Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes - Read By Liv Ullman; George Winston Guitar (Big Papi) Audio Book Eleanor Coerr

By Nancy R. Katz VINE VOICE

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr is the true story of a young girl who was born in Japan two years before the end of WWII.

Sadako lives an idyllic life with her parents and two brothers not far from where the atom bomb was dropped in 1945. Although she sees evidence of this horrific act on the faces of other people and knows that many have died from the diseases caused by the radioactive materials, her life hasn't been touched by this. But then Sadako becomes very ill as the result of the radiation. Shortly after she is diagnosed her friend tells her the story of how a thousand paper cranes can bring good luck. And so Sadako begins making origami paper cranes and wishes for good health.

This book is based on the true story of the girl Sadako who was born in Japan in 1943 and died from leukemia in 1955. Today she is a national hero to children in Japan. While this is a sad book adn may not b eright for all younger children, it does teach a wonderful lesson about the effects of war on innocent people and courage in the face of a terminal illness.

As a footnote, last spring we attended the wedding of a friends son. As a party favor at the end of the wedding, the bride made paper cranes for the guests to wish us luck as we had wished them the same. She also told the legend of a thousand paper cranes and couldn't help but think about this when I saw this book on the library shelves and as I read this book. I don't think I will ever look at a paper crane the same way now after reading this book.