Sadako [Paperback]

Eleanor Coerr (Author), Ed Young (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Japanese legend holds that if a person who is ill makes a 1,000 paper cranes, the gods will grant that person's wish to be well again. Beautiful illustrations by Caldecott-medalist Ed Young enhance the story of Sadako, a young girl dying of leukemia as a result of the atom bombing of Hiroshima.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-6-This is the same story as the author's Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Putnam, 1977), told through an entirely new text. In this abbreviated version, the beautiful, limpid prose and crisp dialogue further telescope Sadako's fight with leukemia, "the atom-bomb disease," adding greater impact to her death. What was an epilogue in the novel is here an integral, if anticlimactic, part of the text due to the exceptional flow of the illustrations. Young's pastels vividly capture all the moods of the narrative, place, and characters. The use of light, most obvious as Sadako lays dying, is particularly noteworthy, as is the crane motif as a recurring symbol of hope. A masterful collaboration that will attract many new friends for Sadako.
John Philbrook, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (September 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0698115880
• ISBN-13: 978-0698115880
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > Military & Wars
  • #87 in Books > Children's Books > History > Military & Wars

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Teaching inaccurate history to children is ok now?, February 15, 2009

By 

B. Berry - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sadako (Paperback)

While a well drawn book, and very emotionally touching, the book continues to perpetuate the myth that Sadako Sasaki failed to fold 1,000 cranes. Sadako Sasaki actually finished over 1300+ cranes before her death and did this in approximately only a month. This information is listed at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum as well as on their site about Sadako Sasaki under the special exhibit section. This is directly from interviews with the Sasaki family and hospital staff.

For a child to show such dedication that few adults would have in continuing past 1000 through the pain of leukemia is am amazing feat, and for this to be "modified" for a more emotionally touch story I find to be ethically wrong in many forms. If we are to teach our children the dangers of nuclear weapons, then we cannot lie to their face and perpetuate false information for the sake of affect. Even more disheartening is that I've witnessed numerous college plays that, despite knowing the actual number estimates folded being over 1,000, picks the number in Coerr's semi-fictional book.

If we are going to start modifying history, then where is the line drawn? I would not buy my child a book or teach them a story that is based on factually in correct data of a historical event. Does that mean we can just start changing up the Anne Frank diary too. Yeah, let's just put a car chase scene in that book and maybe throw in a few romance interests too!

Don't buy this book, look up the accurate history and documents. Hopefully, someone will write a new corrected version.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The tears flowed and knowledge is gained...., October 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Sadako (Paperback)

This is an excellent adaptation of the story of Sadoko. The book highlights the important parts, but keeps it on a level for children. It causes tears, hope, and courage in all that read it. It has a fasinating plot for such a short book. The illustrations are breathtaking and really portray a sense of the lessons of the book. This book is well worth reading for every age level. My husband and I both cried, as well as my thirteen year old sister. There is a lesson and a tear for everybody in this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a beautiful story about the triumph of a young girl's spirit and the collateral damage of war., August 28, 2006

By 

D. Goodpasture (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sadako (Paperback)

I realize a few people feel that this is a propaganda book. In this case I recommend telling your children about Pearl Harbor, the Rape of Nanjing, and Unit 731 and explain that in wars it's usually civilians, in some cases ones who weren't even born at the time, who end up suffering the most. What I hope people will remember about this book is a young girl's bravery and triumph over fear in facing a fatal illness, and the loving support of her classmates.