One Thousand Paper Cranes

The inspirational story of the Japanese national campaign to build the Children's Peace Statue honoring Sadako and hundreds of other children who died as a result of the bombing of Hiroshima. Ten years after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Sadako Sasaki died as a result of atomic bomb disease. Sadako's determination to fold one thousand paper cranes and her courageous struggle with her illness inspired her classmates. After her death, they started a national campaign to build the Children's Peace Statue to remember Sadako and the many other children who were victims of the Hiroshima bombing. On top of the statue is a girl holding a large crane in her outstretched arms. Today in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, this statue of Sadako is beautifully decorated with thousands of paper cranes given by people throughout the world.

Sadako's Cranes

A timeless story, beautifully told and illustrated by Judith Loske Based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki, who lived in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, Sadako’s Cranes tells the story of her battle with leukemia. When Sadako hears of a Japanese legend which says that a person who folds 1,000 paper cranes is granted a wish, she begins folding cranes. Her wish was simply to live. Loske’s beautiful illustrations are based on colored-pencil drawings that have been digitally processed.

The Children of the Paper Crane: The Story of Sadako Sasaki and Her Struggle with the A-Bomb Disease

First Published in 2015. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.

Mieko and the Fifth Treasure

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.

Sachiko

This striking work of narrative nonfiction tells the true story of six-year-old Sachiko Yasui's survival of the Nagasaki atomic bomb on August 9, 1945, and the heartbreaking and lifelong aftermath. Having conducted extensive interviews with Sachiko Yasui, Caren Stelson chronicles Sachiko’s trauma and loss as well as her long journey to find peace. This book offers readers a remarkable new perspective on the final moments of World War II and their aftermath.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Puffin Modern Classics)

“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

The Friendship Doll

I am Miss Kanagawa. In 1927, my 57 doll-sisters and I were sent from Japan to America as Ambassadors of Friendship. Our work wasn't all peach blossoms and tea cakes. My story will take you from New York to Oregon, during the Great Depression. Though few in this tale are as fascinating as I, their stories won't be an unpleasant diversion. You will make the acquaintance of Bunny, bent on revenge; Lois, with her head in the clouds; Willie Mae, who not only awakened my heart, but broke it; and Lucy, a friend so dear, not even war could part us. I have put this tale to paper because from those 58 Friendship Dolls only 45 remain. I know that someone who chooses this book is capable of solving the mystery of the missing sisters. Perhaps that someone is you.

Thousand Cranes

Nobel Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata’s Thousand Cranes is a luminous story of desire, regret, and the almost sensual nostalgia that binds the living to the dead. While attending a traditional tea ceremony in the aftermath of his parents’ deaths, Kikuji encounters his father’s former mistress, Mrs. Ota. At first Kikuji is appalled by her indelicate nature, but it is not long before he succumbs to passion—a passion with tragic and unforeseen consequences, not just for the two lovers, but also for Mrs. Ota’s daughter, to whom Kikuji’s attachments soon extend. Death, jealousy, and attraction convene around the delicate art of the tea ceremony, where every gesture is imbued with profound meaning.

Grandfather's Journey (Read-aloud)

When he was a young man, Allen Say’s grandfather left his home in Japan to explore the world. He began his journey by crossing the Pacific Ocean on a steamship, then wandered the deserts, farmlands, and cities of North America. Allen Say lovingly tells the story of his own family’s cross-cultural history in elegant watercolor paintings that earned him a Caldecott Medal in 1994. This twentieth-anniversary edition of the modern classic features read-aloud audio and an introduction by Allen Say.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Lit Link Gr. 4-6

'Chapter questions and answer key ; language & literacy activities ; teacher guide for easy implementation.'--Cover.

Educator's Companion to Children's Literature: Folklore, contemporary realistic fiction, fantasy, biographies, and tales from here and there

Includes chapters for folklore, contemporary fiction, fantasy, biographies, and tales from around the world, and suggests classroom and library activities to accompany them

Circus Day in Japan

This multicultural children's book contains both English and Japanese script along with beautiful, colorful illustrations. Circus Day in Japan is the warmly-illustrated story of an exciting day spent by two Japanese children, Joji-chan and Koko-chan, at a circus. Joji-chan and Koko-chan delight at the new sights of their first circus, and young readers are gently introduced to Japanese customs and sites. Perfect for those interested in retro books, the simple text and artwork provide a nostalgic window into Japanese family life in the early 1950s. Originally written by Eleanor Coerr, author of the popular Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, this English translation of a classic Japanese children's book accessible to a new generation of both English and Japanese speaking readers.

