Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes - Hardcover

Chizuko came to visit her friend Sadako in the hospital. She had a piece of gold paper that she had cut into a large square.

"Watch!" she said, and she folded the paper over and over, and it turned into a beautiful crane.

"If a sick person folds one thousand paper cranes," Chizuko said, "the gods will grant her wish and make her well again."

Sadako Sasaki was only twelve years old when she died. She was two when an atom bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima in Japan, where she lived with her family. Ten years later, she had leukemia as a result of radiation from the bomb.

Sadako had folded six hundred and forty-four cranes. The flock hung above her bed on strings. Her classmates folded the rest.

Today Sadako is a heroine to the children of Japan, who visit her memorial in Hiroshima Peace Park to leave the paper cranes they make in her honor.

Eleanor Coerr was born in Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Canada, and grew up in Saskatoon. Two of her favorite childhood hobbies were reading and making up stories. Eleanor began her professional life as a newspaper reporter and editor of a column for children. Luckily, she traveled to Japan in 1949 as a writer for the Ottawa Journal, since none of the other staff wanted to go to a country that had been devastated by war. Coerr is the writer of numerous children's book and picture books.

Born in Cleveland Ohio, renowned illustrator Ronald Himler attended the Cleveland Institute of Art, where he majored in painting and illustration. Himler's primary focus is children's books, but he's also gained quite a following in regards to his more mature work. Ron has earned many awards over the course of his career, including the prestigous Society of Illustrators Silver Medal for the cover of Red Cap.