SuitabookSadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Eleanor Coerr
- Reading
- Read together if helpful, pausing around the illness and “Last days” chapters. Let the child set the pace, and make room to talk about what feels hopeful or difficult.
- Themes
- Hope, illness and the cranes: Sadako is gravely ill and folds paper cranes in response to a legend that doing so may bring a sick person health. The cranes are presented as part of Sadako's effort to face an uncertain future; how the story ultimately treats the legend is unclear.
- Hiroshima and illness: The book connects Sadako's leukaemia with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and is set in Hiroshima. The historical connection is part of the story's context, but the extent and manner of its treatment are unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Serious illness is central, and the contents include a chapter called “Last days”. The Hiroshima atomic-bomb context may also prompt discussion of death and the bomb's effects.