if the peace crane will ever come. Fifty years after the bombing of Hiroshima, this luminous book affirms the true spirit of Sadako and all who believe that peace is possible in our troubled time.

Genres: Picture Books

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1995

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

Some really interesting illustration work (and darker than I was expecting). I felt like it wrapped up too quickly -- we get a really evocative experience of the narrator's darkness (sidebar: I worried about the line about "shooting on my street" given narratives of African-American communities) & then an evocative experience of her dream journey of freedom and beauty & then the switch to the world outside felt rushed -- the realization that she's heard the peace crane in the music of her neighbor was a nice segue, but we only get a couple more pages and I didn't feel like there was much there there about how we actually work toward peace (though okay, it says "a world that loves its children" and then the final page is a young Black child in a white shirt holding a white origami crane with text "each and every one," which has new resonance in this age of Tamir Rice, etc.).

[Kiera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay to use in class when discussing World War 2, Japanese traditions, or paired with an origami activity. Abstract prose and verse might be difficult for younger children to grasp, but children will likely appreciate the story of Sadako Sasaki who the book is dedicated to.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bringing back the peace crane to assist in the problems of a little girl's neighborhood.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful version of a story from World War II that can be connected with current events.