"An extraordinary book, one no reader will fail to find compelling and unforgettable." --"Booklist," starred review

The star of her school's running team, Sadako is lively and athletic...until the dizzy spells start. Then she must face the hardest race of her life--the race against time. Based on a true story, "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" celebrates the courage that makes one young woman a heroine in Japan.

" The] story speaks directly to young readers of the tragedy of Sadako's death and, in its simplicity, makes a universal statement for 'peace in the world." --"The Horn Book ""The story is told tenderly but with neither a morbid nor a sentimental tone: it is direct and touching." --"BCCB"

Hiroshima-born Sadako is lively and athletic--the star of her school's running team. And then the dizzy spells start. Soon gravely ill with leukemia, the "atom bomb disease," Sadako faces her future with spirit and bravery. Recalling a Japanese legend, Sadako sets to work folding paper cranes. For the legend holds that if a sick person folds one thousand cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again. Based on a true story, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes celebrates the extraordinary courage that made one young woman a heroine in Japan.

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.

California,
here we come!

When the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Mieko's nearby village was turned into ruins, and her hand was badly injured. Mieko loves to do calligraphy more than anything, but now she can barely hold a paintbrush. And she feels as if she has lost something that she can't paint without-the legendary fifth treasure, beauty in the heart. Then she is sent to live with her grandparents and must go to a new school. But Mieko is brave and eventually learns that time and patience can help with many things, and may even help her find the fifth treasure.

Animated pictures capture the drama and warmth of this historically based, affectionate story of good and bad times on a 19th-century wagon-train journey. "Coerr packs strong emotions into the story, which is detailed and eventful enough to create a vivid historical setting within the confines of a beginning-to-read format".--Booklist.