Sadako

Title: Sadako
Author: Eleanor Coerr
Illustrator: Ed Young
Genre: Nonfiction
Awards: N/A
Grade Level: 2 - 6

Based on a true story, Sadako Sasaki was a baby when the atom bomb was dropped on her hometown of Hiroshima. She survived and dreamed of becoming the best runner in the world. However, when she was 12, her dream was cut short when she was diagnosed with the atom bomb disease, leukemia. Her best friend, Chizuko, came to visit and reminded her about the Japanese legend that her wish would be granted if she folded a thousand paper cranes. She decided to fold the paper cranes and wished to be well again. At one point, she was well enough to go home but became ill again. Sadako died on October 25, 1955, and was only able to fold 644 paper cranes. In her honor, her classmates folded the remaining 356 paper cranes, published a book, and organized a Folded Crane Club. They raised money to build a monument in honor of all the children killed by the bomb. In 1958, the Children's Peace Monument with Sadako holding up a crane was built in Hiroshima Peace Park. On Peace Day, children would hang garlands of paper canes under the statue as they wish "This is our cry, this is our prayer: Peace in the world". This story is important to share with people of all ages. It deals with the difficult truth of the lasting effect war has on people long after the war is officially over. There are not many children's books that talk about the aftermath of WW2 and the atomic bomb. I would use this book in the WW2 history unit and talk about the purpose of monuments and memorials. Making paper cranes would be a good activity to do with the book. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Because of Winn-Dixie

Image
Title:  Because of Winn-Dixie Author:  Kate DiCamillo Genre:  Realistic Fiction Awards:  Texas Bluebonnet Winner (2001-2002), Newbery Honor (2001) Grade Level:  3 - 6 Opal Buloni finds a stray dog and names him Winn-Dixie after the grocery store she found him in. She recently moved to Naomi, Florida with her preacher father. She had a distant relationship with her father because he was too invested in his work to give her attention. Opal longed for her mother to return even though she was an alcoholic, had disliked her life as a preacher's wife, and had abandoned them when Opal was young. She was lonely in her new town and Winn-Dixie followed her everywhere. Around town, she met new people such as Miss Franny Block, Sweetie Pie, Otis, and Gloria Dump who shared their stories. Opal learns that everyone has a little sadness and sorrow in their lives and that they could still be trying to cope with it. Opal arranged a party with Gloria and invited some people she h...
Read more

The Day the Crayons Quit

Image
Title:  The Day the Crayons Quit Author:  Drew Daywalt Illustrator:  Oliver Jeffers Genre:  Fantasy Awards:  Texas Bluebonnet Winner (2014-2015) Grade Level:  PK - 3 Looking in his school desk to grab his crayons, Duncan finds a stack of grievance letters from his crayons. Red, Purple, Beige, Grey, White, Black, Green, Yellow, Orange, Blue, Pink, and Peach crayon all had something to tell Duncan. Some complained that they were overused while others felt they were under appreciated. Some crayons wanted to have a change in purpose and color something out of the norm. After reading all of the letters, Duncan took into consideration all of their complaints and suggestions to create a picture that his teacher gave a "good work" sticker and gold star for the coloring and creativity. This is a very humorous epistolary book about personified crayons. The letters are written on different types of paper with each respective crayon. The authentic child-like style illu...
Read more

Three Little Piggies

Image
Title:  Three Little Piggies Authors:  Monica Chang and Jeff Macon Illustrators:  Vivian Minn and Helen Wang Genre:  Traditional Literature Award:  N/A Grade Level:  PK-2 Vinny, Lenny, and Jimmy leave their mother's house to build houses of their own. Along the journey, they find straw, sticks, and bricks to build their respective houses. A big bad wolf blows down Vinny's straw house and Lenny's stick house but is unable to blow down Jimmy's strong brick house. The wolf tries going down the chimney but runs away after touching the boiling water trap.  This retelling of "The Three Little Pigs" is suitable for younger students because it is simplified from the more well-known version and all of the characters survive. The text and illustrations are large so it can be easily seen during read-aloud. However, I wished this version had the moral that hard work pays off and was not just about their poor choice in building materials. An activity to go with the...
Read more