Title: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Author: Eleanor Coerr
ISBN: 0-698-11802-2
Format: Chapter Book
Pages: 79 pgs.
Review: This is the story of Sadako Sasaki, an eleven year-old girl living in Hiroshima, Japan. It is 1955, 10 years after the infamous atom bomb was dropped on the city. The country is still recovering from the devastating loss of life and others are fighting diseases and sicknesses that they developed as after effects of the bombs deadly chemicals. Sadako is a happy, healthy, and energetic child. Her main focus and goal for the upcoming year when she enters junior high, is to make the track team. As she practices her running, she begins to develop dizzy spells and weakness. At first she thinks she is just overexerting herself, however after collapsing at school and going to the hospital, she learns she has leukemia, (the atom bomb disease). She becomes upset that she has to stay in the hospital for treatment, and is missing out on her opportunity to run. Then her feelings change to fear, not just of missing out on her dream, but of dying. There are so many things she still has to do with her life. So many things she has left to accomplish. A friend reminds her of an old folktale, when a person gets sick, of if they fold one thousand paper cranes, they will be cured of their ailments and live a long and prosperous life. She begins making paper cranes, and everyone gets involved by bringing her paper and hanging them up around her room. She makes paper cranes for months. Usually I do not like giving away the ending, but some might already know the story of Sadako. She eventually grows weaker and the cancer takes her life. Her legend lives in Japan and they even have a day of peace commemorating her life and death and the others that suffered the consequences of the bomb. This book is very appropriate for tween reading. It brings up topics of war and death and I think children of this age group need to be aware of. Many children are diagnosed with cancer at young ages, and other children can help and learn from these situations. It should not be a taboo topic for tweens or even younger children. It is important for young tweens to be aware of wars too and the reasons for war as well as the consequences of war. This book does an incredible job telling one person's story and how war affected their life. It is not gruesome or violent, but does a valid job of describing the situation. It goes into the feelings and emotions of Sadako and her family, and I feel it is a very appropriate book for most tweens to read. This would be a great book to read as a class as well, since the themes give a good opportunity for class discussions on war and disease. This book an excellent tween read.
Author: Eleanor Coerr
ISBN: 0-698-11802-2
Format: Chapter Book
Pages: 79 pgs.
Review: This is the story of Sadako Sasaki, an eleven year-old girl living in Hiroshima, Japan. It is 1955, 10 years after the infamous atom bomb was dropped on the city. The country is still recovering from the devastating loss of life and others are fighting diseases and sicknesses that they developed as after effects of the bombs deadly chemicals. Sadako is a happy, healthy, and energetic child. Her main focus and goal for the upcoming year when she enters junior high, is to make the track team. As she practices her running, she begins to develop dizzy spells and weakness. At first she thinks she is just overexerting herself, however after collapsing at school and going to the hospital, she learns she has leukemia, (the atom bomb disease). She becomes upset that she has to stay in the hospital for treatment, and is missing out on her opportunity to run. Then her feelings change to fear, not just of missing out on her dream, but of dying. There are so many things she still has to do with her life. So many things she has left to accomplish. A friend reminds her of an old folktale, when a person gets sick, of if they fold one thousand paper cranes, they will be cured of their ailments and live a long and prosperous life. She begins making paper cranes, and everyone gets involved by bringing her paper and hanging them up around her room. She makes paper cranes for months. Usually I do not like giving away the ending, but some might already know the story of Sadako. She eventually grows weaker and the cancer takes her life. Her legend lives in Japan and they even have a day of peace commemorating her life and death and the others that suffered the consequences of the bomb. This book is very appropriate for tween reading. It brings up topics of war and death and I think children of this age group need to be aware of. Many children are diagnosed with cancer at young ages, and other children can help and learn from these situations. It should not be a taboo topic for tweens or even younger children. It is important for young tweens to be aware of wars too and the reasons for war as well as the consequences of war. This book does an incredible job telling one person's story and how war affected their life. It is not gruesome or violent, but does a valid job of describing the situation. It goes into the feelings and emotions of Sadako and her family, and I feel it is a very appropriate book for most tweens to read. This would be a great book to read as a class as well, since the themes give a good opportunity for class discussions on war and disease. This book an excellent tween read.
Very good the history!
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