Children's Book-a-Day Almanac

Part fun- and information-filled almanac, part good book guide, the Children's Book-a-Day Almanac is a new way to discover a great children's book--every day of the year! This fresh, inventive reference book is a dynamic way to showcase the gems, both new and old, of children's literature. Each page features an event of the day, a children's book that relates to that event, and a list of other events that took place on that day. Always informative and often surprising, celebrate a year of literature for children with The Children's Book-a-Day Almanac.

Supporting Diversity and Inclusion With Story: Authentic Folktales and Discussion Guides

Today's increasingly interconnected and globalized world demands that students be taught to appreciate human diversity and recognize universally held values and beliefs. Authentic, culturally based folktales can lay the foundation for this cultural understanding. Professional storytellers including editors Sherry Norfolk and Lyn Ford are deeply committed to bringing people together through story. In this book, they have identified a group of culturally diverse storytellers whose carefully researched tales authentically reflect the cultures from which they come. The book includes well-crafted, culturally authentic folktales contributed by storytellers of varying cultures and ethnicities. Commentaries from the contributors follow each tale, reflecting on the story and its significance to the culture it represents. Sets of questions for teachers and librarians also accompany each story to facilitate discussion. Teachers, librarians and information specialists find that the stories engage students' attention and empathy. The commentaries provide insights into the significance of cultural norms, customs, and beliefs represented in the story, and the discussion questions and guides help them drill down with students to achieve deeper understanding. Resource lists of additional relevant materials at the end of each section promote continued learning. Folktales are engaging, non-didactic and entertaining – they captivate student attention while allowing them to explore other cultures and value systems. Provides commentaries that offer insights into the significance of the cultural norms and beliefs represented in each story Includes thoughtful and effective discussion questions and guides that save librarians and teachers time Offers resource lists of relevant materials for further study

Ethics and Children's Literature

Exploring the ethical questions posed by, in, and about children’s literature, this collection examines the way texts intended for children raise questions of value, depict the moral development of their characters, and call into attention shared moral presuppositions. The essays in Part I look at various past attempts at conveying moral messages to children and interrogate their underlying assumptions. What visions of childhood were conveyed by explicit attempts to cultivate specific virtues in children? What unstated cultural assumptions were expressed by growing resistance to didacticism? How should we prepare children to respond to racism in their books and in their society? Part II takes up the ethical orientations of various classic and contemporary texts, including 'prosaic ethics' in the Hundred Acre Wood, moral discernment in Narnia, ethical recognition in the distant worlds traversed by L’Engle, and virtuous transgression in recent Anglo-American children’s literature and in the emerging children’s literature of 1960s Taiwan. Part III’s essays engage in ethical criticism of arguably problematic messages about our relationship to nonhuman animals, about war, and about prejudice. The final section considers how we respond to children’s literature with ethically focused essays exploring a range of ways in which child readers and adult authorities react to children’s literature. Even as children’s literature has evolved in opposition to its origins in didactic Sunday school tracts and moralizing fables, authors, parents, librarians, and scholars remain sensitive to the values conveyed to children through the texts they choose to share with them.

Children's and YA Books in the College Classroom

Using children's and young adult literature is a great way to enhance a variety of college classes in fields as varied as biology, computer game development, political science and history. This collection of new essays by educators from a number of disciplines describes how to use such works as Where the Wild Things Are, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Swamp Thing, Percy Jackson, and Harry Potter to introduce complex concepts and spark interest in difficult subjects. The contributors describe innovative teaching strategies using dystopian fiction, graphic narratives, fairy tales and mythology. Often overlooked or dismissed by teachers, children's literature can support student learning by raising levels of academic rigor, creativity and critical thinking.

