Sadako

Eleanor Coerr was born in Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Canada, and grew up in Saskatoon. Two of her favorite childhood hobbies were reading and making up stories. Her powerful novel, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, has been translated into many languages and has moved both children and adults to write plays, perform ballets, compose songs, and collect money for peace statues—all celebrating Sadako and her wish for peace. Eleanor has visited schools all around the world encouraging her audiences to work for a nonviolent world. Folded cranes are everywhere, and always underneath the statue of Sadako in Hiroshima's Peace Park.
Caldecott medalist Ed Young (edyoungart.com) was born in Tientsin, China, and brought up in Shanghai. He cites the philosophy of Chinese painting as an inspiration for much of his work. Mr. Young has been illustrating children's books for more than twenty years and has won many awards. He received the 1990 Caldecott Medal for his book Lon Po Po, and his much-lauded collaboration with anthologist Nancy Larrick, Cats Are Cats, was named one of the Ten Best Illustrated Books of 1988 by The New York Times. Mr. Young studied at the University of Illinois, the Art Center of Los Angeles, and Pratt Institute in New York City. He and his family live in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

An abridgement of the novel Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes combined with images from a film adaptation of the work yields a complex and somewhat abstract picture book. Using a sampling of the illustrations he created for the movie version, Young ( Seven Blind Mice ) subtly accentuates the poignancy of the story without rendering it sentimental. His ethereal pastels (reminiscent of his art in The Red Thread ) seem to convey the mood, rather than the actual activity, of the text. Sweeping panoramas alternate with wispy image fragments against ample white space: a face half-concealed, a shadow darting past. Coerr's condensed text succeeds in retaining the simple lyricism of the original, allowing the leukemia-stricken Sadako to emerge as a quietly courageous girl. Given the necessary length of the text, the mature subject matter and the sophisticated artwork, this book may find its most welcoming audience among older readers, especially those who enjoyed its original version as a novel. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.