The Crane Girl

Gorgeously illustrated with authentic cultural details, this book provides a modern twist on an ancient tale.The author is an expert at haiku, and his poems fit seamlessly and beautifully into the flow of the story.As an adult, I loved reading it and enjoyed gifting it to a dear friend with a young child.

An inspiring story for young children about caring and giving to others set in Japan. When a young man rescues a crane from a trap, he doesn't know how the miracle of his kindness will help his own family. The story also introduces the young reader to the beauty of haiku as well.

(Illustrations by Lin Wang)This is the kind of book I buy for my children, but secretly it will be for myself, because I adore beautiful books. The illustrations are alluring, so much so that they often overshadow the actual written story.This is a lyrical version of a well-known Japanese folk-tale. The moral of the story is one found in fairy and folk-tales all around the world. Greed destroys all and makes even the kindest person forget the things they once held dear. They say money can corrupt even the most upright citizen, and that everyone has a price.One day Yasuhiro comes upon a crane caught in a trap. He comforts and frees the bird. Not long after a young girl called Hiroko appears on his doorstep and Yasuhiro gives her shelter. In return for the help Hiroko helps Yasuhiro’s father by weaving silk behind closed doors every night. Soon he wants more than she is willing to give.This is about friendship and random acts of kindness. A smile, a helping hand or perhaps just a moment of your time to help another living being. It’s important that we don’t lose our sense of humanity in the midst of all the indifference, violence and conflict.The Crane Girl is nice way to teach our children and remind ourselves that we can and should help others without expecting anything in return.*I received an ARC/free copy courtesy of the publisher via Edelweiss.*

About: The Crane Girl is a Japanese folktales and children’s picture book written by Curtis Manley and illustrated by Lin Wang. It was published on 3/1/17 by Shen’s Books, an imprint of Lee & Low Books Inc, hardcover, 40 pages. This book is for ages 7 to 8, grades 1 to 4. Lee & Low Books is the largest multicultural children’s book publisher in USA. Their mission is “to publish contemporary diverse stories that all children could enjoy”.My Experience: I started reading The Crane Girl on 2/28/17 and again on 3/2/17 as a bedtime story for my 5 year-old son and we finished it that same night. This book is such a lovely read! I have never read a Japanese fairytales before and I am super excited to read it for my son. We love the story and the beautiful illustrations. We love the magic twist with the boy at the end of the book. Besides the crane folktales, this book also introduces Haiku, well-known form of Japanese poetry. It runs alongside the story. I like to read the Haiku separately from the story.In this book, readers will follow Yasuhiro (yah-soo-hee-roh), a boy out gathering firewood for his dad when he notices an injured red-crowned crane and gently rescues it. When a girl, Hiroko (hee-roh-koh) shows up the next day looking for shelter, Yasuhiro and his dad welcomes her in. Yasuhiro and his dad are poor and so the girl, Hiroko offers to weave silk to raise money so that they can have enough to eat. When the money is easily earned, Yasuhiro’s dad becomes greedy and demands for more. The girl asks Yasuhiro and his dad to promise not to open the door until she finishes weaving the silk, but the dad grows impatient and opens to discover a surprise. I love that this book introduces friendship, kindness, greed, the obligation to repay, and a little magic. I highly recommend the read to everyone.Pro: Japanese folktales, friendship, kindness, retelling, illustrations, Asian oriented, magicCon: noneI rate it 5 stars!***Disclaimer: Many thanks to Lee & Low Books for the opportunity to read and review. Please assured that my opinions are honest.xoxo, Jasmine at howusefulitis dot wordpress dot com

I appreciate the stoke of genius, as well as the talent and hard work required for Curtis Manley to sprinkle haiku poems, throughout the retelling of this Japanese folktale, to illuminate the character's thoughts. Although a form of poetry uniquely Japanese, it provides tantalizing ideas of ways to use it, or other poetic devises, to accomplish character development in other fractured or retold tales. The traditional elements of the repayment of a kindness, a greedy man, and the breaking of a promise remain, even though Curtis changes the main character of the folktale to a child. This alteration, allows Curtis to highlight kindness and friendship to both other humans and animals, rather than focusing primarily on a adult's greed and broken promise. Lin Wang's illustrations are luminescent and enhance the tale's new ending. Additionally, the illustrations expose children to the differences in traditional Japanese dress, housing, and art. Overall, it is a very special, diverse book.

Beautiful retelling of an old Japanese tale, with a twist. I liked the Haiku in the story, it added to the enjoyment of reading the book. The illustrations were lovely, too. Just for full disclosure, I received a free preview copy from the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

This is a beautifully written version of a Japanese folktale and the illustrations are elegantly fitting. The included Haiku introduces that art form in a way that readers of all ages can appreciate.