Understanding Peace Cultures

Understanding Peace Cultures is exceptionally practical as well as theoretically grounded. As Elise Boulding tells us, culture consists of the shared values, ideas, practices, and artifacts of a group united by a common history. Rebecca Oxford explains that peace cultures are cultures, large or small, which foster any of the dimensions of peace – inner, interpersonal, intergroup, international, intercultural, or ecological – and thus help transform the world. As in her earlier book, The Language of Peace: Communicating to Create Harmony, Oxford contends here that peace is a serious and desirable option. Excellent educators help build peace cultures. In this book, Shelley Wong and Rachel Grant reveal how highly diverse public school classrooms serve as peace cultures, using activities and themes founded on womanist and critical race theories. Yingji Wang portrays a peace culture in a university classroom. Rui Ma’s model reaches out interculturally to Abraham’s children: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim youth, who share an ancient heritage. Children’s literature (Rebecca Oxford et al.) and students’ own writing (Tina Wei) spread cultures of peace. Deep traditions, such as African performance art, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and Islam, give rise to peace cultures, as shown here by John Grayzel, Sister Jewel (a colleague of Thich Nhat Hanh), Yingji Wang et al., and Dian Marissa et al. Peace cultures also emerge in completely unexpected venues, such as gangsta rap, unveiled by Charles Blake et al., and a prison where inmates learn Lois Liggett’s “spiritual semantics.” Finally, the book includes perspectives from Jerusalem (by Lawrence Berlin) and North Korea and South Korea (by Carol Griffiths) to help us envision – and hope for – new, transformative peace cultures where now there is strife.

Transforming Education for Peace

Currently, peace education remains marginalized in our education system, however, a united front can be formed and powerful paradigms can empower educators to play a critical role in peace building through scholarship, practice and activism. Indeed, educators around the world are developing effective strategies to transform education as a powerful force for global peace. The diverse array of contributors in the book demonstrate that educators as peace makers can be and have been instrumental in transforming social forces, the self and others for the construction of global peace. The book aims to broaden the educational discourse in order to make room for new visions to educate future generations for peace. Local and global efforts to build a longlasting peace are presented through the lens of education. The timeliness of peace education surely renders this book relevant to educators and the general public alike as individuals, communities, and organizations struggle to find pathways to peace in a global world. In other words, this book will interest scholars and the general public concerned about the building of global peace. The book can be source book for educators at elementary, secondary, and postsecondary institutions to explore multiple ways to conduct effective peace education at all levels of education. The book may also be used as a textbook by instructors of multicultural education, of comparative & international education, and of undergraduate and graduate peace education courses.

Crafting Gratitude

We live in a fast-paced world where we are pestered from all sides with siren calls to constantly strive for something more, something better, something new, rather than find ways to stay grateful for the abundance and blessings already present in our own lives. In Crafting Gratitude, Rev. Maggie Oman Shannon believes that crafting for us and those we love can be used as a meditative practice to appreciate the incredible, overflowing richness of life. Each meditative craft, from novice to expert, is infused with stories like how Gratitude Bundles can represent prosperity and physical health, Spirit Houses from Southeast Asia can be a symbol of a happy home, a Values Bracelet can help you reinforce your best professional traits, or Flower Mandalas can be an affirmation of nature. With other crafts involving aromatherapy, journaling, dream catchers, and a variety of household items, anyone can invigorate their own lives with Crafting Gratitude for family, health, prosperity, the Divine, and much more. Accompanied by a carefully curated list of recommended reading, helpful websites, and how-to guides, these forty practices will resonate with and prompt you to begin, or continue, exploring gratitude.

The Grateful Life

The Grateful Life is a guide to discovering – and realizing – one’s dreams though a positive attitude. Through years of research and practice, authors Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammons have discovered that grateful living can transform lives. Grateful people are happier people. They are healthier and less stressed. They report much higher levels of satisfaction with their relationships, and are less likely to credit “luck” with the good fortune of others. This book contains inspiring stories about those who practice gratitude as a spiritual practice to rise out of adversity to new life, and it will also show how grateful living is central to the good life and to attracting abundance. Filled with motivational quotes, resources and exercises, The Grateful Life will help people on their journey to create the life they’ve always wanted. Taking the concept of Living Life as a Thank You to the next level, The Grateful Life includes absorbing and transformative stories from the frontlines of real people, who unveil the secret to achieving success – big and small in life.